Pigging Out at Bubba Gumps

byphaeton

834 followers

13 years ago

We flagged a cab outside of our hotel and headed out for Bubba Gumps. The cab dropped us off at the wrong location and we were left to hoof it for an extra block and a half. Not to hard on me and Marg but Betty had left her walker back at the hotel. We finally arrived at our destination and we were ushered up to the 2nd floor. Betty was happy to see that there was an elevator.Our tour had the entire floor to ourselves and the hostess briefed us on Bubba Gumps' protocol. There were flip type signs on all of the tables. If everything was fine you left the sign showing "Run Forrest Run"; If something was amiss you flipped it over to the red sign which read "Stop Forest Stop" or something to that effect, then the waitress would stop to attend to your wishes.

We all had a great time and the food was good. Betty and Marg chickened out, literally, and ordered the chicken. I was a bit more adventurous and tried a southern staple, Catfish. Everyone was enjoying their food when the hostess began to challenge us on some Forrest Gump trivia. I won a smiley face pin with the saying "Stupid Is As Stupid Does" on it. The question was what three presidents were featured in the Forrest Gump movie. The answer was President Kennedy; President Nixon, and President Johnson. Hip Hip Hooray! After the meal we drifted downstairs to their sizable souvenir shop then exited and got a cab back to the hotel. This time we were let out at our destination. We were pretty tired and headed for bed.

In the morning we went downstairs for breakfast and got ready for for our Bus Tour of the City. I really felt bad for Hartley, our bus driver, not only because of the maze of one-way streets but everywhere you turned there was construction, construction, construction. New Orleans is hosting the Superbowl this year and they are expecting a massive influx of people and are trying there best to put on a good face for the city.

We couldn't get to the ninth ward as they are no longer allowing tour buses down there. We visited the Botanical Gardens City Park, very beautiful park. In order to exit the park we had to cross over a very small arched bridge and Hartley was very concerned that we might have gotten hung up on it. We made it safely over it but with only centimeters to spare I am sure. We were all listening intently for any signs of scraping.

Next on our agenda was a visit to one of many graveyards in the city. Due to the high groundwater levels in the city, people had to come up with a way to bury their deceased citizens. They solved this problem by building mausoleums or crypts above ground. These crypts are quite ornate and resemble small houses or dwellings earning cemeteries the title of "Cities of the Dead".

From there we traveled through the Garden District and along Saint Charles Street with its many Storybook Mansions. Their were sections of Saint Charles that had beads hanging from the wires and tree branches revealing that it was one of the streets famous for its Mardi Gras parades. This brings us to the end of our morning agenda. We quite happily broke for lunch.