Where in the World?

I was quite sick last night. It seemed to get worse as the evening progressed, but I worked diligently and packed for my flight home today. This morning while I was driving to the New Orleans airport, I couldn’t remember packing numerous items, so I realized how “out of it” I must have been.

So, I arrive at the airport, drop off my rental car and take the shuttle to the terminal. I walk up to the ticket agent who proceeds to start processing my boarding pass. “Hmmmm, I can’t find your flight” he says. I gave him my itinerary. He looked at it and said, “Your flight is not until tomorrow.”

“Whattttttt!!!!”, I exclaimed.

Sure enough, my flight was for Monday. So, you must be thinking that my head cold is affecting more than my sinuses. But, when I called the airline on Friday to change my ticket, the agent clearly stated to me that there were almost no available flights for Monday, but she could easily get me on a flight for Sunday. I was disappointed and asked her to look again for a Monday departure. She scanned and found only a handful of seats left. They were all over $800. I told her to just book the Sunday flight.

Obviously, I was quite surprised this morning and had to call my parents to come pick me up from the airport so I wouldn’t have to rent a car for another day. I called Erica and she told me that when she was getting her boarding pass yesterday, the exact same scenario I have described here had happened to a gentlemen standing in line. He also had been told he couldn’t get a flight on a certain day and then they booked him on that day anyway but told him it was for the day before. He argued with the ticket agent for 20 minutes about this. So, I felt a little better after hearing that.

It was clear to me that I needed some more rest before flying. That’s what I did. I read, napped, read, ate, drank liquids and rested in a prone position as much as possible. I’m feeling better tonight and I think I’ll be better able to fly tomorrow.

Michael

TA BASS CO Statue

Around mid-morning we left Baton Rouge for Avery Island, the home and birthplace of Tabasco®. It’s about 85 miles southwest from where my parents live. It’s a fascinating area full of history.

Avery Island (Wikipedia link) is one of five salt domes that can be found in Louisiana. It is approximately 5 miles (3 km) long and 2 ½ miles wide. Our guide told us that that the dome is deeper than Mt. Everest is high. Wow! It has one of the largest salt mines in the world. The indigenous American Indians were probably the first humans to extract the salt from the dome through evaporation of brine water.

Today, the island (it really is an island), in addition to the salt mine, houses the manufacturing facilities for Tabasco® brand products (Wikipedia link), has a rich botanical garden and a bird sanctuary.

Buddha

We toured the Tabasco plant first. I grew up with Tabasco. It’s a staple in Louisiana and is typically found with the salt and pepper on every table. The ingredients are simple: Tabasco peppers (Capsicum frutescens var. tabasco), salt and vinegar. The peppers and salt are ground up into a mash and aged in white oak barrels for up to 3 years. The vinegar is added and stirred for about a month. The sauce is strained and then bottled. That wonderful flavor comes from three ingredients!

After the tour, we tried many of the Tabasco products in the country store. We also shared some crawfish etouffee, hot link sausage, boudin, Tabasco ice cream and Tabasco soda. Hmmmmm! All were very good.

We toured the Jungle Gardens which is a huge botanical garden built up with exotic plants and local species by E. A. McIlenny (Mr. Ned for short). The best time of the year to go is March as many of the species are blooming at this time. Today we saw multiple species of camellias, bamboo forest, very old live oaks covered in Spanish moss, cypress forests and many palm varieties. Unfortunately, the alligators that live there were buried in the mud because the sun wasn’t out.

Bridge Near Buddha

In 1936, friends of Mr. Ned gave him a Buddha statue from China that is centuries old. It now stands in a beautiful area of Jungle Gardens surrounded by water on three sides. Very unusual. It must stand 8 feet high.

Another amazing part of the gardens is Bird City. Mr. Ned found this bird colony around 1895 to save the white egret which had been hunted to near extinction for its plumage. He raised 8 birds here and then released them for the fall migration across the Gulf of Mexico. They returned the next year and brought some of their friends. The colony now hosts numerous bird species that return in the early spring to roost.

I highly recommend this unusual place. It’s close to New Orleans and Baton Rouge and makes for an excellent day trip. Try to visit during March or April.

Michael

Snow Buddha

When snow falls, nature listens. – Antoinette van Kleeff

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? – J.B. Priestley

We had a good sized winter storm yesterday and it continued with snow showers and flurries for most of today. When we awoke this morning, the world had been transformed by the white powdery substance.

It was stunning to go outside and see how much snow had piled up. I especially like to find where the snow has concentrated. Sometimes it can be in the most unusual places and in many different ways. I love the snow that builds up in the crooks of trees where stems meet trunk. Something about that is quite beautiful to me.

We worked hard this morning to dig out 4 cars, part of a sidewalk and driveway. Strange as it may seem, I actually like it. It’s hard work but it’s an excuse to be out in the snow.

The most amazing site for me was the Buddha head in Erica’s backyard. I started watching it last night when the snow was falling very fast. This morning it was quite stunning.

I love the snow.

Check out 12 more photos from this morning.

Michael