We stayed right in the heart of it and got to do all the fun tourist stuff. Jonathan had his first beignet at Cafe Du Monde. So good! Of course we also had to sample the Cajun beverages:) We went to Crescent City Brewhouse and discussed the neon-lit, blown glass octopus hanging from the ceiling while we sipped our choice of brew (red stallion for me, Weiss for him). Then we stopped at Bubba Gump only because they had Abita Beer. This is entirely necessary when in Louisiana, in case you didn't know (well, in my opinion anyway). Move over Sierra Nevada...Abita Amber is my new fast fave.
We also passed through the swampland:
I am aware the above photo may be frightening. Can't you just hear the dueling banjos playing in the distance? Moving on.
We also passed by a few graveyards. Just in case you didn't know, New Orleans has a water table just beneath the surface of the soil (it is below the level of the sea) so most folks are buried above ground in tombs or mausoleums.
We picked up a few pictures from local artists. Very excited about that!
So in a nutshell, that was our trip. We also stayed the night in Gulf Shores and Mobile while we were making our way back to B-ham but nothing new there.
It's nice to take a break...to not be at work...to remember that the south isn't that bad...to find my pride in the south again even if it is (ironically) found in a smelly ole city like New Orleans.
We talk the same, that slow southern drawl that says who belongs and who does not--and we know all members of our extended family and chances are if we chat long enough, we will probably find a link:) We say yes ma'am and sir and ya'll and fixin' to. We were raised in church but not the catholic kind. We were born and raised here, as were our parents and their parents and chances are, our children will follow the same path. We are steep in heritage and tradition. And so on and so forth.
I have had a love/hate relationship with the deep south for as long as I can remember. It is an enigma really. I can take the above list and see it as both appealing and appalling. I'll find middle ground one day but for now it is vital that every once in awhile I find something to love about this place.
The end.
4 comments:
Sounds like a fun trip.
That house along the creek is intriguing. I am always interested in serious hillbilly havens. There are plenty here in Oregon, and I always stare as I pass.
Maybe I'm a closet hick myself.
I was wondering where you were... welcome home.
Fabulous, you're back! I too was wondering why you where you were.
Sounds like you had a great time!!! I would love to visit New Orleans, a couple novels I read were set there and it sounds like a really interesting place.
A few weeks later... ahem!
Those pics portray something we may never see again.. I wonder what happened to that hick house on the river...probably gone.
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