One last hurrah on the lake and the swamp.

Tags

Bedico Creek, French Quarter, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, Louisiana, music, New Orleans, Ponchatoula

Our last full day in New Orleans was spent mostly on the “north shore” as they say in these parts.  First of all, after looking out the window at a rainy, hazy, dreary day, we dressed for warm muggy weather.  After heading downstairs and stepping outside, however, we were shocked by how cold it had gotten overnight.  So we headed back upstairs to change into long pants, socks and sneakers and sweatshirts.  Yes it was that chilly!  Some day we ended up with for a boat ride, eh?

After hitting Nirvana for their ten dollar all-you-can-eat buffet again (our new favorite restaurant for lunch on Magazine St.), we made our way to the Causeway.  I knew it was long, but I didn’t know this until yesterday – that the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest bridge in the United States – it’s over 126,000 feet long!  That’s about 24 miles!  Shawn remarked that they should have a Causeway Marathon.  That’s an awesome idea!

We arrived in Ponchatoula sometime in the afternoon at Kathy’s house.  She wasn’t home from work yet, so we sat and visited with Paul (Kathy’s husband) and Bev (Tina’s mama) for a while until Nick (Tina’s nephew) arrived.  Then we were off!  Despite the cold and the dreariness, he was a gracious captain and took us out for a chilly yet very enjoyable ride through Bedico Creek.  I was sad for Shawn that it wasn’t warmer and he didn’t get to fully experience the stillness and all the earthy smells of the swamp (and gators too!  It was too cold for ’em).  Still, though, Shawn was completely enamored with the swamp.  As we passed by all of the camps, he said, “This is where I’ll live when I get old.”  He really and truly loved it out there in those muddy waters with gators lurking in the warm, dark places and with herons and hawks swooping overhead.  Nick was just as awesome as I remember from last year – very proud of this place, eager to share his vast knowledge of these waters with us, and equally curious about where we are from and what life is like in the wild mountains of New Hampshire.  Our time together was way too short this time.

After the boat ride (which was cut a little short as the rain started to spit a little harder on us), we headed back to Kathy’s and said our goodbyes to Nick.  We stayed and visited with everyone at the house – Shawn and Paul in the living room, me and Bev in her room.  When Kathy got home, she grabbed Abbie (their adorable, feisty 4 month old rat terrier) and headed to the vet for shots and then was back in a flash.  After such a busy week, it was nice to sit amid the comforts of home – couches, dinner table, dogs at our feet – and spend some quality time with some of Tina’s family.

We stayed for a couple of hours until thoughts of dinner started to swirl in our heads and bellies.  We said our goodbyes and headed back over the Causeway, where we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in a very long time.  Shawn snapped a few pictures (and I did too, all of which you can check out here) of the sunset but of course my little crappy camera couldn’t do justice to the amazing display in the sky.

So, where did we spend our last evening in New Orleans?  You guessed it – back to the French Quarter, for a light dinner at this great little African restaurant called Bennachin.  Shawn had found it one day in an online search for vegan-friendly restaurants in the city (he’s always thinking of me!) and he said, “We really need to try their black-eyed pea fritters, apparently.”  So, that’s what we got – a couple bowls of warm lentil soup and the akara. It’s a tiny restaurant (you have to walk through the kitchen to get to the single stall unisex bathroom) and the service is super slow (one sweet and skillful little waitress to service the entire room) but the food was so yummy and the decor so charming that it was definitely worth the wait.

With dinner in our bellies, we got in the car and Shawn started saying (and I joined him) to the car window, “Bye French Quarter!  We don’t want to leave you!” and we were both feeling very sad about leaving this amazing place.  Time to pack up, pull up stakes and bring some of this awesome vibe back to New Hampshire with us.  The day is gorgeous – cool, dry and sunny – a good a day as any to step foot on the plane for home.

Goodbye New Orleans!  I hope it’s not too long before I’m here again.  My hope in travelling here with Shawn was that he would enjoy himself and like it as much as I did.  We’re leaving here musically invigorated and Shawn can’t stop saying things like, “I wanna live in the French Quarter!”  I’m so glad he loved it as much as I did.  And now we’ll both be singing the song that has had an entirely new meaning for me since I came here last year:

Feeling big time lazy in The Big Easy.

