K-Fry's Follies: June 2010

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Pictures from Day 5

Oysters at Acme

I only plotted my plot for world domination

Cafe du Monde - couldn't eat here either! :(

But listened to some good jazz

Jackson Square

An infamous levee

Beginning of the massive ten minute downpour

This is a flat street...

Ahhh... a Pimms Cup - sweet relief!!!

This was at the Napoleon House where the denizens of New Orleans offered Napoleon refuge in 1814. Of course I stood and saluted the mighty leader whilst singing La Marseillaise in perfect French - no seriously I did!

I like the way these guys think - blank wall space is so passe!

Jacques - Imo's the best place to eat in New Orleans, despite what the sign says. I was also almost run out of the place for declaring myself a Niners fan!

Outside of Preservation Hall

Inside Preservation Hall

It was really really hot in there

The Amazing Brass Band

Anything goes in San Francisco but a lot more goes in New Orleans

DAY FIVE ~ New Orleans 0 miles

The much loved Grey Lady was given the day off today as I tried to cram all of NOLA into one day, and I certainly gave it my absolute best shot.

My Fodor’s “Essential USA” guidebook has been the source of many of my decisions for places to eat and sights to see on this trip. I wish that I had even more time to explore but I think this trip has really developed into an amouche bouche of the USA, a small sampling of some really good stuff (obviously I am addicted to Top Chef). I wish I had time to see everything but I know where I want to go back, and I have a strong feeling that my kids are going to hate me when I force them to take the Fry-so and so family vacation road trip across America. But when it came down to it Fodor’s wasn’t as specific as I wanted it to be, in fact I was really missing the Ricker, as in Rick Steves whose amazing guidebooks have been fantastic for European travel! Luckily dear friends Jen and Greg came to the rescue with the essential New Orleans in a day recommendation game plan! They really hit one out of the park as I had a pretty amazing day. I also want to thank my mom as she also had some really good recommendations from when she and Dad visited New Orleans pre-Katrina.

I started out in the morning by taking the Canal Street street car to see some of the NOLA cemeteries with their above ground mausoleums (this is due to the fact that most of New Orleans exists below sea level and because of the high water table). What was most interesting was that this streetcar skirts the Lower 9th ward where so much of the damage from Katrina occurred and the ride really gives you a small sense of the damage that still exists. So many buildings sat abandoned and boarded up, from small homes, to historic ones, to one major office building with everything single window broken. After the hurricane the population of New Orleans dropped to less than 300,000 people. It still hasn’t recovered, and it shows. Hurricane Katrina and FEMA recovery truly dominate the mind frame of every New Orleans resident.

From there I headed to the Acme Oyster House for my first ever charbroiled oysters smothered in cheese and other good stuff. It was at Acme when I realized that I would not make in the South as a permanent resident….everything is made from, dipped in or started from flour and with the Celiac it makes if difficult eating. In fact I wanted to eat the crap and shrimp gumbo…no! Chicken jambalaya…. No! Red beans and rice….suprisingly no! So I settled on the oysters and some fries in this total dive – delish! This no flour thing would continue to haunt me throughout the day…benignets at Café du Monde – nope. Grits and goodness at Mothers – nope. Eating at Jacques-Imos – yes but only with adjustments from a very kind waiter and chef who felt sorry for this poor sucker from California.

From Acme I took a walking tour of the French Quarter, one that totally stunk! Our guide was a lovely older gentlemen who spent two hours telling personal stories while we walked a grand total of five blocks! I was beyond frustrated and I felt that I should have done my own walking tour of the quarter. Some of the gems that he shared included:

Did you know that the New Orleans accent is similar to a Boston or New York accent and has absolutely nothing in common with a Southern accent?

Did you know that the black codes weren’t actually applied in New Orleans because everyone just got along?

It was the first time in my life that I have every stopped listening to the tour guide!

