I’ve always preferred to think of America as a stew pot rather than as a melting pot. Vive la difference. In Louisiana, that stew is a gumbo. A little different, a bit muddy, and better with some hot sauce.
Our visit here was part independent travel, part RS tour. No, not Rick Steves — Road Scholar. We’ve now done exactly one of each.
Our first stop down Highway 61 from Mississippi was St. Francisville. Treasured old houses, a nod to its 19th C. Jewish community and a local history museum that introduced Louisiana, its native communities, the struggle among the intruding Spanish, French, British and Americans for control of West Florida and Louisiana, and the struggle of formerly enslaved people 100 and 200 years later for their rights.
Onward to the Louisiana Arboretum in the central part of the state with its bayou, birdlife, pines, cypress, oaks, mulberry bushes and more. Then, Lafayette for 3 nights. The Boudin Festival in the neighboring town of Scott was so-so. Music was more rock & country than Cajun and boudin is apparently an acquired taste. But some folks suggested the Artwalk that evening in Lafayette. Not all that much art, but the teens and twenty-somethings on the street were artworks themselves - well-tattooed and pierced. BeauSoleil bookstore was special. We spoke with staff there about their commitment to make a range of books and ideas available - and how the Seattle Public Library makes material available on-line to young readers anywhere in the country. We also found a nice tapas place - Pamplona - for dinner as an alternative to the étouffée, red fish, crab cakes and gumbo that we had our other two nights in Lafayette. The next day we enjoyed a Cajun/Creole re-creation village, Vermilionville, with some Cajun music and dancing that was being broadcast live on the local public radio station.
Laissez Les bon temps rouler
Off to NO via the southern route - US 90 with some detours. First was Rip’s Rookery (as in Rip van Winkle, so named because a 19th Century actor who played that part built a home here) was fantastic with its Roseate Spoonbills and egrets and other birds. From there we went to Avery Island with beautiful and very natural seeming ponds and gardens and its own egret rookery. We skipped the Tabasco factory and tour.
Next stop, a po’ boy in Houma. Very friendly folks there and a couple of locals who shared their histories a bit. One was a 63 yo African American woman who has lived in Houma all her life, though she was in the military and stationed out west (California). She’s very involved with her church; she was at this lunch spot to pick up burgers for a bunch of folks back at the church. The other person we spoke with was a white lawyer who lived about 400 yards from our lunch spot. He also grew up in Houma - and went to law school at LSU. His practice is probate and small business. Many folks around here have a 6th grade education, he observed. Loves his practice and helping people. He gave us strong warnings about crime in NO and roundly critiqued its current mayor. Of course, the shrimp po’ boy had wonderfully fresh shrimp and the sweet potato waffle fries were oh-so-light.
On to N’Orleans
MusicFoodMuralsResilienceCelebrationRespectReligionSinHistoryRiverfrontFloodingDiversityElegantCasual
… and damn near zero graffiti.
On our own - and with a friend who moved here just three years ago - we got around a bit. Lots has been rebuilt in the 20 years since Katrina. There are beautiful parks. Murals astride the flood walls along the Mississippi and in the neighborhoods with little to no graffiti. My sister tells me the same was true about the lack of graffiti in NO when she lived here decades ago. It has to do with respect.
(Will wrap this TR up in the first reply, below. But meanwhile thanks to ekscrunchy, salbeachbum, kenko, acher, TC and others who helped me with trip planning in recent months.)