Tags

French Quarter, Heather Pierson, Maison, Monday Night Super jam, music, New Orleans, Ponchatoula

Yesterday was probably one of the laziest days I’ve had – not just since we got here, but in general.  We got up at the usual time to get our free breakfast downstairs, use the wifi, and endure the assault of early-morning news programs on the unavoidable TV screens (did I mention that I never watch television?  I literally mean never.).  Afterwards Shawn and I came right back upstairs and got right back into bed and got some more much-needed rest.   After doing so much in the last week, we were both feeling completely spent.

We did eventually leave the hotel for a great little late lunch/early dinner at Lebanon’s Cafe over on S. Carrollton St. in the lovely Garden District and then, after an enjoyable drive, headed right back to our room and back to bed.  (I wasn’t kidding when I said we were exhausted!)

There was one open mic stop on our agenda for this trip, and it came at last on Monday night at Maison on Frenchmen St. on the edge of the French Quarter.   It’s not really advertised as an open mic per se, but as what the host kept shouting on the mic – a “super jam”.  The jam starts every Monday night at 10:00, but the live music started before that with the Jayne Morgan Band.  We got there to hear their last set which included a nice version of Edith Piaf’s classic “La Vie En Rose”.

The jam got going sometime after 10:00.  I went up and put my name on the list and waited my turn.  There were some good players, some great players, and some… not so great players.  Hey, that’s what open mics – and “super jams” – are all about.  Everyone getting a turn, right?  Finally my name was called and I made my way to the stage.  At that moment there was a fairly decent drummer, a different guitarist and horn player who had just been called up as well – and a different bassist.  The volume was so loud that it was almost a turn-off to me while we were sitting there listening but I thought hey, I’m here, I signed up, let’s see what happens.  Once the house keyboard player acquainted me with his set-up, I told him I could sing one, which he then communicated to the host.  Fine, let’s do it.  I said to the bass player, “It’s a 1-4-5 in E” and he looked at me with this very puzzled look that told me that he didn’t really know what I meant.  I felt a sinking feeling in my gut.  I said, “Slow blues in the key of E” which he seemed to understand.  He nodded and said, “Oh, okay.”  Here we go!  I started it off and once I started singing the first verse, I realized I couldn’t hear my vocals at all.  Nothing in the monitor, but I knew it was coming out out front.  The volume of everything else on stage, however, was literally hurting my ears.  Maybe I’m getting old but I just don’t enjoy those super loud volumes anymore.  Oh well.  The show must go on, right?  Full steam ahead.  We got through the song – it sounded pretty decent I think.  I had fun.  The sax player was good.  The crowd whistled after my solos and what not.  They seemed to dig it.  And then… that was it.  I got replaced by the house keyboard player, who also had some nice things to say about my playing.  As I made my way back over to Shawn, I got a few handshakes, compliments and shoulder slaps.   Overall, it was a fun experience.  It reminded me of the open mic at the Red Parka on mega-steroids.  Wow, wouldn’t it be awesome to have horn players like that in the Valley…?

That was it for us.  We stayed for a little while longer as the band made their way through a version of “The Chicken”.  Shawn regretted not signing up – I was indifferent to the whole experience.  Sure, I can say I played in The Big Easy – and yeah it was fun – but it made me miss playing with my friends back home, especially JD and Matty and Carl.  I left a few of my business cards on the table and we left.

It’s hard to believe that we’re leaving tomorrow.  We’re both feeling sad about that, but you know… in some ways I can’t wait to get home.  I feel a new surge of energy for music – Shawn too.  We’ve promised ourselves and each other to crack down and learn new songs, practice our chops and hone our craft.

Today is Tuesday, our last full day here.  The plan today is to head up to Ponchatoula to visit Tina’s mother and to get a ride out into the swamp on Nick’s boat.  The weather is looking pretty lousy though – we’ve already had one rain shower since we woke up and it’s looking very cloudy and dreary.  All part of the adventure, as Shawn might say.  🙂