Slept until 9 am.  Still no trip so went back to sleep.   

11:30.  Up and awake this time.  And hungry.   Still no trip so we walk down the road a bit to eat.  Where else do you eat in New Orleans but the VooDoo BBQ and Grill?    I had the jerk chicken and the mojo chicken with fries and sweet potato soufflé.  Greg had the carnival which was chicken, pork, brisket and sausage, corn casserole and rattlesnake beans which Is baked beans with hot sauce and spices.   
 

Greg asked about the gris gris greens and was told they are mustard greens, spinach, and kale cooked with pork pieces and pork broth and hot spices.  He really liked those.   Me – no.   

Back to the truck to wait.  Have two hours until clock resets.  We are then going to downtown New Orleans to pick up a load of bananas from South America for Chiquita to take to shelbyville, Indiana.    

At least we got to save some time.  A guy came around with a pressure washer to do portable trailer wash outs.   That was handy. 

The truck route to the shipper did not take us the tourist route. 

   
 
They really like their big cemeteries around here. 

  
Heading through the center of town.  

   
   
New Orleans Saints football stadium. 

  
More downtown 

   
    
 
   
 
Really old cemetery.   It’s falling over in parts.  The outer walls are really crumbling.  Wonder what they do when it gets like this.  I wonder too about some of the little houses.  Are those for ashes or the family cheap?   There are several pictures because I wanted you to see how big it was.  This is right by the highway.   

   
   
   
    
 
  
And literally right next door what do you have?   An RV park.  Seriously?   How could you sleep?

  
Pictures from the other side of town heading toward shipping area.  

These houses are literally right on top of each other.  

   
 
  
Not sure who this guy is but someone really loves him and his wife.   Not really a place I would put the picture but it sure makes a statement. 

  
Bridge over the bayou.  

   
 
   
 
Greg’s Pecilan. (yes it should be Pelican but ever since Sadie was little she has called them Pecilans so now we do too)    
We passed by part of the dock area.  Old equipment lying around.  

    
We arrived for our bananas!  But the bananas are not ready for us. So now we wait.   We aren’t the only ones.  Probably 15 trucks sitting and waiting on nanners. 

Stopped for fuel at the Palace Truck Stop in New Orleans.  Looked old and had a big garage attached to it.  Had truck parking too which was pretty full.   We got to the door to go in and it was locked.   We saw people inside and the girl behind the counter buzzed us in.   There was a security guard inside too.   Greg asked him if this was the bad part of town and he said no.  Hate to be in the bad part.   Security guard asked us if we were headed to New Orleans and we said no just left there.      The girl behind the counter said its a good thing.   There are three parades tonight downtown and everything is closed off.   She said Tuesday when Mardi Gras was in full swing everything stopped.   People can’t even get to work hardly.    That’s crazy!   I hear people who go have a great time but not my cup of tea.  

DG:  I meant to add this the other day when we were in London, KY. 

  
Noticed that just as we were pulling out of the lot. 

Now I digress on today’s events. Dispatch notified us of a load of bananas needing to go to Indiana.  But, the boat was late so the load wasn’t ready yet. At this point we still had a couple of hours before the clock reset.  I checked for a trailer washout facility and found one about 15 miles away but not on the way to our pickup.  Funny, but I didn’t give it another thought. I knew it had to be done so we would do it on our way to pick up the loaded trailer of bananas.  

With approximately one and a half hours until the clock says I can drive again I decide to lie down for a quick power nap. Five minutes later I hear what sounds like a power washer right beside my truck. Someone’s getting their truck washed here in the parking lot. I try to let the rhythm of the engine lull me to sleep and even think of calling a friend of mine in North Carolina who has a lawn care/pressure washing business and give him this idea. Then the spark.  Hey, this guy would probably like to earn a few extra dollars washing out my trailer. I spring out of bed, get dressed and leap from my truck excited over the fact that, once again, God has provided. Okay, so I didn’t leap nor did I spring, but I did get my trailer washed out and didn’t even have to move.  Now what are the odds that this guy would be washing a truck right beside my truck right when I needed a washout?  God is good. 

Well, looks like we are going to miss the Mardi Gras celebration once again this year. Woohoo!  

So lunch was good, God sent Harold Clark to wash out my trailer, we found good parking for the night, the weather is cool but not cold so no heat required. It was again, a good day. I know I don’t say that often enough. Will try to do better. 

This is my new chai tea maker Annie bought for me. We used it for the first time tonight and it makes really good chai tea. I will sleep good tonight. 

  
Love to all and God bless.