New Orleans, City of Dreams

The title of this blog might rhyme, depending on your pronunciation of New Orleans. We Midwesterners typically pronounce "New Or-leens" (although I've adopted the less nasal "New Or'lins" pronunciation"). I've heard Southerners pronounce "New O-lee-ans" or "New'awlins" and les Français l'appel: "La Nouvelle Orléans". However you say it, NOLA really is a fantastical dream city to be in.

Speaking of dreams, New Orleans seems to have more than her fair share of nightmares. From violent weather (Hurricane Katrina ring a bell?) to the recent oil rig explosion and subsequent oil spill surging out hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil PER DAY threatening the livelihood of fishermen and nationally protected wetlands and wildlife along the gulf. Right now, no end is in sight. It's an environmental catastrophe and devastating situation for all the people who live and work nearby. The outcome is going to hit the seafood economy hard and will affect millions in terms of seafood production. Not to mention the water quality in the gulf and beyond. With prospective solutions dubbed "top hat" and "junk shot", they just don't sound very reassuring. In fact, the "junk shot" is literally shooting garbage into the holes in hopes the clog up the broken pipes. On top of that, there are jets dropping chemicals over the spill to disperse the oil. Call me crazy, but that just sounds like adding to the pollution to me. Let's hope the corporations and political parties responsible for this disaster fix the problem and as a nation we rethink our dependency on oil and how drill for it. Drill, baby, drill? More like spill, baby, spill.

Another month+ has gone by since our last post. I believe Chris is finished posting for now. He will jump back on the bandwagon once we hit the road again someday. We recently had a pool party and barbecue with our Lanata House neighbors and someone sparked the idea of taking an Amtrak tour across Canada. I adore the idea since the train is my favorite form of transportation (second to kerouaking in the Dod, of course!) There's also the entire East coast of the US left to travel, and there's always backpacking in Europe... We shall see.

I am proud to announce I've been accepted to Tulane University's School of Continuing Education. As you may know, Chris and I share a lifelong dream to open a bookstore. Achieving a degree in small business development will be a step in the right direction to learn how to write a business proposal, plan financially, manage a business, etc. Our likelihood of being approved for a bank loan to open up a store will increase largely with this degree. Taking courses in accounting and commercial law are going to be worlds different from the feminist theory and English literature classes I am used to. I can honestly say I'm geeked to go back to school and challenge my intellect beyond crossword puzzles and KenKen.

Chris is still working at the Marigny Brasserie and I'm still at the Lamothe House Hotel. Chris has been banking at the restaurant because he's an excellent server and NOLA has been busy-busy with all the festivals and conventions lately. Tourism will slow down between June and September when it's really hot, save for a few festival weekends though.

I have plenty of pictures to post so keep an eye out for that within the next week.

Chris and I are really looking forward to Josh and Kaylan's wedding on May 22! We'll see many of your Graylinganders, er, Graylinginians? there!

Au revoir!

Living (it up) in the Big Easy

Of all the grand and glorious places Chris and I have traversed over the past five and a half months, nothing can compare to New Orleans. With it's rich history, french architecture, cajun food, warm people, street musicians, cajun dialect, and all-around interesting folks it's unbeatable. (Not to mention the daiquiri shops, Bourbon Street and open container law.) It's a little like Chicago, but without all the snow and frigid temperatures. New Orleans is certainly one-of-a-kind and different from anywhere I've ever been.

One of the "interesting folk" that occupy the streets in the French Quarter. Notice the ladder ends right near the top of the picture. Who knows how long he held that position.

So, about a week ago Chris was browsing craigslist.com and came across some apartments in the French Quarter for a very reasonable monthly rate. We decided, what they heck!, we might as well check a few out. The first apartment we looked it was no bigger than the Dod but it didn't even have an engine! Over the next two days we checked out an apartment with a balcony overlooking Bourbon Street. We looked at a huge apartment with a fireplace in the middle of the kitchen. We saw a tiny furnished apartment with a hot tub and murphy bed.

After looking at about a dozen apartments, we eventually came across a clean little apartment smack dab between Bourbon Street and the French Market. It was far enough away from all the noise to be peaceful at night. It had three entry doors and a courtyard with barbecues, tables with umbrellas and a POOL! Best of all, the rent was cheaper than most of the places we looked at - and none of them had a pool.

So, we put in our application but didn't let our hopes get up. Because, really, it seemed too good to be true. But wouldn't you know, as Chris was filling out an application at a restaurant he got a call from the landlord to tell us he approved our application. As we skipped around in Cathedral Square all the fortune tellers and street artists stared as I laughed hysterically and repeatedly yelled "REALLY?! NO! Really?! REALLY?!". After a quick call to Deo and Bob & Jan, we signed the lease and that cute little apartment with the pool we can now call our home!

