Hi Friends!

Since my love and I took turns running in New Orleans last weekend, I thought it’d be fun to show you some of the pictures he took while he was out running solo in the City! (Here’s my run in case you missed it).

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There were a few things on my “must do list” for Labor Day Weekend in New Orleans. Beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde, see the mighty Mississippi river that Mark Twain raved about so very much, visit the Audubon Zoo as is our family tradition, eat an authentic New Orleans po’ boy sandwich and add a run to my map on Nike Plus.

OK, maybe that’s a bit more than just a few things. But if I was going to make the long trek out to NOLA, I wanted to be certain that there was enough to occupy my time. Oh, the trek? We left at 2 AM (Eastern) and arrived at 2:30 PM (Central). That’s a lot of time in the car. After being cooped up, I wasn’t sure that I actually felt like running. On several occasions, I considered scratching the fitness element off my list.

After arriving and checking into the hotel, we set out on our first adventure: beignets. Oh yeah, we were on vacation and we were going to treat ourselves immediately. Cafe du Monde, here we come! It was about 0.7 miles from our hotel, so we strapped up the baby and grabbed the toddler by the hand and made a beeline for sugary-fried-goodness.

Get in my belly Coffee & Beignets!

It felt like a hundred degrees outside and we got fresh, hot beignets, so we couldn’t get back to the hotel’s AC fast enough. There would be no running that afternoon for me. I would need to cool off and rest. Remember all that driving?

Taking Pictures @ Jackson Square

The next day, I got up early with my alarm. I got up at first light. Early enough when you’re on vacation. I had my clothes laid out so I could throw them on without disturbing the girls too much. I said bye to the wife and hit the road.

First (or second) light on Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church

It was a cool high 70s outside (South Florida Runner, that’s cool) and the city was quiet compared to the bustle of the previous evening. I made my way down Canal street towards Harrah’s Casino. It was about as peaceful as one would imagine a major city could be. I crossed the tracks by the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and there it was: The Mighty Mississippi.

Reader: perhaps you are from a part of this country that borders the Mississippi River. Perhaps you could read Huckleberry Finn on the very banks that the protagonist of that book explores. Until this weekend I had never visited it. I am a fan of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, so seeing the river brought me joy. Isn’t that why we go on vacation? For the joy of it? Isn’t that a good reason to go for a run? To bring a little joy into your life?

The Mississippi & Monument to the Immigrant

Next came a few selfies. I know, it’s very narcissistic but I did it anyways. As I cut through Riverwalk Park, I paused to take a pic of the Monument to the Immigrant because who cares about pace when you’re on vacation? Once I got to the Steamboat Natchez I decided I should head back. I promised the wife I’d only put in a mile and I was about to hit up cafe du monde again. For you close readers, you’ll note that I broke my promise.

Running through the French Quarter

I headed back to Canal street via Decatur and paused for a selfie in the French Quarter. The architecture was just beautiful. I had to document the moment. There were no incidents coming back up Canal street. Just friendly faces and more than a few fellow runners. I imagine they too were on vacation, adding a little run to their map as a memento of their trip to NOLA while relishing in a morning burst of endorphins.

As I entered my hotel, I realized that the model of New Orleans they had in the lobby was a perfect replica of the area I had just run through. I quickly snapped a picture for Instagram. I just ran NOLA.

Map of 1.90 mi. run through NOLA

 I entered the hotel room and realized right away that I’d be babysitting for a little while. Erin was up even though the babies were asleep still (we REALLY need to buy blackout curtains) and her running clothes were laid out on the bed. “Should I go out for a run? Is it safe?” I smiled. Going out for a run was probably the best decision I made that weekend. She should definitely go out for a quick run.

“Go.” I told her. And so she went for a quick mile run.

Just in case anyone is mad at me for going further than I said I would, take a look at this map. Yes, she went out further than I did, so there! You can read about the Scene on Her Run right now.

Scene on Her Run: my perspective