This Friday I took my first vacation day since starting my new job in July. I’ve been feeling low on moral and energy and thought it would be a nice way to perk myself up– and if definitely helped!
Not wanting to spend my day indoors and without plans (though those days can be wonderful, too), I found a few things happening in New Orleans and spent the day their with Christian.
As touristy as it is, I really love spending time in the French Quarter, so that was first on our list. A few of my co-workers taught me last year that if you park at Harrah’s Casino and spend 30 minutes gambling, your parking becomes “free.” This has become one of my favorite spots to park as a result, I go to a few cheap machines and enjoy some fruity beverages. The most money I end up spending is on tips.
After Harrah’s, we walked over to House of Blue’s New Orleans, a bar and restaurant that I’ve wanted to visit for awhile now. We didn’t want to spend too much time there, but it was really nice talking and listening to music. I also really enjoyed looking at all of the art and decorations– the outdoor bar was voodoo themed (I couldn’t get a good picture of it) and outside there was a hanging chandelier.
After House of Blue’s, we headed across town to Oktoberfest. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it was pretty fun! One of the things I saw first when coming into the festival was a cheese stand which… looking back I should have passed on, but I was caught up in the moment of beer and cheese.
After drinking a literal liter of beer at Oktoberfest (seriously– look at how big that cup is!), stuffing ourselves with cheese and pizza, and listening to the chicken dance three times (I had no idea that this was an Oktoberfest/German song, but here’s a funny information piece if you’re interested), we headed to our next spot!
One of my friends who lives in New Orleans had invited me to see them perform at Greetings, from Queer Mountain, an LGTBQ+ storytelling venue. This week was loosely horror themed, though, as the woman in charge said, anything really goes as long as its about 8 minutes long. That night there were five performers who told stories ranging from wedding revenge to Tegan and Sara concerts to sickness to lesbian nail horror stories and so many more.
In college when I was in my second and third year, some fellow queer students created the Queer Creative Collective (QCC), where people were invited to read poetry, sing songs, or do anything else that was creative. They hosted it in their backyards and it was something I looked forward to every month– this really reminded me of that and I’ll definitely be back if I can!
We ended the night back at Harrah’s where we put a few last dollars into the machine, I mostly sat and sipped hot chocolate, and then started the drive back to Baton Rouge. Overall it was a very successful mental health day and one of my favorites that I’ve spent in New Orleans in awhile. Mental health days are so important so hopefully everyone takes care of their mental well being and not just physical!
–Alexis
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