Had a dreamy vacation to gorgeous New Orleans last week. Every inch of the city is perfect! This, my first visit back since the storm was also heartbreaking,  to see the Jewel of Mississippi at eye level and remember what we all saw from above those many, horrible days in 2005.  New Orleans has always been one of the world’s coolest cites, but it was awesome to see and hear how people have rallied around it on a global scale since the disaster.

We ran into a Second line for a local Social Aid and Pleasure club as the city readies itself with coronations and such for Mardi Gras.

Made a b-line for The House of Dance and Feathers museum in the Bywater, a Mardi Gras Indian Museum…

Big Chief Cyril “Iron Horse” Green, 2004. (photo by Eric Waters)

For hours children danced and marched in bands past our hotel on Martin Luther King day, New Orleans is the home of the Southern Leadership Conference of which Dr. King was the first president.  I was the spaz on the curb clapping and waving, jumping up and down from the sidelines. It was astounding to witness how successfully the culture has been transmitted each and every one of these utterly self-possessed, beautiful little citizens.