I’ve flown from the pancake flat land and water of Louisiana to the high mountainous desert of New Mexico. I’m here, staying with my friends Jeannie and Jack, for the balloon festival. Jeannie and Jack recently bought a new home with breathtaking views and frequent visits by wild horses, bears, and other wildlife. I’m staying […]

I’ve known about the pirate Jean Lafitte for many years and have recently been running into him along the gulf coast, first in Galveston Texas and now in Louisiana. Lafitte’s legacy is deeply intertwined with the lore of the area, where he remains a legendary figure of adventure, rebellion, and piracy. But I never knew […]

I left Breaux Bridge early yesterday morning for the 3-1/2-hour drive to Grand Isle, Louisiana. The terrain through the first part of the journey was familiar to me. Miles upon miles of sugar cane, which at this time of year is beginning to be harvested. Even early morning trucks filled with cane were on the […]

My body doesn’t quite know what to make of my travels. Freezing cold, arid Colorado to moderately cold New York to balmy, humid Louisiana. I’ve managed to get a cold, fortunately not covid, and am soldiering through. I flew to New Orleans yesterday. It’s a city I love and have been to many times, but […]

A uniform steel gray sky wasn’t a good omen. But in New Orleans “laissez les bons temps rouler,” let the good times roll, is the rule. My day started the Vue Orleans. Perched on the top levels of the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans it’s a combination interactive playground and 360-degree observatory. I loved the […]

After five days of nearly continuous activity, today needed to be at a slower pace. I slept in, wrote and leisurely packed. Once I finally got moving, it was just over an hour drive to Louisiana’s capital, Baton Rouge (or Red Stick in translation). As I’d passed through Baton Rouge before but never spent any […]

After my quiet day, I was back to serious exploring. After breakfast at @MaisonMouton B&B in Lafayette I headed west towards Rayne. My friends wondered why I was going there. As Leo said, it’s not much more than a dot on the map. Rayne has proclaimed itself. “The Frog Capital of the World.” This started […]

I’m deep in Cajun country with my friends Liz and Leo. Liz and I set off to explore this morning. Our first stop was in Breaux Bridge for the zydeco breakfast at @https://www.buckandjohnnys.com. It’s held every Saturday morning. People come from miles around to hear the music, but mostly to dance. The atmosphere was festive […]

Today, Liz, Leo and I set off to explore the area south of Breaux Bridge. Along the way we passed truck after truck filled with just-harvested sugar cane. They were heading towards the processing plant. On this cold morning, I could see thick smoke billowing from the plant from miles away. I pulled over to […]

My friend Liz will be flying back with me to NY (she lives there part-time). We drove east to stay near the airport for our early morning flight. Along the way we made several stops. First was in Hammond to see the home of Charles Smith. I’d learned about Smith when I visited the @AbitaMysteryHouse […]