I’ve tried to diagnose the source of my wanderlust a number of times. It certainly wasn’t that my childhood was flush with intriguing experiences. I could count on one hand the number of times we left a 500 mile radius around Idaho Falls, ID.
Somewhere, though, along the way, I got a subscription to Backpacker magazine… and then I decided that I wanted to learn how to scuba dive. I guess I’m not sure why I share that because I don’t know how they factor in, but I can say with authority that having a Jimmy Buffett CD in my stereo opened my mind to a world I wanted to know about.
“Changes in Latitudes,” “One Particular Harbor,” “Last Mango in Paris,” and “Come Monday.” Every one of them invoked a feeling of discomfort not knowing what wonderful things I was missing out on. For the most part, the only sand I knew was in dunes, not on beaches. For me, a “change in latitude” meant going no further than 10 parallels from the 43rd.
But on summer days, with Jimmy’s live music blaring, I was transported to the life I dreamed of.
I tell you all this so you’ll understand just how pleased I was when we disembarked from the Norwegian Spirit in New Orleans last month and saw that Jimmy would be playing a free concert that very night.
We spent the entire day touring downtown New Orleans – taking the trolley down St. Charles Avenue, strolling through Audobon park, voyeuring along Bourbon Street. We had bignons at Cafe Du Monde and admired Old Hickory atop his horse in Jackson Square. And when the time came, we elbowed our way to the front row of the concert area along the Mississippi River.
Jimmy treated us to all of my favorites and a few more… a brilliant surprise to what had already been a memorable Caribbean escapade.
Read more about our cruise, the ATM Cave, and other activities.