I was more than ready when I went to the Napoleon House for a Pimms Cup. This place was awesome as over the bar they had a bust of Napoleon and were blasting bombastic classical music, and the waiters all wore classic dress, kind of like the Buena Vista. This house was originally offered for an exiled Napoleon after the collapse of the Hundred Days instead of St. Helena. I also visited the Old Absyinthe Bar, the sight were Andrew Jackson plotted out the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.
Next on the agenda was an hour street car ride on the Saint Charles street car line, that passed through the Garden District (this is where Brad and Angelina have their home btw.) to end up at Jacques-Imo’s restaurant. The food was unbelievable, including the best quiche I have ever eaten in my life!
The lovely man who was dressed as a sea captain with a cool stick and a very colorful captain’s outfit hailed down a cab for me so that I could enjoy a Brass Band at Preservation Hall. And who doesn’t love a brass band? I got a front row seat and the band was amazing! (I have decided I want a brass band at my Viking funeral in a hundred years from now!) But I also want to take a moment to complain about one of the men in the audience. Yes you can clap to the beat during a performance – but if you are the only and you can’t keep on beat you are not cool and you need to stop clapping. Also when you change to hitting your thighs with your hands, it doesn’t sound cool like you are a brass band conessieur, no it sounds like sweaty hands hitting sweaty legs and that is gross! Finally unless you are Ray Charles sunglasses at night and inside make you look really lame!

One of the best things about traveling by yourself is all of the people you meet that you wouldn’t have meet had you been in a group. Today I spoke with the librarian of the Bronx Zoo who was in town for a librarian conference, the NOLA businessman who was at Acme for lunch before heading back to the office, a young man from New Orleans who told me to watch out for the trees on the street car and then laughed every time one came close to getting me, the man from Mexico whose daughter was living in San Francisco and who was a chemical engineer who had left Mexico City because it had become too dangerous, the grandma from Mississippi who had raised four kids and then went back to earn her college degree, the woman from East Texas who had just arrived and came straight to Preservation Hall, or the two friends who had been friends for over twenty years and adopted me as a surrogate daughter for the last half of a disappointing basketball game – boo Lakers. All of these people who chatted with me gave interesting little glimpses into their lives to this complete stranger from San Francisco.

Miles Traveled So Far: 2287.6

Movies that have run through my mind: No time too busy

Best sign of the day: Warm Beer, Lousy Food, Poor Service (This was outside one of the best places of have ever eaten)

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Pictures from Day 4

Adrienne's House in Dallas

Leaving Dallas - I forgot to bring the camera on the Trolley! :(

Dallas

They put Texas on EVERYTHING!

Just whole Milk

Sandwich? Gas? Gambling?

Entering Louisiana

Are you tired of the this picture yet?

Trees!

Swamp! It was nice to see water again, it was starting to feel really weird not to see bodies of it.

Rural Louisiana...it got more rural!

This was the first traffic light on this one lane highway for twenty-five miles!

This is highway 71South

The highway bisected this swamp. There were signs warning people not to go in and to beware of Gators!

Another rural gas station - yes it does say that gas is 2.69!

Lake Ponchartrain

Swamps, Gators, and Guns...

DAY FOUR ~ New Orleans 495.6 miles

I am in love with my audio books. No seriously they are amazing! This was a Tim Burke recommendation and it was spot on. He gave me two David Baldacci (sp?) ones that lasted me through Arizona and New Mexico, but I had to go into Barnes and Noble in Albuquerque to get a few more. It is amazing how the stories suck you in and the hours pass so quickly. In fact they have become such a routine part of the day…

Travel Routine:

1. Watch the tail end of the first World Cup match.
2. Watch the second game of the World Cup match while getting ready and packing up.
3. Leave and listen to local radio station while eating breakfast.
4. Listen to the third World Cup match on my favorite new app.
5. Pop in audio book and the hours speed by.
6. Arrive at destination.

There is room for modifications for sights, food and or no reception.

