And Then We Went to Baton Rouge and Met LSU Fans

Sarah and Ben surprised us when they asked us to come to Baton Rouge for a Friday Thanksgiving with Sarah's Dad, her uncle and aunt, grandfather, cousins and a houseful of others. Spell this afternoon D E L I G H T F U L. We were warmly greeted and treated and sent home with a care package. Uncle Logan (known to insiders as Uncle Bubba) and Aunt Michelle spread the southern hospitality thickly. Logan cooks so there was a witches caldron sized pot of turkey gumbo on the stove along with turkey and every trimming you can imagine. Sarah's deviled eggs lasted a mere nano-second. And somebody's peach mincemeat pie...heaven.

This is Sarah and her dad, Lane. This man has a million interests and is on a quest to find more. He is a retired Army General. We both thoroughly enjoyed meeting and spending time with him. The bond between Lane and Sarah is clear and we found them alike in so many ways.
It was great to spend this day with the Killlen's. We left with homemade pesto from Michelle and a generous serving of Uncle Bubba's gumbo. It will provide us with delicious memories more than once. They saved the best for last when they gave Ed two tickets to the LSU/Arkansas football game. More about that later.

We took a little time to explore Baton Rouge. The Old State House is now a museum. It a beautiful building with exhibits on Louisiana history.

This imposing staircase is in the center lobby...

...and this skylight is two floors above.

Magnolia Mound Plantation is right in town. It was built about 1791. Here's the main house.

The thing I love about the old plantation properties are the large trees. Most are well over 200 years old and magnificient.

The former Governor's Mansion is also a museum. Louisiana govenor, Huey Long, was assassinated in 1935. The State House has an exhibit called "Who Shot Huey Long" and the former mansion has his pajamas on display... We didn't tour - just took photos.

LSU fans are just plain crazy people. But are they fun. Logan tail gates and told us he was making Jambalaya. The game didn't begin until 6:00 p.m. so we made our way to the campus at 3:00, visions of turkey Jambalaya in our heads, mouths watering, and anticipation high. We followed the directions Logan provided, asking if people knew him, looking for anyone serving Jambalaya. There are hundreds of tail gate parties all over the campus.

We tasted roast pigs, perused amazing food displays, danced with fans, admired the TV setups with batteries and small generators, stuffed tigers, and got lost in the crowd more than once.

Home games are cultural events like no other. We never found the Killens... We never tasted Logan's Jambalaya. But we got a good sense of just how c r a z y LSU fans are.

Here's the spot where a picture is worth a thousand words:

We watched the four buses carrying the Arkansas team roll in. Now, imagine the entire area being awash in purple and gold when four buses of red uniformed Razorbacks roll in complete with a police motorcycle escort. Definitely not a warm fuzzy moment.

We made our way into the stadium and found our seats in the 16th row on the 45 yard line behind the Razorbacks. I'm still trying to get that smile off Ed's face. Man! Was he excited!

I was warned not to wear red - which eliminated most of my clothing. Sarah instructed me to wear my yellow jacket. I fit right in!

One of the first orders of business was the presentation of the LSU tiger. They announced that he is cared for by the School of Veterinary Science - all the animal people can relax. This Bengal is beloved!

Since this was the last home game, they presented all the senior team members and their parents. The players ran the corridor with the band playing and presented their moms with a yellow rose. Nice. Pride is an emotion well known by parents...

This is a mom and dad with their son and the head coach being photographed on the 50 yard line.

Arkansas took to the field with the presentation of their flags.

And LSU came to the field with fireworks shooting into the sky, the band playing, and the noise level deafening.

And the game began...

It looked at first like LSU was going to enjoy an easy victory.

The marching band performed during halftime...

...and Arkansas came back to the second half with a new attitude.

The final score 33-30 in overtime - LSU the victor.

We and 94,011 others enjoyed the game. What a blast! Ed is still smiling...

We're on our way to Natchez.

