Thursday December 16th

Due to an accident by a service technician at the Smart Car dealership in Pittsburgh, the spare car key/remote was replaced before we left home.  Unfortunately the remote had not be programmed and was now needed.  Fortunately the only Smart dealer in a four state area was here in New Orleans. 

A call to their service department confirmed they could perform the programming.  They would need the car and all keys to complete the process, and it could take 60 to 90 minutes.  Then the shocker...the charge for reprogramming a remote...$118.00.  We called the Pittsburgh dealership, Bobby Rahall, and told them the story.  Russ, the service manager took the info and said, "I'll call you back".  Later in the day he called and said they would take care of any charges and all we had to do was get there.

Our appointment at the New Orleans Smart Center was for 9:00 a.m.  Very nice folks met us at the door and provided coffee and brownies, magazines and music to pass the time.  After about an hour it seemed they were going to have difficulty getting the code information.  At this point they offered us a loaner car to go out and enjoy our day.

Leaving the dealership we went in search of the Parkway Bakery and Tavern.  According to our niece Jennifer, we HAD to get there for one of their hot roast beef po-boys.  At about 5 minutes before 11:00 a.m., we pulled up in front of the place and it looked like a corner bar.  We weren't sure this was the place.

After parking and walking toward the entrance, we noticed that they were not open, but there were a handful of folks milling in front of the door.  As we approached, the door was unlocked and we followed the others in.  We walked past the bar and then up the four steps to a dining room with about a dozen tables and decorated with shirts, banners and old signs on the walls.  Noticing that the folks ahead of us were forming a line at an ordering window, we grabbed a menu from the box on the wall and saw our target sandwich was at the top of the list.

Being 6th in line gave me the chance to observe how the orders were placed.  For those back home, it works about the same as ordering at the Original Hot Dog Shop.  Looking behind me, I was shocked to see that at just a few minutes after the doors opened, there were about 30 customers in line behind me.  At that point we were pretty sure this was the place.

I grabbed a couple of Barque's and a bag of "Crawtaters" chips and headed for the pick-up window.  The sandwich was wrapped in white butcher paper and sealed with masking tape.  I headed down another set of steps to the enclosed patio area, which was attached to the outside dining area.  An obvious sign that they need to accommodate large crowds.  Unwrapping revealed 8 inches of crusty French bread containing a huge mound of roast beef and gravy, dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayo.  This was a killer of a sandwich.  The meat was very tender and no doubt had been slow roasted for many hours.  The toppings added to the sloppiness and required a least a fork, perhaps a spoon to eat.  Yeah, there is no doubt this WAS the place.

After lunch we headed for the New Orleans Harley Davidson dealership.  I needed a new turn signal module and it gave us a really unnecessary excuse to hang out at another Harley shop.  I got my part, we looked at the shirts and gear.  I checked out the new bikes and decided which ones (plural) I would buy if I hit the Powerball. (gotta get Powerball tickets).

Now, after 2:00 p.m. the Smart dealer called to say the programming was finished and they were washing the car.  Nice bonus, it did need cleaned.

Although, we haven't been suffering through the weather like those back home, it's been relatively cold.  Today finally reminded us why we leave town for the winter.  With the temperature over 70 degrees, the ride back to camp was done with the convertible top down.

P.S.  With the return of warm temperatures comes the return of the stink bugs.  Flushed 8 today!