Where in the World?

Secret Courtyard

Ahhhh!! I’m in New Orleans for a 3 day photography workshop. My hotel, the Royal Sonesta, is located right on Bourbon Street in the heart of the French Quarter. Let me tell you. This place is crazy. It’s full of people day and night. Everyone is working hard on having a good time; lots of partying going on due to the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day.

I really love the French Quarter and New Orleans has a special feel like many European cities. You can easily walk anywhere. No driving required. There is something interesting around every corner. The food is world class. Cajun and Creole styles are supreme. But, every other type of food can easily be found.

Bromeliad Flower

You never know what is behind a door or entrance way. The streets are narrow and many times when you walk into someone’s home or a café, it turns into a beautiful courtyard full of plants and flowers. It gives the experience a sense of magic because it feels like you were transported somewhere else.

What adds to this trip is that fact that New Orleans seems to be getting back its vitality. I’ve met some really nice people and everyone seems to be in a good mood. The service at the hotel is spectacular.

The people here have had some tough times but you wouldn’t know it today. It’s good to see.

Have a great day!

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

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. – Lin Yutang

I love to travel. But, no matter where I go or what I do, it really feels good to get back home. It’s a place to recharge and get ready to travel again. It doesn’t take me long to be ready for my next adventure.

The return home is quite an important part of my travel process. Without the return home, I don’t know if I could call what I do travel. But, seriously, part of me is always home. It’s where my roots are and where I get my energy back after a long trip. It’s where I can completely relax and be myself.

One of the ways I’ve learned to cope or deal with a lot of travel is that I make wherever I’m staying my home. I call it home. I make it feel like home. I bring a few personal items with me. So, sometimes people ask me where I’m from and I tell them what hotel I’m staying at. I usually catch myself, but sometimes I don’t. Most find it humorous.

Anyway, I’m back. I’m missing my daughter already, but I get to see Erica. Balance is restored.

I leave again on Friday.

Have a great day!

Michael

Erica and I traveled to New Orleans this morning to spend a little time there before our flight back to Rhode Island. Since I grew up in Louisiana and had visited New Orleans many times, I was anxious to see how things were 2 ½ years after Hurricane Katrina.

My initial impression or vibe as we drove down S. Carrollton Ave. towards Magazine Street was one of less vitality and energy. I had spent many weeks over the years in the uptown section of New Orleans around Audubon Park. There just seemed to be less happening than I remember. There were many buildings still boarded up while others seemed to have recently opened up for business. I was happy to see The Camellia Grill open again.

We finally reached Magazine Street and saw new businesses and some vitality returning. After finding a parking spot we walked up and down the street browsing in the many antique and retail shops. The people were quite friendly. We ate lunch at Byblos, a Mediterranean restaurant.

What struck me after our several hour tour of this area of New Orleans was a similarity between this disaster and the devastation and subsequent return of life after the Mount St. Helens eruption in Washington. In 1996, I visited the devastated area caused by the volcanic explosion. Scientists and I believe everyone who visits here, are surprised by how life is returning to an area that initially seemed completely and utterly destroyed. Biology textbooks are being re-written based on the knowledge we have gained from St. Helens over the last 20 years.

I saw something similar on Magazine Street. I found pockets of vitality and life returning. I found extremely nice people. New and old retail shops have opened. Hope is returning. The rich culture is re-emerging. All of this is happening due to the tremendous persistence and hard work of caring people. Where the government utterly failed, people were the key and the reason New Orleans is coming back.

As I drove to the airport, it was a refreshing feeling to see vitality returning. I’m always amazed at the resilience of people. It gives me hope for the future.

Michael