8 Things I Did in New Orleans

And twelve more I have to go back for

The first time I went to New Orleans was after the death of my mother when I was just 20 years old. I went with my younger sister and we joined a big group of friends there for Mardi Gras. Traveling with my 17-year-old sister 2,000 miles from our small town in California was an epic journey. Just making it there in our little Volkswagon squareback seemed heroic. The apartment our friends had rented was in a trans building, unbeknownst to them. I met a community of transwomen at a point in my life when I barely knew that gay people existed. I had drinks in a bar, fell in love with a man, heard incredible music, saw outlandish behavior, and mingled with people of different races, social classes, and sexual orientations for the first time. The trip made such an impression on me that I wrote a novel about it years later. I published the chapters on Medium and the on Amazon. And of course, I fell in love with the Crescent City. So when I went back for a visit this month, there were many things I wanted to do.

1. Paid homage to the Mississippi River

The first thing I did after checking into my hotel was walk out to take a look at the Mississippi River…