I spent some time in the morning exploring uptown Dallas – thanks to former resident Jen Swinton for the trolley suggestion - which was really nice. The thing about Dallas is that it was 92 degrees when I arrived at 10:00pm and it was 97 degrees when I left around noon. This is kind of like San Francisco…57 degrees in July and 52 degrees in January. ☺

Again the change in scenery is very dramatic, as when I began to move out of Texas into Louisiana the land stayed flat but with lots of trees, swamps and a lush greenness compared to the paler Texas green. I stopped at a gas station that was a combo gas station, Arby’s and Casino. It was great; if you left your car too long the woman at the cash register would get on the loud speaker and yell “Move your car!!!” But a casino? Really?

I stopped in Alexandria for lunch, again I tried a Tex Mex place that Yelp recommended – this time FOUR enchiladas, one beef one chicken, one cheese and one with beans. I am beginning to crave a crab enchilada from Don Ramons! I am just so amazed by the extra large size of everything. The best was the conversation I overheard at the restaurant. A couple, about my age, came in and sat down. They started to discuss guac. I love the stuff and will eat it anywhere, chunky, smooth, with tomatoes, onions, whatever. The woman said to her husband, “Yuck! I can’t stand avocados!” He replied, “I know, I hate when they ruin good Mexican food with vegetables.” Keep in mind that one of the reviewers said that this was an authentic Tex Mex place because “the servers have a problem with the language so it must be authentic.” Seriously!

When I left Alexandria my trusty iPhone Google maps knew I wanted to see the American public – I have decided that is what I am seeing. You know that American Public, small town American from the 1950s that politicians continually refer too? Google Maps took me down another rural highway that looked like it was straight out of Fried Green Tomatoes. It was also as hot as sin; you could just feel the moisture in the air, so thick and steamy. It was nice to see water again though.
Driving through rural Louisiana you are struck by the poverty in a way that I didn’t see in Texas. There were so many abandoned cars, shacks, businesses, gas stations, trains, big rigs, etc. Everyone had a rocking chair in front of their house and it seemed like most were sitting on them looking at who was bothering to drive down this rural highway. But it also struck me how many more people there were in comparison to Texas but especially Arizona and New Mexico.

I think my favorite Americana scene was the pickup truck that had pulled up on the side of the road ready to pull onto the highway with an ATV in the bed of the truck. Sitting in the driver seat of the inert ATV was a 9-year old boy. There wasn’t a helmet in sight and all I could think about was how that would never ever in a million years happen in San Francisco!!!

I pulled into New Orleans coming across a causeway that straddled a corner of Lake Ponchartrain at dusk. You can still see some of the damage from Hurricane Katrina in the outskirts of the city. After some harmless flirting with the cute valet I am tucked in and ready to explore the city tomorrow.

On a side note, did you know you cannot get anything besides Whole Milk and Chocolate Milk in the South?! No soy, goat, or skim let alone my favorite 2%!

Off to explore New Orleans…

Miles Traveled So Far: 2287.6

Movies that have run through my mind: Treme, Hope Floats, Fried Green Tomatoes

Best sign of the day: “Guns and Gators next right” a sign on 20E in Louisiana

Sorry!!!

Sorry the blog has not been more up-to-date. Apparently the Blog Powers that Be decided to redesign the site in the last couple of days and I couldn't post. But things are back and up and running. I also embrace the redesigned features fully!

Pictures from Day 3

Leaving Albuquerque...

More New Mexico

What no billboards?!

Entering into Texas

Starting to see some clouds...

Big Clouds = Big Raindrops

Just dark grey no green!

See Mom beautiful sky again!

Pretty Texas landscape!

Small town Texas, rural Texan highway

Rural highway

They really love their water towers in Texas!

It was alright!

Not on Route 66 but decent gas!

A peaceful moment on the road!

Sunset!

