Stuck in New Orleans

I've been sitting at "The Big Easy" Truck Stop in New Orleans since Sunday night.  Today is Tuesday, and I've been told that my truck will get unloaded tomorrow morning - I hope that happens.  This is the first time I've ever been to New Orleans, and I'm stuck in a bad part of town.  Even the streets in this section of town are nasty.  I've been pan-handled to death - it seems everybody in this neighborhood just needs a dollar so they can get something to eat.

I've got some equipment on my truck that's to be delivered to a hospital downtown, but apparently there was some confusion between the shipper and the contractor as to when this equipment would arrive.  I've actually enjoyed the break as best I could.  I rented an economical car so I could move around a little, and I did find some areas that are quite beautiful with very old live oaks spreading out their canopy across the streets and shading the front lawns of some very old and lovely looking homes.
I even wandered over into the "French Quarter", but just kind of drove through it.  I wasn't in the mood for meandering through a bunch of jam packed street vendors and open fronted shops with a throng of people who had purple and green hair, apparently no job, and still are able to be here spending their time and money trying to fill their empty lives with something they think is meaningful.  New Orleans is a city who's beautiful buildings cast their shadows on miserable poor forgotten souls wandering the streets begging for a crust of bread from the many tourists that are there.

I enjoyed some of the food they are famous for here, but mostly I've hung out at the truck stop trying to make sure nothing on my truck goes up missing.  When a truck driver gets stuck like this he's not getting paid, so it hurts in that department, but I've been working awfully hard and a break didn't hurt too badly.  I'm hoping to get home this weekend.  I've been on the road three weeks and I'm ready to see my sweet wife and enjoy sitting at my own table for a few days.