New Orleans-Night

 I arrived in New Orleans in the early evening on the 3rd of October. I checked into my hotel, changed, got refreshed and took a cab into town. The cab rolled into the bright madness that is New Orleans around 8pm. On the list of things to see was Jackson Square and the surrounding attractions. I wandered the streets, flowing with people, who were in turn flowing with beer and mixed drinks. On the first attempt to head to the square, I hopelessly missed my mark and ended up facing a riverboat. At this point I pulled out my trusty phone and studied the map with my little blue arrow to sort out this new place.

Jackson Square was closed that late at night, but the art sellers and fortune tellers were still out. I decided a palm reading would be interesting. I was hoping that my hands would immediately tell someone that I was an artist, and that I worked with my hands, had calluses and such. I sat down at a woman's table and she offered me hand sanitizer, then proceeded to say the same old script to me that she had undoubtedly told hundreds, if not thousands, of other tourists. She was good enough to pick up on environmental cues and told me what my body language told her. Thoroughly over that experience, I decided to see what the hubub on Bourbon Street was all about. To get to Burbon Street, one has to merely head toward the brightest, loudest things in the distance. Upon reaching this cacophony, you realize it's even bigger and brighter and louder than you thought.

Having accomplished that goal, I decided I would scope out some authentic New Orleans cuisine. Not immediately hungry, I decided I would work up an appetite by walking the full length of the French Quarter and checking out all of the places to eat. One of the most surprising things was the generous sprinkling of strip clubs and titty bars among the souvenir shops, bars, and jazz clubs. There was no red light district, it was a fairly continuous supply of nudie ladies along the entire street. On a different note, the live music was awesome and everywhere. There would be bars next to bars, speaker systems competing, bands having a grand old time.

I reached one end and decided one of the first places I saw was where I wanted to eat. It was called the Cajun Cabin and had a sampler plate that had all of the classic dishes tourists were supposed to try: red beans and rice, jambalaya, and gumbo. The food was good, the waiters were nice, and I was fed.

Since I completed my missions, I created another: find the gay district and go dancing! For this one the phone of all map knowledge was not used, and it was a failure. On my way toward some rainbow flags, two guys said hi, so I stopped to chat. After talking to them a few minutes I was a little creeped out by their intentions, so I went on my merry way.

I wandered along new streets, partly to avoid the creepy guys, partly to see as much as I could. I was ready to call it quits and flag down a taxi when I complemented a girl's top, and we started chatting. Her name was Michelle and she was a local. She was heading to a bar to meet up with some friends and invited me along. I gladly joined her. The bar was a good distance from Bourbon Street and a neat hangout. After having some great conversations, I looked at the time and decided to call it a night.

I flagged down a taxi and headed back to the hotel. The taxi driver was really chatty and I enjoyed his company. After getting into the room I collapsed into the giant fluffy bed and slept.

more to come...

chattanooga farewell

Departed from Carolyn and Carol's house this morning. I'm about halfway to New Orleans and have stopped for a picnic.

The last two days focused on family. Thursday I visited with my cousin Mark, his wife Heather and their baby Bella Grace. Yesterday (Friday) was visiting with aunt Vicki and Amy's kids, the new baby Hannah, and that crazy duo, Amanda and Jordan. We visited their school and had lunch, then Cousin Andy met Vicki and me. We waited for the kids to get home from school and then proceeded to a corn maze. I didn't see my cousin Amy, she was at work.

After activities with the kids I had Vicki drop me off at the theatre to see The Fantastiks. Andy was going to join me, but couldn't. The show was cute, but not very daring. It did not inspire me to join their team.

The show ended and I found myself without a car, so, eager for adventure, I used the map and GPS on my phone to make my way back to the house. At one point it seemed like cutting through a yard would make a good shortcut. The property was a bit larger than I expected and I ended up crawling through some thorns before making it to the street on the other side.

One of the most interesting things about this visit was the perspectives of my guides and therefore the different sides of the city that I got to see. Uncle Dave and Aunt Rebecca showed me independent shops and galleries. Aunt Carol and Carolyn showed me the well established attractions and historical sites. Aunt Vicki showed me the elementary school and the neighborhoods that she helped with the AA meetings, which are usually invisible to a tourist. Last of all, my wanderings at night showed me the young hip crowd gathering in bars for music, or in coffee shops or front porches.

Amazing

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Chattanooga

Saw...
Aunt Carol and Carolyn. Uncle Dave and Aunt Rebeca. Tennessee Aquarium. Salvadorian restaurant with fearsome spiciness. Art galleries. Homeless art. Russian art. Chattanooga Choo Choo. Ben and Jerry's Ice cream. Moon pie market. Bakery with great molasses ginger cookies. Carol's church with some nice stained glass windows. Firefighter fountain.

And this was only the first (full) day.

The famous Choo Choo

Charming train Graffiti

Excellent old diner sign. Note the neon jumping frog.

Feisty Macaws at the TN Aquarium

Penguin hats at the TN Aquarium

Frog hats at the TN Aquarium

African Pygmy Hedgehog at the TN Aquarium

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Pre-game

King, North Carolina:

 Pictured above is a robin outside the kitchen window.

The start of this journey, a small town next to Tobaccoville. In this place the dirt is an iron-rich red-orange. There are tobacco fields among the rolling foothills of the Saura mountain range. These mountains include Saura mountain, Pilot mountain and Hanging rock. The countryside is peppered with small diners, shops and the smallest tattoo parlor I've ever seen.

At our house we have 170 acres, 6 dogs, a new pool, a tractor and a beautiful log home. It's a happy mess and a cozy retreat in the woods. The house was built by my mother and stepfather, who passed away just before they completed it. It's got a very rustic feel with wood floors and giant timbers everywhere.

There's lots of board games, video games, dogs to play with and land to work. Before I left we went to the King fair. There were cows and chickens and rabbits as well as rides and carnival games and, best/worst of all, carnival food.

There are lovely state parks and I hear there are some great climbing areas, but I didn't make it out to them.

It's a lovely place full of lovely people.

Pilot Mountain.

Pilot mountain from a distance.