Moseying around the French Quarter (Thursday, February 5, 2026)

LaWanda at the famous cornstalk fence

 

Sidewalk entrepreneurship. Dirty jokes for $1. 

Mardi Gras masks at Royal Street tourist shop

Seriously, you don't have to flash for beads. But the T-shirt could be a backup plan for the modest. 

LaWanda under a Gone Gay sign. 

This guy crossed the street to sweet talk LaWanda into all of us eating at Le Spectecle. We did, before the Preservation Hall performance. The food was great!

Jackson Square (February 5, 2026)

I wish I could remember the name of this mule that pulls carriages around the French Quarter. There are dozens of them that rotate through short, four-hour shifts to meet strict local animal welfare codes.
 

Fancy hooves!

Art and music all around the Square.

Somber memorial to the 14 people who died on New Year's Day 2025 in a deadly vehicle-ramming and shooting attack ahead of the Sugar Bowl. Tragically, another 57 people were injured, including two police officers.

French Quarter with LaWanda and Otis (Thursday, February 5, 2026)

Otis and LaWanda on the Mississippi. Not the Proud Mary behind them, but close enough. Either the steamboat Natchez or the Creole Queen, offering jazz cruises.

Papa and me at a closed riverboat dock, now heavy with padlocks memorializing forever love. Yes, we're in the right place.

Beignets buried in powdered sugar at Cafe du Monde. The extra hand is Papa's.

There he is!