There are few things in this life I love more than a day simply taking in the sights, sounds, and senses of New Orleans. Sprung from a three-day corporate conference around noon, I felt like The Beatles in that scene from “A Hard Day’s Night” where, after finding a way to escape temporarily from the madness of their daily existence, they tear around an open field running, jumping, and dancing to blow off steam. (Or, like The Big Nipper does when he figures out his play area gate is open and realizes he has the run of the house.) It wasn’t so much like that for me, but it was an extraordinarily joyful thing to simply spend the afternoon just being here and being alive – whether it was:

* Enjoying a cab ride over to mid-city and hearing a cabbie tell me about his boat and the seafood business he runs on the side;

* A wonderful shrimp roumalade sandwich served with an ice-cold Abita Amber over lunch at Liuzza’s, while finally being able to meet in person my good friend Rob from CrabAppleLane Blog (thanks gain for the lunch, Rob – I owe ya one if you’re ever in the Phoenix area!);

* Discussing the science of boat drinks and cocktails with the bartender at the Royal Omni Orleans’ Rib Room bar and one of the owners of Antoine’s (my favorite restauarant in the whole wide world), who just happened to have stopped in for a glass of chablis with a female friend of his;

* A fabulous dinner of blackened alligator, zydeco gumbo, and blackened Tilapia with my friend and co-worker Kerry and her husband Tim at Mulate’s – one of the best meals I’ve ever had in all my visits to the French Quarter;

* Standing outside K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen and enjoring the music being played street-side by Rodney Thibodeaux and Tour Les Soir (yes, you can order their music online!);

* Finishing off the night with an Abita Amber nightcap listening to Dixieland music at the Maison Bourbon;

It’s days like this that simply reinforce my inner sense that this place and my soul have been, and are forever, linked in a special relationship for some unknown reason; to me it feels like home, and if I were ever given the chance, I think my restless bones would finally have found their resting place and safe haven.