View Larger Map

Right here.

A shot of our building from Chartres Street.

Therefore, kerouaking is on a one-year hiatus. However, we will continue to update the blog with our adventures in the Big Easy and our upcoming trips. The Dod will most likely make her way back to Michigan soon - she's just too big to be parking on these narrow streets. We're thinking about getting a smaller car and/or maybe a scooter.

Our Walmart nights are over... for now.

After only a few days of applying to jobs and passing out resumes, Chris got a job at Marigny Brasserie! It's a restaurant with an impressive menu of po'boys, soup, and seafood. It's just four blocks away so Chris can walk to and from work in under five minutes. He brought home a soft-shell crab po'boy and portabella mushroom bisque last night and it was delish!

Since Chris is working in a restaurant, he trimmed his epic beard and cut his hair. Here's a before and active photo:

Friggin' hippie...

He cleans up good!

I am actively searching for work. I've been applying to hotels in the quarter and I have a second interview as a swim instructor uptown next week. I'm really hoping for a position with AmeriCorps, so keep your fingers crossed.

We can't wait to have visitors so come see us soon! Until you see it in person, here are some photos of the apartment and courtyard to tide you over.

This is the view from the end of our floor, looking out into the courtyard. Michael, our landlord, really keeps up on all the flora and greenery.

This is our view from the balcony. That is the pool at the hotel next door.

Here's a nice shot of our courtyard and pool.

Here's one of the patio tables. There's two barbecues in the courtyard for tenants to use and the landlord provides the propane. There's only about a dozen apartments within the Lanata House so we won't have to worry about waiting in line to go swimming or grill food.

The outside view of our apartment. All the shutters are closed, but they open to a second door with a window. The first door leads into the living room. The second door is the main door and leads into the hallway. The third door leads into the bedroom.

Our bed-less bedroom. Somebody please send us a mattress!

Our living room right after we got done bringing everything up from the Dod.

The living room as it is now. The only furniture we have is two folding chairs and my old wine-tasting table from when I worked at Union Beverage.

Aunt Kiki said we HAD to try some deep fried peanuts and, boy, was she right! They're fantastic. You eat the shell and all! This stand is in the French Market, two blocks southeasterly from our apartment. It's open every day and there are fruit and veggie stands, live bands, jewelry and art tables, tee-shirts, daiquiris and coffee stands, etc.

Love, your favorite kerouakers and newbie Lousianians.

Dodless in Austin

?

Good, we hope!

Well, it's night three without our beloved Dod. Her rear brake system was "puking out brake fluid" so says the mechanic. It's going to be a pricey fix but our options were:

1) Fix the Dod. Cough up the dough and continue on our journey.

- or -

2) Don't fix the Dod. Find an apartment and live in Austin.

We weighed our two options and decided only one day of exploring Austin wasn't enough to base a move on. The Dod has brought us through seventeen states so far and there's at least a baker's dozen more. We've needed the Dod and now the Dod needs us. We can't give up on her now. It's Maine or BUST!

So, the Dod has been resting at "Groovy Automotive" for going on three days. We were told that the Dod would be fixed yesterday and now we're told it will be fixed tomorrow. Not so groovy. The biggest bummer is that it has rained nonstop since we dropped the Dod off. This is what Chris looks like:

Here's what I feel like:

Regardless of the rain, we have been spending our time biking from one end of the city to another checking out eateries, the University of Texas campus, unique shops, CD stores, book stores, live music venues and cheap bars.

Chris beat me at a game of pool at The Tavern. Barely.

Tammie the Turtle rain-bathing in a pond on campus.

Chowing down on the Richie Valens burger on the anniversary of the day the music died in 1959. Hut's two-for-one Wednesday is a busy night because it's such a great deal. They also have the absolute best pickle chips I've ever had.

Free live blues music at Nuno's on 6th Street.

Shot of the state capitol in the background.

Our favorite restaurant we discovered is the Texas Chili Parlor. It was so nice we went back twice! We tried the three chili sampler on our first visit and were so excited to eat we forgot to take a photo until afterwards.

Oops!

Our second visit we ordered our favorites and remembered to take a photo beforehand.

Chris gives his chili is two fingers up!

I recommend the black bean and sausage chili on a baked potato. As Chelsea has taught me, chili just isn't as good without a potato accompaniment!

This self-proclaimed big fat crazy person was singing and playing a harmonica on the corner of campus for at least three hours. Here are his Grammy-worthy lyrics: "Puuuurple poop/I've got purple poop/I'm terrified to call a doctor/They might send a helicopter/Puuuurple poop." Repeat and repeat and repeat.

