Ye Old Absynthe House

Bubba and Will wait with the Limo.

Friday, August 27, 2004 -- I took another tour of Bourbon Street this morning as I awaited the 11:00 am opening of Acme Oyster House. This time I focused on the tourist shops scattered between the bars and restaurants. Most of the shops appeared to be selling more or less the same inappropriate t-shirts, beads, and touristy nick-knacks. There were two other people in line with me when Acme opened and by the time I was served my Cajun sampler platter the place was completely packed. After lunch I stopped by Harrahs casino to validate my parking (30 minutes of nickel slots = 24 hours of "free" parking). The nice lady at the service desk explained how my "Total Rewards" card would earn me "comps." She helpfully noted that at the rate I was gambling, I didn't really need to worry about it. From the casino, I traveled down Canal street via trolley to Carrolton Avenue where I found the Brewhouse Grill. Unfortunately, the Brewhouse was having trouble with the lines delivering the "brew" and I had to settle for a Samuel Adams. Dang. After a couple of beers, and a lemon sorbet from a little shop across the street, I took the trolley back down Canal street to visit the local library. "Are you from New Orleans?" asked the lady at the desk. "No" I replied. "Then I'll need $3 if you want to use the computers to access the internet." The $2.79 in my pocket wasn't going to cut it so I hiked across the street to the ATM. "I'm sorry, we can't break a $20" said the lady behind the desk upon my return. Just as I was about to lose my faith in humanity, she offered to take my $2.79. "I'll just pay the rest for you" she said. As I was leaving the library, Will called to report they were waiting at the hotel a couple of blocks away with the "limo." The three of us arrived in style at Harrahs where I began what would culminate in a two-day winning streak that would pay for my trip with a little bit left over. High roller Will scored us a comped dinner at Fudruckers inside the casino. Being the only one with a car, I offered to drive Will and Bubba back to the hotel. They were highly impressed with the indirect route I chose and vowed to "take a cab from now on." Bubba opted to turn in for the evening while Will and I returned to the casino. We later learned that Matt, Rob, Reagan, Garrett, and the rest of their buddies went straight to Bourbon Street instead of meeting us at the casino as originally planned. I capped off the evening with a visit to what would become my own little late night home away from home, the "Old Absynthe House," where I enjoyed a few beers in relative quiet.