Tomorrow, I shall return.

'Til then, I leave everybody with a few fun observations about the city in which I am temporarily staying.

The weather here is icky. Chilly with definite occurrences of rain. It's no wonder they established the world's largest bookstore here. What the hell else is there to do but to curl up with some good coffee and read a book?

All the cranes that are supposed to be dotting the New Orleans landscape are right here. Throw a stone in any direction downtown and you'll hit a construction site. The marathon that was run here yesterday had to be rerouted because of all the mess from all the digging and rearranging of city streets, city blocks, and city pipes. With the construction comes some nifty signage...Joni Mitchell would probably be overjoyed as all get-out to see a sign saying: "We've Paved A Parking Lot, And Are Putting Up Paradise!" All I saw was a pit.

I also saw many protests. People with large signs protesting bad contracting labor practices in the wake of the building boom. A demonstration at Pioneer Square right in front of the Nordstrom's - Free Burma, shoppers! A small group of marchers that Dan and his dad swore looked as though they were hired just to picket a small business. "The hired marchers need to get organized!" Dan said.

The taco trucks that Jefferson Parish dismissed from their street corners in such a callous and bigoted manner have a home at the city center parking lots here, from what I can see. Folks just love those food carts in these parts. Must sample their fare the next time I'm here.

Anyway, from what I've seen and heard and visited and tasted, if global warming becomes a cold hard reality and the waters rise and engulf my present place of residence, Portland, Oregon ain't such a bad place to be. The planet's higher temperatures might well fix the weird weather problems this place has.

Plus, my husband, the ultimate beer snob, will have access to his favorite brew at all times, barring their (unlikely at this point) bankruptcy or the freak explosion of their brewery. Somebody please volunteer your services as a distributor of the abovementioned barley juice so's my husband can be contented with his lot in New Orleans. Thank goodness we have a flight scheduled tomorrow for our return...