Mule Train (er, Carriage)

Friday morning in New Orleans, our last, was again sunny and comfortable. After breakfast outside in the French Market we walked along the river to Jackson Square, where mule-driven carriages line up to give half-hour tours of the French Quarter. We thought that would be a good way to wrap up our visit.

Here's the carriage we chose, or were beckoned into. We'd been seeing them regularly trotting through the quarter, all mule-powered, and I asked the driver, "Why mules?" His answer was, "They're smarter than horses. They won't work themselves to death; when they've had enough, they just stop. Also, they can handle the summer heat better, and store more water than a camel."

Our driver was known as The Professor because he used to teach history in the local high school before retiring and taking up carriage tours. That's him on the right. He was very entertaining, born and raised in the area, and full of stories and facts. "If you remember half of what I tell you," he said, "You'll know more about New Orleans than most of the locals. I should know, I graded their papers!"

He was kind enough to take our picture before we started, just so you know I really was there. It was a fun and informative half hour, well worth the $15 per person charged, and I'd recommend it to anyone visiting the Quarter.

We had time for a little more shopping, then headed back to our hotel to pack for home. And here we are as I write this, with the Big Easy just pleasant memories. Great trip, nice place.

One last bit of updating, Ivy Ratafia, Scott McCloud's wife reports that he's much better and on the way home. You can probably read more soon on Scott's blog. Last I checked Neil's twitter feed on HIS blog, he was just getting home today, delayed by storms. We'll all be back to work tomorrow, I expect.