One of the things that’s so cool about the French Quarter is that no matter what time you’re walking through it, you’re always bound to find something interesting. It’s so different from Gilbert, Arizona where the only time you see people out and around is in the mornings before work begins, when people are out doing their own thing (emphasis on their own thing), and even then, you’re lucky if you even get a friendly wave. Here, we’re walking on Decatur Street at 1 AM and there are people out and about: one bar we walked past seemed a kind of “internet cafe” as there were young people clustered around tables with quaint little lamps on them, nursing a cocktail or beer and their laptops opened up for business.

Just outside the Cafe du Monde, a group of young people were crowded around a telescope; when we asked them what they were looking at, they excitedly replied that Jupiter was high up above, its celestial light shining above the River City. And, of course, you had the occasional panhandler – some asking for donations in return for an on-the-spot Sam Cooke medley, others asking for 50 cents for a drink (though I’m not sure what kind of drink you can get anymore at less than a couple of dollars). And the usual sounds of bands playing from deep inside some nearby dimly-lit bar as you pass various shops and stores locked up tight for the night. There’s a soft breeze blowing by the river tonight, and the humid air is a welcome departure from the dusty, dry heat of Phoenix. The air, the town, and the river seem alive, and, as a result, so do I.

It’s past midnight here in New Orleans, and a beautiful night to be out and about.