Turn Right at Albuquerque

DAY THREE ~ Dallas 657.3 miles

Today was the longest drive of my trip, a ten-hour journey that was straight down highway 40. The word of the day was “Ouch” as in “Ouch! My bottom and back are killing me!” Apparently I still need to figure out the optimal driving position! I left Albuquerque headed toward Dallas with a planned stop in Amarillo.
I have always heard the expression “Turn left at Albuquerque”, but I have concluded that whomever invented that expression was heading West and not East because I had most definitely made a right turn, right into conservative central. It began when I went to buy gas before I left. Gas in New Mexico is only $2.49 a gallon and I could not contain my disbelief to the woman at the counter. She laughed at me and asked where I was from. When I said “California” she snickered and remarked, “No wonder, its California! It’s all their own fault, especially now that the state is so bankrupt!” It only went righter from there. From the road signs that proffered the 2lb steak available at the BBQ joint or the Chinese Dragon, all for $6.99, to the number of guns, hand and semi automatic, available for sale throughout the state, I was not in California anymore!

For as long of a drive as it was, it was a really interesting. As soon as you drive beyond the Mesa you enter rolling hills and then it seemed like the moment I entered into Texas the land opened up into vast grassland. Unfortunately it was also the moment when I saw large dark clouds in the distance. The temperature dropped from the low nineties into the low sixties and the skyline in the distance began to get fuzzy. This was the moment when I realized that we do not have weather in California. We have earthquakes, fires, snow, fog and sun, but we do not have weather. Weather in Texas is big, just like everything else. As I moved toward the grey the faucet turned on and the giant raindrops began to fall, each one plunking, not tapping like California rain, but plunking down on the windshield. I slowed down to drive through the pouring rain, and after about ten minutes I drove out of it and it stopped as quickly as it began. Now it should have occurred to me at that point but it didn’t click in this San Franciscan mind until after lunch in Amarillo…
I had stopped for lunch at a guidebook recommended Tex-Mex joint. Did you know it is impossible to order just one enchilada or one taco? There is no such thing as a light eater menu in Texas, in fact the smallest number of enchiladas I could even order was THREE! Rolling myself back into the car I turned on the local radio. As this point the DJ says, “Look out for those clouds! If you need to run for the storm shelters we’ll update you!” CLICK…what should I do if there is a thunderstorm or more importantly a tornado Thank the Lord for the trusty iPhone – I am beginning to feel like it is my equivalent to MacGyver’s stick of chewing gum and a roll of duck tape!!!

Quick Tornado/Lightening Facts:
1. In a Thunderstorm the safest place for you is in your car. Keep going and don’t park under a tree, nor get out of your car until the storm passes.

2. Tornados mostly move in a Northeasterly direction so go SOUTH or SOUTHWEST!

3. If it cuts across your path, stop and get yourself in a ditch, and pray to your maker – literally that is what one sight said – pray to your maker!

4. Green clouds and hail are precursors of a tornado.

5. Lightening can strike twice!

GOOD NEWS – and Mom if you are reading I am past tornado country - there were no green clouds, hail or lightening so don’t worry!!!

From Amarillo I entered into a history teacher’s dream, a rural highway through small town America! Erin Kayser this would have right up your alley!!! It was really interesting to see these one-road towns with one stoplight and populations of less than 500. What has struck me most is that truly people of the West are a hardy folk who like wide open spaces and are very self-sufficient. When I stopped for gas on this rural highway the peace was very moving and Erin I almost called you so we could have an Antietam moment!

I pulled into Dallas to stay at my friend Adrienne’s super cute house – she was awesome to put me up for the night especially as she was on a plane to San Francisco for work! Is that ironic or just a coincidence Alanis?

Also wanted to let Dustin know that I have been doing lots of stretching in between driving especially for my thighs!

Off to New Orleans…

Miles Traveled So Far: 1792 (more than halfway across!!!)

Movies that have run through my head: Twister, Friday Nights Live, and Road Warrior (There was this annoying Big Rig…)

**BTW I totally forgot to mention Superman 2 from yesterday!!!**

Best sign of the day: You are leaving New Mexico, the land of enchantment! Who knew?!