What We Ate and Who We Saw in New Orleans

I like to call this photo "Finnegan Arrives in New Orleans." We were crossing Lake Pontchartrain and he seemed to be mesmerized by the sights around him. So were we!! Driving out of Mobile on the elevated highways over the wetlands was a new experience for us. And then the bridge over Lake Pontchartrain...certainly not anything like the high desert we call "home."
We came here to see Ben and Sarah...here are couple of photos we took when they came to the campground to have breakfast with us. Cute, Uh?

Meet Bayla. She's Sarah's Great Dane - and she's a real sweet thing.

Well, she's sweet until she thinks you're going to take her picture. She took one look at the camera and she was gone, complete with her tail down.

The most popular passtime in New Orleans - EATING! And, damn, the food is good. We began with some serious oyster time at Pasqual Manales. (Appetizer before dinner, of course.) Sarah is a master catsup, horseradish, worchester, and lemon mixer. Ed made himself scarse watching tv in the bar after he took this photo. We did this more than once. Y U M !!

Sarah and I took a class at the New Orleans School of Cooking. It was fun, and we picked up a few new recipes and got to eat lunch there: Artichoke Shrimp Soup, Crawfish Etoufee, Bread Pudding, and Pralines. Ben took Ed to Surrey's for a special breakfast while we were in class. (Note: Can you see the eating trend developing??) He was introduced to boudin - a spicy sausage with rice in it.

Ben did a lot of work on his house after Katrina. This incredible paint job really stands out on the block. The house is a "camelback" with rental units. Sarah has great plans for the big back yard. Think: eggs, chickens, raised planters, greenhouse. This place seems to be on track for a makeover by a woman's hand.

Ben took us to Tipitina's. The band has been inducted to the Walk of Fame out front. It sounds like it was a fun evening when they placed this medallion in the sidewalk.

We were in town for the Po Boy Festival. I had seen an item in the tourist papers and then Ben suggested we attend. We hit early in the event to avoid the shoulder to shoulder crowds. What an excellent idea that was! Several blocks were barricaded for the festival.

The idea is to purchase small po boy sandwiches from the restaurant sponsored stands and sample different kinds. It's an eating frenzy, and we fit right in.
Here'a Ben at the Pasqual Manales stand where they hollowed out the rolls and filled them with barbequed shrimp. A little po boy education: The rolls are the secret and these are baked by one bakery in New Orleans. Also, barbequed in New Orleans usually means butter and pepper. For the record, this barbequed shrimp po boy was outstanding!

My runaway favorite was the barbequed oysters. The put the raw oysters on the half shell right on the grill, add a little butter, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Oh..My..God! Our order was six. Ben made sure I got four of them...by telling me he can have then "anytime."

There's a very large Vietnamese community in New Orleans and their restaruants abound. My next favorite was this Vietnamese po boy made of barbequed pork loin. Delicious! Ed loved it too.

We ate fish tacos, roast beef po boy, and I can't even remember what else. A small sandwich, a couple bites, and we moved on.

Sarah was working so we brought her one of the Vietnamese po boys. She was a very happy camper.

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday night at Clancy's, a wonderful neighborhood eatery, as Ben's guests. We all ordered something different and passed food around the table tasting and sharing the meal. It was a wonderful evening.

How Do people stay thin in New Orleans?!?!?

Being a tourist in New Orleans

We did so much in New Orleans and the surrounding area.

The Louisana State Museum in the French Quarter had a special exhibit. The Zulu Club loaned their Mardi Gras costumes. The exhibit covered the design and creation as well as the history of the club. Amazing exhibits. This was what greeted us in the lobby: And here's a sample of the costumes on display:

We spent a day touring the plantation district west of the city. We decided to tour Laura Plantation. This lovely home and the surrounding buildings are all on the National Historic Register. It's always in the process of renovation with the hope of taking the property back to it's original condition.

