Just Another Friday Night in the Big Easy

[SJP]

Younger boy is racing sailboats out here at Lake Ponchtartrain outside of New Orleans. Wife has never been here and wanted to make a trip out of it. Took her around French Quarter and a little afternoon stroll down Bourbon St. for a bit. Dinner was at a nice steak house and Uber a couple of blocks back to hotel. Wife asked me why we did not just walk home. Back at hotel she is looking down on the street it is pretty lively. Hood rat hops out of car and unloads on another on the sidewalk 8 shots pop,pop X8. Guy on sidewalk floundering like a fish on deck.

Wife - “how could someone do that to another?” Disturbed and could not go to bed
Son - “Well that was a night cap…” put his earbuds back in and went to bed
Me - WTF we were having such a good day. Tried to tell my wife he was going to running and gunning tomorrow morning / afternoon at the latest. Let her know they would spray down the sidewalk and tomorrow is another day.

This place is even worse than I remember it. I spent a month here on a work project for the city. No idea what tonight will bring.

 

[SJP]

 

[DWC]

Only been there once, that was enough. They need to add a little more bleach and maybe some Odoban every once and awhile to the street clean up program.

 

[t&y]

Younger boy is racing sailboats out here at Lake Ponchtartrain outside of New Orleans. Wife has never been here and wanted to make a trip out of it. Took her around French Quarter and a little afternoon stroll down Bourbon St. for a bit. Dinner was at a nice steak house and Uber a couple of blocks back to hotel. Wife asked me why we did not just walk home. Back at hotel she is looking down on the street it is pretty lively. Hood rat hops out of car and unloads on another on the sidewalk 8 shots pop,pop X8. Guy on sidewalk floundering like a fish on deck.

Wife - “how could someone do that to another?” Disturbed and could not go to bed
Son - “Well that was a night cap…” put his earbuds back in and went to bed
Me - WTF we were having such a good day. Tried to tell my wife he was going to running and gunning tomorrow morning / afternoon at the latest. Let her know they would spray down the sidewalk and tomorrow is another day.

This place is even worse than I remember it. I spent a month here on a work project for the city. No idea what tonight will bring.

It was weird for a bit responding to people shot and dying. You get used to it. Funny and scary what your mind will just accept as normal after awhile.
Good luck to your son, hope he has good wind and clear sails.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Never been there, and pretty sure never will. I hate that stuff. When stupidity breeds violence, and ruins a place with history. I guess it's the same with DC and San Francisco...

Stay safe. Good luck to your boy in the race!

 

[tostark]

Was there only once and saw no less the 5 people puking in the gutter. Wondered how the hell they clean that street. Next morning was up early and see the water/street sweeping truck flooding the street with everything going down the storm drain………and into the Mighty Mississippi am guessing

 

[SPYLIFE]

We live about 4 hours away, finally went for the first time earlier this year. Gross. Have no desire to ever visit that place again.

 

[H20 Toie]

Ive been there a lot of times, was even there when Katrina hit, Drove by on Monday had zero desire to stop

 

[t&y]

Different perspective. It almost sounds like seems out of the old west. Some probably romanticize that thought of doing whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want, until that scenario plays out in front of you. They should just decriminalize everything except Murder, Rape, or Child Abuse, and have at it.

 

[jetboatperformance]

Different perspective. It almost sounds like seems out of the old west. Some probably romanticize that thought of doing whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want, until that scenario plays out in front of you. They should just decriminalize everything except Murder, Rape, or Child Abuse, and have at it.

This ^^^^^^ .... You took the words right out of my head "It almost sounds like seems out of the old west." Folks , men and women alike walking around strapped for whatever reason they deem necessary , be it the paranoia, real and perceived threats whatever ... When even i'm in a public place I tend to "observe" constantly where I didnt pay much attention prior ................... Case in point I'm standing at a deli counter , the attendant says who's next I step up and some Cat starts going off on me ? I tell him to chill and He wants to "take it outside" Crazy world we are experiencing Reminds me of the "Old west" very much

 

[whiteworks]

We rolled through there on the I10 when we brought my pals pusher back from Florida. I booked an rv spot on the fly as we were approaching and we pulled in at night. The place was a few miles north of the French quarter in a third world hood. The rv park was nothing more that a gated lot that we had a gate code to enter. 15’ gates with razor wire, flood lights on tall light poles, looked like a prison, but to keep the hood rats out vs. in LOL

