On Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:10:57 -0700, "asadi"
wrote:

...Well my sister in law and her husband are visiting from Germany. At first
he wanted to go to Myrtle Beach, Miami Florida, then travel route 66 and
some of highway 101 in California.....in two weeks.

So after telling him to Mapquest and look a the distances involved he has
calmed down very much.

Now we are thinking of Nashville and a few other country spots...he really
wants to see "small town" America. I am thinking of New Orleans....then up
north to the Shenandoah Valley .

I know small towns and such but I have never been to New Orleans so if you
guys could give me a tip on a campground close by or some place to go or
some music to hear...I would a appreciate it....



John


How _close_ is "close"? If you mean "anywhere in the vicinity of the NO metro
area" close, not only do I not know of one, even if I did, I'd not do that to
you. If you mean, "less than an hour or 2 away" close, yeah, I know several.
OTOH, it's summer in NO, so hotel rooms are pretty inexpensive...for a reason -
only the truly hardy want to be (or can be) outside for extended periods - it's
HOT and HUMID, or, it's squally raining, which cools it off temp-wise, but jacks
up the immunity. That said, if you are coming and determined to camp, I'd
recommend doing so on the western MS coast, like at Waveland or Bay St. Louis.
It won't be exactly, um, "cool," but it'll be cooler, and you're only about an
hour from the FQ/Vieux Carre.

As to doin's, Preservation Hall is about as described by ol' Sarge, and if
you're gonna be down here for a few days doing the tourist thing, it's a good
choice for an (early) evening. It closes about 10-11, so there's time to get
back somewhere fairly early, or, go do something else, as the mood strikes.
Fritzel's is also good for NO music/jazz in the FQ. There's a local paper,
Gambit Weekly, at www.bestofneworleans.com, that'll give you the same info many
locals use for such planning. Hey, it's New Orleans - hot or cold, night or
day, they'll be SOMETHING happening. For example, there's "Tales of the
Cocktail" happening now.

Oh - a by-the-by - I'd recall if you smoke, but a lot of NO is "Non Smoking,"
and with no rhyme or reason to an outsider - the aforementioned Preservation
Hall, for example. I put it quotes because there's _NO SMOKING_ and then,
there's "Non Smoking." It's not as Draconian as some places, but keep it in
mind.

If you need anything, drop me an email, and I'll send you my number. I'm pretty
much staying out of the city right now (it's been REALLY bad heat-wise, but it
has calmed a bit in the last coupla days - unfortunately, it's because of the
rain squalls), but I'll be there Tues and Wed next week if you're in then. Give
me a little notice, and you can crash at our place in the FQ at least that/those
night(s) - I don't if I'll stay Wed. night. Otherwise, I'm staying uptown at my
mother's, but I'd love to meet up if you're down here.

TC,
R