1) Up much earlier than I wished, not long after 6 AM, but at this point I’ve learned — on some days, there is no point resisting. After writing my morning pages, I took a second cup of my brother-in-law’s good coffee out to their beer garden terrace in front of the house to read the news. The tall, slim, angled trees, the blue of the sky not yet fierce with heat, all was welcome after a day spent entirely indoors.
2) Somehow I managed to get everything packed snugly before discovering that I’d left my Dopp kit in the bathroom. Thank goodness my little suitcase has an expansion joint! As it is, there’s quite a bit to ship.
3) There was nothing really left to review, and Laura said I had been able to get six boxes down to one and a half. So that’s a victory! After saying goodbye to Tony, we left to cross the causeway over the lake a little after 11, talking about family (of course) and our shared history, and driving, and New Orleans.
4) Back in 2016 I went to Mr. B’s Bistro on the recommendation of an old family friend, and I brought Laura to lunch there today to say thank you. Duck rolls, oysters en brochette for me and scallops primavera (?) for her, and then an absolutely amazing lemon icebox pie with raspberry sauce, and coffee. Laura said it was the most elegant lunch she’d had in awhile.
5) Laura then dropped me at my hotel; like my arrival, it involved a hasty exit and a hasty slinging of bags. The hotel is comfy, New Orleans is superheated, and I ended up staying in my room working on a column about Le Diner en Blanc.
6) My cousin Lindsay, many years younger and even gayer than I, met me at the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone — an established local landmark — and there was much rejoicing and sparkling! I had not seen him in person in perhaps 30 years. We caught up over Sazeracs (for me). This was my first visit to the Carousel Bar — merry-go-rounds were a cocktail vogue in the 1940s, and for all I know this is the last survivor — and I was absolutely charmed by it.
6a) Lindsay very clearly has the spirit of his mother, my cousin Jerri, and her mother, my Auntie Mef. Family traits will out!
7) We pressed on to one of his local favorites, Kingfish, decorated with large photos of Huey Long (hence the name), for more amazing seafood and conversation. I left feeling absolutely rejuvenated.
8) Now, back in my hotel, I am avoiding contemplating getting to the airport in time for a 6 AM departure by watching The Red Shoes. But my destination tomorrow is Atlanta, and more beloved cousins.