The Good and The Bad

Now that I’m back home in the mountains, I wanted to share the good and the bad of New Orleans.

I’ll go backwards, First the bad:

  • No sweet tea! Come on, isn’t this the south? I went through sweet tea withdrawal while I was there.
  • The shady areas of the French Quarter: after walking around I realized that it was a very strange place. Definitely not a place to hang and chill. I know that there is a huge need for ministry to this area, but you can sense the sin and evilness of the area.
  • The airport – It’s New Orleans so I expected good food even at the airport. Unfortuantely the airport was pretty old and run down.
  • Internet at the hotel – I stayed at the Riverside Hilton. The hotel was nice, but the internet was terrible. You had to pay by the hour and the connection continually dropped.

Now the Good:

  • beignet’s at Cafe Du Monde – the french version of Krispy Kreme doughnuts covered in powedered sugar. Extremely good
  • The IMAX movie – Hurricane on the Bayou. This was one of the highlights of the trip. It was great to see on a 50 foot scene the aftermath of the storm. Amazing footage and an amazing story
  • Spending two days in New Orleans with my wife in a great romantic city without the kids. We had a blast. I can’t believe we have been married for almost 12 years. She is the greatest. I honestly can say that I’m more in love with her now than I have ever been.
  • New Orleans is back in business. I went to a conference with almost 4000 engineers and the convention center area handled it with no problem.
  • Nola – Emeril’s contemporary restuarant – Wow, this was great. I think this was seriously the best meal I’ve ever had. Great food, cool atmosphere, good service, and the bill was … well it was kinda expensive.
  • The SolidWorks convention. I learned a lot of new cool tricks and tips on the software. I enjoyed listening to Steve Wozniak, Leonard Nimoy, and Col. Lewis Setliff III who was in charge of the rebuilding effort for the Army Corp of Engineers. He shared the amazing scope of the damage and what had been done to repair the levees and canals.
  • The Moobella Ice Cream. Have you ever seen a vending machine that makes up to 12 flavors of real ice cream at your command. I’m talking the real stuff, when you want it, and good. I would compare it to Ben & Jerry’s. It’s that good and it was designed in Solidworks. It was the hit of the conference.

We had a great trip, but I’m glad to be home. It was a good place to visit, but I love the mountains … and sweet tea!

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

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