After getting the coach parked and set up our plan was to Uber downtown for dinner and drinks, however we were both too spooked by the crazy ghetto shit we saw as we were driving into the “rv park” to want to exit our prison yard security, so hot pockets and cocktails it was. There was a gas station across the street from the “rv park” that we passed on the way in, there was a camera hanging on a pile with a flashing blue light pointed at the place, at least 10 natives in the parking lot all doing different weird crackhead shit at 10:00 at night. Apparently the cops just review the tapes when that place jumps off part of town we were in was about the roughest place I’ve ever been in my life.

Louisiana seemed like a foreign country as we passed through, I try to see the good stuff in places when traveling, but that place left me scratching my head.

 

[stephenkatsea]

My employer was once headquartered there. Had some great times there prior to Katrina. But, even then we rarely did Bourbon St. Believe NOLA is now the murder capital of the US. No thanks.

 

[Done-it-again]

My employer was once headquartered there. Had some great times there prior to Katrina. But, even then we rarely did Bourbon St. Believe NOLA is now the murder capital of the US. No thanks.

Yes NOLA took over the #1 spot from Chicago to become the murder capital of the US.

1 of my employees lives there and works remote. He says it’s bad and he’s born and raised in NOLA.

 

[clarence]

Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets.

 

[Backlash]

Been there many times and it's only gotten worse. I'm glad I was able to visit and experience the French Quarter and Bourbon Street before it turned into a complete shit hole. Years ago, you could walk down Bourbon Street and the only real issue was stepping carefully to avoid urine and vomit. My wife has never been and has this desire to go. I keep telling her "Nope." Nothing from Cafe Du Monde is worth getting robbed, stabbed or shot.

 

[SJP]

What a complete mess this place is. Going to a team dinner a block away just past where last nights main event took place. Wife is staying in and just watching from the hotel room. She has gotten over the drive by and is intrigued with everything transpiring down below. I will check in here after I get back from dinner with Rico. I just went to get my wife wine at “Unique market”. Honestly I think I made it out of there because they thought no white boy would roll into the place.

 

[81Sprint]

I lived in Baton Rouge for a year building a call center back in early 2000s, loved going down to NOLA to party. My wife has been sayin over and over she wants to go so I booked the weekend right after Mardi Gras next year. Only for a couple nights, I told her that's all the time we need there. Somethings you just have to experience for yourself. But we are staying in a Airbnb across the waterway in Algiers point so we will hopefully be good.

 

[dezrtracer]

Worked down there 6 months in 2009 and 6 months in 2010 . It was pretty bad at that time too . On Friday before we left work we'd all try and guess how many shootings would happen over the weekend and crown a winner on Monday morning . Our local crew members gave us some good advise that kept us out of trouble and we had a lot of fun . Lots of bar hopping , went on Airboats , explored cool old forts from the 1800 Fort Pike and Fort Mc Comb and saw so many bands and parades , lots of history in those parts . Would I go back ? Probably Not !!

 

[SJP]

Well we made it back to hotel. Went to a restaurant on Bourbon St. Tame and family oriented. Strange moment was a NOPD officer deployed for protecting the door the last hour we were there.

 

[The Prisoner]

Need to bring back CASH bail. And make it very high.

 

[CarolynandBob]

Place is a shit hole. Went there in 2018 for 2 nights. RV park was near and could walk to bourbon st. but chose uber instead. Place has some great restaurants and the food great. During the day it looks like a shit hole. At night when you can't see anything it looks ok all lit up. Then later you get people puking in the street. Fuck that time to go home.

 

[Outdrive1]

They should have left it flooded.

 

[Done-it-again]

Well we made it back to hotel. Went to a restaurant on Bourbon St. Tame and family oriented. Strange moment was a NOPD officer deployed for protecting the door the last hour we were there.

Hit up acme oyster house for some charbroiled ones. The best in the city.

If you want to drive/Uber go to Jacques-IMO’s, you want be disappointed.

 

[SJP]

Place is a shit hole. Went there in 2018 for 2 nights. RV park was near and could walk to bourbon st. but chose uber instead. Place has some great restaurants and the food great. During the day it looks like a shit hole. At night when you can't see anything it looks ok all lit up. Then later you get people puking in the street. Fuck that time to go home.

