Saturday, December 8, 2007

Down in the Bayou



What is a Bayou?

"A Bayou is a slowly moving body of water, usually attached to a river." That's what we learned on the Swamp Tour, at least. We also learned that this particular bayou is home to a myriad of plants and animals, including an enormous alligator, a slew of smaller ones, snakes, birds, and people.

The swamp tour was a third-day diversion from the buzz of New Orleans. After umpteen "be careful in New Orleans" warnings, Linds and I were so preoccupied with watching our back, we barely saw a thing in front of us the first couple of days in the Big Easy.

A little nature was just what we needed, because frankly, we were doing everything else all wrong. We got to the French Quarter around 5 o'clock the first night with every intention of easing into a raucous evening. After nearly 2 pounds of boiled shrimp (we ordered 1 pound, but the waiter "brought extra"), a dozen Oysters on the half shell (we ordered 1/2 dozen), salad, beer and dessert (the latter bought for us by, you guessed it, our waiter) we were too spent to do much else, so we went home around 9pm after a relaxing smoke at the Hookah Bar.

The second evening out, we prepped ourselves again and again succumbed to the food coma.

By our third day we were prepared both mentally and physically, and realized that perhaps all of our guardian angels were probably being a little tiny bit over dramatic about crime in the Big-Easy.

Before the swamp tour we stopped for beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde and went house shopping in the Garden District under a picturesque November sky (t-shirts in November = 2 happy yankees). After the swamp, we went home and STAYED THERE until around 8:30 pm - we figured that by going out later than we had even stayed out the previous nights, we were bound to find some fun.

It's been brought to my attention that this blog is all about food. Dick & Jenny's was the restaurant that topped them all. We ate crawfish cheesecake as an appetizer. We ate fried oysters as an appetizer before that. Lindsay's lamb was the best plate of food we've been served anywhere in the country - and dessert (bought for us by our waiter - again) was beyond belief bread pudding. All of this in blue jeans and a relaxed atmosphere, with a wonderful waiter whose band we later learned we missed by just minutes that first night at the Hookah Bar.

We finished our night with a stroll around the quarter sipping a Hurricane, stopping to chat for nearly an hour with an artist painting in her open studio. We winced at the strip clubs on Bourbon street (Lindsay because she winces at strip clubs, me because Lindsay was there). Marveled at the antiques and the architecture. Wound our way to Frenchmen St. into Snug Harbor for Jazz that turned our untrained ears into Jazz-loving sponges (while sipping a Monsoon). Then wove our way back to the car by popping into club after club to soak up some more music.

The next morning we hit the highway through the Bayou, smiling about what a great time we had had - and how nice it is that there are no mosquitos in the swamp during the day (betcha didn't know that!).

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Lovely (warm) Austin


We headed into Austin extremely excited to see my Uncle Tom and Kati and my friend Erica whom I have known since she was born. We pulled into the Pecan Grove RV park in south Austin and later learned what a cool place it was. The park was aptly named, all day and night pecans plunked down onto our roof. We collected a bunch and ate as many as we could. We noticed all of the locals doing the same thing. There were many people who lived in the park year round, the few we spoke to chuckled as they told us that the rent was the cheapest for miles and they were literally living on prime real estate. The owners and renters had created a funky, artistic, neighborhood, right in the heart of downtown Austin. The city had once put pressure on the owners to sell so they could fill up the empty land with more condos but NO, the owners and the people living there would not budge. There is great camaraderie within the park and everyone was cheerful and welcoming.

The first night in Austin we met up with my Uncle Tom and Kati at their beautiful house, got the tour and then went out to an amazing Chinese/Japanese restaurant. It was such a treat! We caught up and laughed for hours. We left them to meet up with Erica and her buddies for a drink and got a taste of what Austin had to offer. After a bit we headed back to Erica's house for another tour and more laughing.

The next day we headed over to my Uncle's for a full day of catching up, sharing stories, Football (on TV), and eating (surprise surprise). Katie had been cooking away in the kitchen a dinner of corned beef and cabbage. It was amazing, we ate until we couldn't eat anymore and waddled off toward home.

We spent the next day with Erica, checking out the sights, sounds and tastes of Austin. Again we ate at all the cool local places and tried to get our fill of Texas BBQ and sweet tea. We were lucky enough to get a tour of an amazing house that my Uncle had built, and is continuously updating due to the owners beautiful sense of design and style. We were awed by the grand entryway, the intricate tile work and the meticulous craftsmanship.

The next two nights we spent exploring the fabled downtown Austin, we heard amazing live music, ate on a rooftop with an stunning view of the city skyline, and enjoyed the company of more friends we hadn't seen in a very long time. Those friends were Annette and John Markward. Nettie and my folks have gone back as far as anyone can remember and my sister and I grew up with Nettie's kids Evan and Katy. It was a wonderful blast from the past. Nettie and John had just bought a house and moved from Maine to Texas. A trip that my Uncle and Kati knew dearly because they had made the same move many years before.

To top it all off Josh and I went to see a play that Erica and been the Dramaturge for. The play was called Elephant Graveyard and was based on the one and only known public hanging of an elephant. It was a tough play to watch because of the subject matter but the acting was impeccable and the story captivating. As an added bonus Erica's mom Sue flew in for a visit. Sue and her husband Terry were the one's who gave us the wonderful gift certificate for our pre-nniversary stay at the B&B. It was so nice to see her, it gave me a little taste of home.