Laura Plantation is unique. It is a Creole sugarcane plantation built in 1805. Laura's memoirs and other documents have provided the history of this property and the 12 remaining buildings that were home to the family and 175 slaves. It's a fascinating tour. This is the main building that was the corporate office of the business and home to the family. This Mississippi River map gave us a visual of the more than 1000 plantations that sat on the river between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. They were all narrow and deep so each could have crucial access to the river for shipping and supplies. Sugar cane was the crop grown. This is still sugar cane country. They were harvesting when we were there. The gardens on the property are beautifl. There are banana palms with fruit almost ready to pick. It looks very tropical. The large kettles used to boil the crushed sugar cane are being used as planters and vegetable gardens are still producing. The slave cabins were in use by migrant workers until the 1970's. This family treated their slaves well and many remained after the civil war as indentured workers.

Laura Plantation was a good choice for us. We learned a lot. There are others, and we took some time to look at them but did not tour.

Oak Alley is the most popular one and is the South's most photographed plantation. So...we took a photo. Built in 1839, it's known for the oak trees - some nearly 300 years old. There's a B & B, a restaurant, and a building used for weddings and other special events.

St. Joseph is another Creole plantation, built in 1830. It was given to a daughter as a wedding gift, completely furnished, with a full staff of slaves. Hmmm.

Everygreen is a working sugar cane plantation. It has 37 buildings and has been given National Landmark designation. It's a private home and stunningly beautiful.

We couldn't go to New Orleans without seeing some of the devastation caused by Katrina. It's still shocking to see the buildings with the "x" marks on them noting the search after the storm.

There are buildings abandoned, boarded up, deserted, with water marks, empty lots, rebuilt family homes - all on the same street.

FEMA trailers still sit in front of homes. Four years later!!!

The roads are a mess and the neighborhoods in disrepair, and there's no money to get the work done. The mayor has his children in school in Ft. Worth. There are signs reading "Brad Pitt for Mayor" showing appreciation for the investment he has made in the city. Yet - the magic that is New Orleans is thriving.

Ben and Sarah took us to Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. It's a small room, loaded with history. Patrons pay $10 to enter, than stand in the back or sit on the floor in front. We had the coveted seats along the wall because Ben's friend is the manager and he's friends with the owners.

And then the musicians arrive. The cream of the crop. They sit down and without rehearsal they treat us to good old New Orleans jazz. It's a jam session - and it's amazing!! This evening there was a song stylist - and she was great. We stayed through both sets - each 4 numbers and 45 minutes long. What a treat.

The National Park Service has two locations in the French Quarter. One has a free walking tour in the morning. We never got to that one. The other is all about jazz. We enjoyed a portion of this midday piano session. I swear that man has more than two hands. It was great!

New Orleans is all about the music. We photographed street musicians in the French Quarter. This group was here most days right in front of Jackson Square. The five of them them made some real good sounds.

It's just happy music coming from all directions.This lady was my favorite. She played away on her keyboard and sang her heart out.

Always time for music.

On any corner.

Here are a few street scenes in the French Quarter. This is along Jackson Square. There were more and more artists as the weather improved.

Color everywhere.

With Ben and Sarah on our way to an oyster bar.

The plantation owners had townhomes in the French Quarter. This is a residential street.

And another. New Orleans has a Civil War Museum. Cute couple out in front...

We stopped at Lafayette Cemetary. It on the National Historic Register. Wonder if it's haunted...

All four of us went to the WWII Museum. This is the main lobby. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have been instrumental in making this place happen.They have just opened a new building across the street. It's home to a 45 minute film in 4-D that really defines in global terms what WWII was about. It's very well done, a little Hollywood, but it makes its point and every student should see it. We all agreed that the film should be seen before the museum.

Finnegan spent time in doggy day care in New Orleans and, as usual, made some new friends and ran off some energy. The staff at these places always come out to say goodbye to him when we say we're leaving town.

On this day, we took Finn for a walk in the Garden District. He made friends with a very mean looking dog at the French embassy who ended up licking Finn's nose and wagging his tail as they played through the fence. The Garden District homes are beautiful, often VERY big, and always extremely expensive and in need of lots of on going loving care. In short, they can be money pits.

It's a real ooh and aah sort of walk.

I could learn to love this home...

This one too...but we'd have to replace that yellow Jeep...

It's been a wonderful week in the Big Easy...!!!