I was here twenty years ago and although Bourbon St. was never classy the city on a whole was presentable as a tourist destination. My parents would come here to watch sporting events in the Superdome and knew a couple of restaurant owners that would snowmobile with them in upstate NY. Now it is like the zombie apocalypse here. I cannot even properly explain or document the degradation. But this is happening in most cities now in the US. Atlanta is another example of liberal polices leading to a once nice place to visit going to complete shit. Literally.

They should have left it flooded.

Yeah the devastation here is unreal. There are a ton of places that were literally wiped out. Including the Southern Yacht Club est 1849 top 5 oldest YC in the US. They rebuilt this club 10 minutes outside of NO and honestly it is a palace. Way nicer than Lauderdale YC and anything in OC. They have been great hosts and honestly an Oasis here.

Hit up acme oyster house for some charbroiled ones. The best in the city.

If you want to drive/Uber go to Jacques-IMO’s, you want be disappointed.

Went to Acme and it was great. Antionnes for happy hour was pretty cool as well. Thank you for the recommendations.

Well here is a picture of Rico coming off the water yesterday. They did not qualify for Gold Fleet finals but will see how they place today in the Silver.

 

[Romans9]

I went to N O my senior year In 1990 and for a boy from the Midwest I was shocked. Pictures hanging outside of bars looking in from the stoop showed them having orgies in the bar.
The shear amount of filth was overwhelming to my senses.
I will never return to that dump, life is too short and there are too many great places to go.

 

[Wedgy]

Went to a conference there around 2010, ish.

Too bad it's getting bad.

Had a great time, stayed at the mega nice hotel at the Waterfront just up from the Pier with the sternwheeler riverboat.. Took the evening dinner Riverboat tour, Rode the trolley, cool old historic house tour. took the bus tour, all around through parks statues, Pontchartrain. All around town. Post Katrina tour.

We prowled around the restaurant row, a cool little square block of restaurants and bars near the hotel. Restaurants even in the hotel, bars, pool sauna gym whole place was great.

Weather was OK, fall, watching the river barge traffic maneuver the sweeping curve on the Mississippi was cool.
Down stream,, letting the current sweep the barge around the corner.

Buses to the Convention center, where they had the conference, show floor, concert. Where I met Melanie Troxel, top fuel funny car driver. Super cool and fiery beautiful . Feisty!! Can't remember the musician she is married to, or the female singer at the show that night. Mel's that good!

I do remember the Eye of the Tiger Dude at his presentation. "Be the Leopard."
Gotta Lotta outta that trip.
Boil it down. One word. Dominate

 

[28Eliminator]

I think I’ll go ahead and take NO off my list of places to check out.

Glad you survived Sam.

 

[Sherpa]

Best man from my wedding gave me this input about it when he visited in the mid 90’s.

Told me the whole place smells like piss…
All of it. I already figured people would be puking everywhere.

Piss smell everywhere. Pukes everywhere.

I don’t need to visit that.

—Sherpa

 

[stephenkatsea]

There was once a time - Fly in, a great hotel on Canal St, afternoon drinks in the Quarter, unbelievable meal at Arnoud's etc, then too many long necks and great jazz/rock at clubs away from Bourbon (times we were the only white guys in the place), a 7am wake up, 8am tee time (nearly puking teeing up the ball). Then do it again. That was in the 80s. Not sure if those experiences will ever return. When it was good . . . It was very good.

 

[framer1]

I went to a super bowl in New Orleans, I had a great time. I was there on Halloween one year and it was pretty bizarre but A good time also. Of course I was a lot younger then.

 

[OC Mike]

Never been there.
My 23 yr old Daughter had a conference there two weeks ago.
Sure glad I didn't read about this then.....

 

[BingerFang]

I think I’ll go ahead and take NO off my list of places to check out.

Glad you survived Sam.

I thought the same thing!

 

[Done-it-again]

I would treat it like a trip to TJ.

If you haven't been, go. NOLA is a good time with some great food and music.

Just don’t walk down any non busy alleys and don’t take a drink from people you don't know or leave one unattended (a customer colleague got ruffied and wallet stolen). Women shouldn’t walk solo or in a small group, should have guys around they know.

Stay on canal street and walk to bourbon ST.