New Orleans

As it was my first time there, and I'm an exercise advocate, I took 3 and a half hours to power walk up and down every block of the French Quarter. The heat and humidity weren't that bad and until I had to go to the bathroom and showed up at the wrong hotel, it was really fun. My favorite things:

• Watching a 50-year old man on the sidewalk look at a red apron emblazoned with "Will cook for sex" and tell his wife she should only wear that...
• Getting beignets at 1 am - good thing Cafe du Monde never closes.
• Almost going into the karaoke bar by myself at 2 in the afternoon - there was nobody there to suffer through my bad singing. But I kept walking.
  
• Checking out the architecture and noticing ferns and plants growing out of the sides of buildings (that does not happen in San Diego).
• Watching a dog walk around between mannequins wearing expensive ballgowns. His owner must have been one of the two ladies inside. And not a purse dog either - a regular dog was just circling the gowns and looking out the window.
• Not gaining weight on the trip. The power walking must have been done its job.
  

My least favorite thing: There are 3 Marriot hotels within 2 blocks of each other. Needless to say this can be confusing if you're tired and hungry and disoriented after 3+ hours of walking.