DST kicked in this morning so it feels early, earlier than normal early. We’re leaving Pensacola today so I’ve got some time for a short walk and quick breakfast before we strike camp. The short walk turned into a medium walk and suddenly we were a little later leaving than maybe we wanted. All good though and still on the road before 10:00.
We started the day heading across country on some State roads towards Fairhope, AL. Missed a few turns along the way which only adds to the adventure. The GPS knew where we wanted to be so simply corrected my mistakes.
Fairhope is a very pretty town, with lots of old oak trees lining the streets in front of orderly clapboard houses. Picket fences, trimmed hedges, all very orderly. Clearly the town had not suffered the wrath of a hurricane head-on.
Located on the East side of Mobile Bay the town has long sand and pebble beaches and a 1400’ long pier, this we walked out and back as you do on a pier. Local fishermen had taken up their favorite spots and locals out for a run also joined us on the pier. A popular spot.
From Fairhope we traveled North where we joined I-10 West. This would take us into Mississippi and onto Louisiana where we would be staying a night at the Faubourg Brewing Co. in N’awlins (New Orleans), LA. The brewery is a member of Harvest Hosts, establishments that allow RVs to stay the night on their property. Cost? Visit their business and buy something. A brewery….. easily done.
The drive out of AL and across MS was uneventful and easy. The interstate was fairly busy but was flat for the most part as it crosses the marshy southern lands of this part of the continent. There were a couple of impressively long bridges that seemingly suspended the interstate above the bayous and river deltas that we passed through.
Arriving at Faubourg Brewery we were not alone. First, this ‘craft’ brewery is huge, easily as large as any commercial brewery I’ve seen. Second, because of this size, the parking lot can accommodate large numbers of RVs. Until tonight we had only visited Harvest Host establishments that could accommodate no more than 4 or 5 visitors, here we were among 20 or so rigs of all sizes and styles.
However, getting past the number of people joining us tonight, the brewery is amazing. They have lots of styles of beers to try as well as a very good kitchen from which we purchased lunch that we enjoyed while sitting outdoors on the large patio in the sun. It was 29C and breezy, a far cry from the cold of the North.
We took an Uber ride from the brewery into the French Quarter of the city to be like tourists for the remainder of the day. Having not been here before we really weren’t sure what to expect beyond what we’d seen in videos. Sensory overload would probably be a good place to start.
So, very busy, lots of tourists with cameras and lots of street vendors. There’s an amazing vibe and I can easily see getting caught up in that vibrancy and partying the night away. We made our way through the streets dodging the drunken hen parties and sidewalk bucket drummers looking for a place to get supper. Bourbon Street is the heart of the French Quarter, a jostling street party that appears to be going all the time. The noise is quite unbelievable, the aforementioned bucket drummers (5gal plastic pails) competing with bicycle/tricycle equipped rolling beatboxes turned to 11, all trying to outdo the street bands for your attention and donations. Ah, but not to be outdone, the eating/drinking establishments also were vying for your auditory attention by outdoing all of the street noise with noise of their own from massive sound systems clearly aimed out at the street. It was all bit numbing to be perfectly honest.
We chose not to try an eat downtown, places wheee there were lineups for tables (probably the better establishments) were incredibly noisy, dark and we suspecting not very clean given the state of the clientele. Food? I think not. Drinks? Again, hard pass.
We did find a place for an ice cream and then we picked up an order of Beignets and took them with us in an Uber back to the brewery, they’d be tomorrows breakfast.
We caught up on some YouTube viewing in the van before heading to bed. Our neighbors seemed intent on partying into the early hours, we were done. It had been quite a day. Good night.