Rollin', rollin' on the river

After my little trip to Bourbon Street last night, I wake up feeling a bit hungover. Luckily, the hotel has a good breakfast and strong coffee. With revived spirits, I head to the ol' man river, the Mississippi. Impressive how big (wide) the river is. There's even a huge cruise ship in the harbor.

The sun is scorching from the sky and reflects beautifully in the waters. Ships are sailing upstream.

Automatically, the Huckleberry Finn audio stories come to mind. It's nice to sit here, only missing the watermelon. In any case, a childhood whim finds its realization in reality today. Looking forward.

But I am still drawn to the bustling French Quarter. Even though it's not as busy during the day, the images of the decorated houses stay in memory. It's somehow a special atmosphere here in the southern United States. As if it were its own country. The dialect here in the South takes some getting used to. I would say, in general, comparable to Bavaria in Germany.

In the hotel, I get dressed up for my Christmas Eve on board the paddle steamer 'Natchez' including Christmas buffet.

The food is very good. Of course, there's turkey but also suckling pig and a kind of roast. So everything is appropriate for Christmas. Unfortunately, the outside view is very cloudy. Thick haze surrounds the steamer and river... But it doesn't matter, because there's hardly anything going on on deck and I am almost alone at the large paddle wheel.

A beautiful Christmas Eve. But I'm pretty tired for the first time now.

Tomorrow, I'm flying to Chicago. There, I can expect the usual temperatures for the season. ❄

stay tuned

Jeff