Seven Springs, PA- New Orleans, LA
After an exciting visit to West Virginia, it was time for me to show Sierra my cabin in seven springs. We rolled in on the third and had a wonderful long weekend filled with fireworks, farmers markets, friends, family, and of course bikes.
We left 7 Springs PA July 5th at 6:28 am with a 16 hour drive to New Orleans ahead of us. Neither Sierra or I had ever driven so far in one day, but seeing as we are both well seasoned veterans of the 12 hour trip from BVT to our respective homes we decided to take on the excessively long drive.
We drove though Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and finally though Louisiana .
Two things that really surprised me about the drive into the south was that the speed limit became 70MPH, which was FANTASTIC. What was even more surprising was the amount of broken down cars on side of the road. It was as though there was some bizarre legislation that required there to be an 80’s Buick or Cadillac on side of the road every quarter mile.
I particularly enjoyed driving through Alabama and seeing the roadside vegetation that had been swallowed by a blanket of the extremely invasive Japanese Kudzu vine. I was also very pleased that I was able to correctly identify it, having heard of it in AP environmental science… thanks Mrs. Ludwig.
I also enjoyed listening to the “Fear and Loathing in Hunts Vegas” album by Paper Route Gangsters as we drove past their home turf of Huntsville, Alabama.
After 16 hours of music, podcasts, and some just plain goofy conversation, we finally rolled into the suburbs of New Orleans and arrived at a nice little neighborhood where our dear stoop dwelling friend, Jordan, greeted us.
The next morning we headed into the city for coffee and donuts at District Donuts.
I had a mocha donut that was the very best donut I had ever had in my life. We strolled Magazine Street poking our heads in antique shops and admiring the apartment buildings and their seemingly exotic plants.
We then made our way to the Lafayette cemetery and gave ourselves a self-guided tour of the above ground graves. It was a good mix of spooky and exciting. It was also interesting to see the locals who were very accustomed to having visitors. Unfortunately, we did not spot any Hoodoo witches.
Next stop was the French quarter. We headed through the city, looking at all the mix of cultures, businesses, and living arrangements. There were many short, historical shotgun style houses mixed in with French style two story apartments with rusted wrought iron railings. It became very clear that the city has by no means fully recovered from Katrina. Beautifully refurbished homes stand next to faded, condemned houses. The for sale signs occasionally boasted that the old buildings were “Not Haunted!!!” Regardless of the neighborhood, everywhere we went we were greeted with a warm smile.
The whole open container thing was just weird to me. Everyone in the city seemed to have a drink in hand. It was crazy to see people who could be my grandparents as drunk as a skunk walking down the street with a “hand grenade.” The homeless population was really loving the open container laws. It was interesting to see that they did not even ask for money, simply held out an empty Styrofoam cup hoping that someone would pour their drink out into it. New Orleans was such an interesting place. Very rich with history, culture and music. Despite all of this, it just wasn’t quite my kinda town. After two days in NOLA we parted ways with Jordan (our gracious host) and hit the road west to Austin.
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