The café is a short pale building, but its main feature is a large green-and-white-striped awning jutting out like a circus tent. The awning is rimmed with glowing bulbs that make me think of vintage movie theaters. The air is thick with the kind of sugary, buttery smell you close your eyes for.

My camera is out and up almost instinctually. I take wide-frame shots of the whole café, then try zooming in close on the awning and the glowing yellow bulbs. The crowd outside is a rainbow of motion.

It’s not new street art, but Café du Monde is still new for us, right? Something here could work, maybe. I’ll keep my photographer’s eye open.

I follow Ellie inside to what appears to be the back of the line. When we stop, she slides her hand into her husband’s and they look at each other like they know each other so well they don’t even have to try hard to know what the other is thinking.

For a quick moment, I wish Mom and Dad were here. They’d both love this place. Dad would have loved the art on the walls, the whole vibe. Mom would have loved the history.

We step forward in line and Ellie leans toward me. “Hey, show me the pictures you just took.”

My camera is already out, and I click to the shots I took outside, of the awning and round light bulbs. I’m getting more used to showing her and Eddie my pictures without feeling so awkward about it.

“Oh my goodness, that’s gorgeous!” she says. “I’m so glad you’re documenting all this.”

Eddie leans in too. “Hey, that’s awesome! I love the cool shadows you got.”

“Thanks,” I say. There’s still part of me that feels squirmy about getting their compliments, but honestly it feels really good to show them pictures I’m proud of.

We are surrounded by clattering and chattering and bursts of deep, full laughter. Eddie and Ellie read a plaque about the history of the café and bask in the glow of vintage bulbs and well-fed people. Ruth is on her phone, maybe checking her e-mail or Instagram.

I take a few deep breaths. Time for some interior shots, and I could do with more practice with this camera to figure out how to do one of those cool dim-light motion-blur crowd shots that would be awesome in a place like this. But then I think to myself, that would be an obvious shot. Look for the not obvious. The unique. The mundane that’s not really mundane at all.

The new.