We wandered around Toy Joy, a toy store that beats Toys-R-Us or KB Toys any day. Wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor is covered in knick-knacks, puzzles, games, animals, yo-yos, bouncy balls, and those little pin-covered things you put your hand under and it shows an imprint of your hand. You know what I'm talking 'bout. Anyway, you name it, they've got it.

In honor of my gramma's would-be 84th birthday, I bought a couple of her favorite toys I remember from when I was little: A chinese finger trap and a chinese yo-yo.

We spent the last two nights at a Super 8. It was totally worth it for the bed, the shower and the heat. And let me just say, we definitely got our money's worth with the continental breakfast. As a matter of fact, I'm eating a box of Raisin Bran right now...

Thankfully, earlier today we were able to get into the Dod to get a much-needed change of clothes and some food. Right now, we're hanging out at the UT Student Union surfing the web, reading, writing, people watching and playing Nintendo. Tonight, we'll be hopping from 24-hour diner to 24-hour diner until the sun rises. Keep your fingers crossed the Dod will be ready by noon tomorrow so we can be on our way back to Houston to stay with Jenny and Mykle! Shanelle and Adam are coming out for the weekend too.

Austin apparently can't decide on a slogan. So far I've seen: Keep Austin Weird, Keep Austin Bizarre, Keep Austin Fun, Keep Austin Groovy, and Keep Austin Odd. I say Keep Austin Dry!

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain

We had a lot of fun Shanelle and Adam's apartment in Midwest City, OK. It had been over a year since Sha and I had seen each other so some quality cousin time was definitely called for.

The first thing on the agenda was going to the Officer's Club and meeting all of Shanelle's coworkers. The dinner was free, the company was great and Sha won $50 in a raffle!!

The next day we went to David's Bridal so Shanelle could try on some wedding dresses.

Beautiful bride-t0-be Shanelle modeled wedding dresses for Jenny, Angelina and me while we took photos and voted for our favorite three. This Cinderella dress didn't make the cut, but Sha had a lot of fun trying it on. It was so pouffy, it barely squeezed into the the fitting room! Afterwards, Shanelle treated us to some Chinese chow at P.F. Chang's. Thank you Sha!

My bestest friends in the whole wide world.

Jenny, Angelina, Shanelle and I sat around playing cards and drinking wine while...

... Mykle, Adam and Chris killed Nazi zombies. :P

Adam timing Chris as Jenny tries to guess what he's sketching in a game of Cranium.

Meet Lux, the sweetest cuddlebug.

We went to Musashi's Japanese Steakhouse to celebrate my belated birthday. Mykle generously treated me and Chris to a shrimp entree cooked on the hibachi grill, a couple maki rolls and Sapporo and saki. Thank you Mykle and Jenny!

Samurai Nikkimoto and Samurai Shasaki.

YUM

Chris and I took a trip to the Stockyards: A street full of stores vending cowboy boots, cowboy hats, cowboy shirts, cowboy chaps. Who knew it was so expensive to be a cowboy? Those hats run between $50-$350 and a good pair of cowboy boots will run you at least $200.

Archway inviting you into the Stockyards.

Bolo ties aren't really my style, but we found an excellent collection of very reasonably priced hardcovers at Abalache Book & Antique Shop.

Downtown Oklahoma. The billboard reads: Parking meters were invented in our great state. Thanks a lot, Oklahoma. Everybody loves parking meters!

Silly, horses can't read!

Friday night we all headed to Norman, the nearby college town.

The music was too loud, the drunk college kids were too obnoxious, but the beer was good and cheap!

Meet Dane, Shanelle's cousin from her daddy's side of the family. He's a sports writer/interviewer/journalist and knows more about sports than anyone I know!

We went back to the Officer's club last Friday for some karaoke.

We entered in on Shanelle rapping "Paul Revere" by the Beastie Boys. I sang "Part Time Lovers" by Stevie Wonder.

Chris sang "Use Me" by Bill Withers.

Saturday, we went to a friend's house for a chili dinner and some Mario Bros on Wii. Afterwards, Chris and I joined Mykle in celebrating his graduation from the air traffic control and upcoming move to work at Dallas airport. The theme (obviously) was the 70s.

"It's a different kind of sexy"

-Mykle Trejo

That's Mykle looking fabulous in the middle.

70s girls!

Me and Chris posing after a victorious 3 game sweep in beer pong.

Mykle dancing with a broom after a terrible upset, shutting me and Chris out at beer pong with only 4 throws.

Mykle and Phil in baby blue and burgundy. Looking good fellas!

I'll leave you with this fantastic photo. You might want to print it and frame it on your wall. Copyright 2010.