My blogs over the last week or so have been about our vacation. We have started the homeward stretch of the trip with our final stop Memphis. We spent a really enjoyable day in New Orleans yesterday. We stayed right downtown on the Mississippi River. We walked the French Quarter, visited some amazing food places and even took a ferry ride on the river! We decided to try to eat "local" foods on this vacation and for the most part, we have succeeded! We ate shrimp and fish during our entire stay on the gulf coast. In New Orleans we even tried this.....
Alligator and Fried Catfish! I thought the alligator had a very odd texture and really didn't care for it. Ken ate it all! I loved the catfish. It was crispy and mild!
We had been told not to miss Cafe Du Monde so it was one of our first stops. These pastries are simply decadent! There must have been a pound of powdered sugar on our plate! We both loved these! It was a great day in New Orleans. This morning we drove to Memphis, heading north towards home. We are actually staying here tomorrow also, so we will have more time to look around. Today we walked around and saw a bit of the "downtown" area.....
On our way to have "Real Memphis Barbecue". We walked on Beahl St. and heard lots of blues music and jazz. And then we ate.....
at a local barbecue joint recommended by the bell hop at our hotel. It was really good food.
Its been interesting to eat local. You really get to see the regular people rather than just the tourists. I think you also have the chance to pick up on the true "vibe" of a place when you do this. We have been really surprised by the economy in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. There are lots of people living way below the poverty level. In all three areas we could still see signs of hurricane damage and ongoing repairs - even though it has been years since Hurricane Katrina. The local people have for the most part, been friendly and helpful. One thing that I noticed was far fewer churches than we are used to seeing. In spite of that, I have sensed the presence of the Lord very strongly in these places. New Orleans is very dark spiritually. There is a lot of occult activity and I felt that as we walked the streets. But even then, the presence of Jesus was clearly walking with us. There has been peace and calm as we have walked among the people. There is a very real divide between the poor people and the wealthy. We saw it yesterday as we walked through an "upscale" shopping area on the river just a block from a park filled with homeless people. Today was a similar situation with our very nice hotel just blocks from the "real" downtown Memphis where there are bullet holes in the signs on the streets. This has given me a lot to think about. As we were driving through Mississippi today, I looked up some facts about the state (isn't it amazing that we have all this knowledge available at our fingertips on our phones? Today especially I was aware of how blessed I truly am to have this). Ken and I couldn't believe what I read. The average income in the state is around $36,000 and many of the families are below the poverty level. Let that sink in a minute. WOW. All I could think about is all of the children who don't have enough to eat or don't have proper clothes to wear. It is good to help people in foreign countries, but then you hear a statistic like that and it makes you think! Yes, it is good to see your country for yourself. It is good to walk the streets and meet the people and really LOOK at their homes and see into their spirits.
Ken accomplished something else on this trip.....he crossed another state off of his list of states to visit. He had never been in Louisiana. Our list of states to visit is shrinking! Ken has only 6 states left to visit (Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Montana and Wyoming) while I have 11 (Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Vermont and New Hampshire). We will be planning more vacations and taking time to really see these states. It is really eye opening. It sure gives you a better idea how to pray!
In just a couple of days we will be home. It is always good to be away and even better to be back home. This has been a trip of many stops and seeing many different things in all new places for Ken and I. It has been a trip for us of going "outside of our comfort zone". And that is good.
Jesus, thank you for encouraging us to go into new places and see new things. Thank you for opening my eyes to the poverty of the south. Holy Spirit give me wisdom and opportunities to make a difference for these people. Thank you Jesus for your presence with us and your protection over us. Thank you for new food and new sights. Amen
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