May 1
We celebrated May Day with a kayak on the Pearl River! I was incredibly excited about this adventure since my first experience canoeing actually happened on the Pearl River, 25ish years ago, as a backcountry paddle in grad school. It was one of the coolest experience back then and I was thrilled to be able to share it with Doug this time!
The section of the Pearl we got to kayak this time, was in the Honey Island Swamp. It was (thankfully) just a small group of us, the guide, 3 students visiting from Korea, Doug, and me. We paddled through cypress and gum trees, saw a few of the honey bee hives on rotted gum trees for which the swamp is named, ate fresh blackberries, saw some crawfish traps, heard limpkins and gators calling, and had just a lovely time.
We headed back to our camp at Fountainebleau, and I talked Doug into braving a swim in Lake Pontchartrain, despite the possibility of alligators.
Although we didn’t get eaten by or even see any alligators, we discovered that swimming in Lake Pontchartrain is challenging. We waded quiet a ways out, but it turns out it’s super shallow, and not particularly conducive to swimming. It added a whole new meaning to “front crawl”! So, we gave up, showered (because the lake is pretty mucky), then settled in to read for the afternoon, and admired the lake from our comfy camp chairs instead. And finished the night up by finding some tasty Cajun food for supper. Including this delicious drinkie.
May 2
On Tuesday, we headed south, driving down the 23 mile long causeway across Lake Pontchartrain to New Orleans. And I was reminded again, how glorious NOLA is! I was surprised that it took us almost 3 blocks before we ran into our first corner sousaphone player. And random instruments being transported on a variety of odd vehicles .
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| Bass drum on a bike and snare on a moped. |
We filled our day in New Orleans with museums, delicious foods (gumbo, etouffe, jambalaya, cinnamon filled beignets, boudin balls, mmmmm), divine drinkies, and music.
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| Last month, Valerie and Darren sent us a photo from New Orleans, so we felt compelled to replicate it! |
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| Weird street art |
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| Basilica of Saint Louis King of France |
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| Pharmacy Museum |
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| Sazerac at The Hideout while listening to Jamie Lynn Vessels playing great music and enjoying drunks playing cornhole. |
We finished up the night in the Marigny, at the Spotted Cat, listening to our favorite NOLA act, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns.
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| We snagged an amazing seat (and a perching spot) right in front of the band, next to some crazed groupies from Germany. |
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| Louisiana! |
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