"Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"

Water Moccasins  Cotton Mouths and Diamond Back Rattlers. Just some of the lovely reptiles I saw in the swamps of Louisiana. I saw more of them than I did alligators.

Believe me, I wouldn't want to go swimming in the bayous. Some were two or more inches around and nearly four feet long.

There were also plenty of turtles and birds (including a very large horned owl) as well as lizards.

While in New Orleans I saw maybe a 100 antebellum mansions and just outside of the city I viewed three plantation mansions. To the right is a picture of one of the plantation homes along the Mississippi River.

Nearby I found a Spanish Mission. These finds were serendipitous, as I took a wrong turn on my way to Houma (the town where the boys in my Bayou Boys Adventure series live) in Cajun Country.

In Houma I visited this Cajun Dance Hall (below) where a private fais do do was about to begin. I couldn't stay as I wanted to get back before dark.

While in the area I visited the French Quarter, the Garden District (the setting of many Anne Rice novels), took a Haunted History Tour, drove to Slidell and did the Honey Island Swamp Tour (the primary setting of my upcoming book MARSH MONSTER), and drove to Houma.

I took in LOTS of music in a variety of genres from Jazz and Blues, to Zydeco and Country. There was music everywhere in NOLA! In bars and on the street. Below is one of my favorites.

I also partook of a variety of local cuisine--all of which was delicious. I visited many book stores including the Faulkner House and I will share these in an upcoming post.

The areas architectural styles were also a highlight and I have many pictures to share.

The research I did for my upcoming books will be invaluable. I took lots of pictures and made many notes that will prove most useful in creating the the world of the stories.

Be sure and stay tuned to this blog. The adventure isn't over.

From NOLA to JOMO with no Mojo

After another grueling, heap big drive I have made it out of the "Big Sleazy" and into Joplin, MO for a brief stay with a couple of my children (and to see my grandsons). I'll be on the move again come Monday morning when I'll head out to Colorado Springs where the wife and kids and I once lived (19 years ago). I will see old haunts and meet with a fellow author.

I took this photo of a gator I actually saw.

On my last day in Louisiana I did a lot of driving as well. First I slid down to Slidell (home of the infamous Honey Island Swamp Monster) for the Honey Island Swamp Tour. That was full of discovery and will be helpful to the writing of the next book in the Bayou Boys Adventure series MARSH MONSTER. I thought the tour was interesting.

Forget alligators! I saw way too many venomous snakes to make me ever want to get into a bayou for a swim.

After that I drove back up to NOLA to the Garden District where there are hundreds of antebellum mansions. As beautiful as they are it got tiresome looking at them and I had another stop to make that day.

A Greek Revival style antebellum now owned by the
Women's Guild of the New Orleans Opera.

BTW: I have selected a mansion that will be the physical model for the third book in the series ANTEBELLUM APPARITION.

My final trip of the day took me to Houma--the home of the my series heroes--which I originally chose, after some research, for it's Cajun culture and proximity to bayous. Got to say it looks like a pretty dull place to live in general. No wonder these boys seek out adventure!

An authentic Cajun dance hall in Houma (Home-ah), LA.

I guess the most interesting thing I saw in the city was a Cajun dance hall. I saw it and talked to a few folks, but didn't get to stay for the fais do do, since the sun was beginning to set. (And yes, these people do have their own "dialect.")

Before leaving town the next morning I picked up some authentic Cajun andouille sausage (and put it on ice) to bring up here to JOMO (where I'll make a batch of jambalaya tomorrow).

MO later, gator.

Where Yat? In New Orleans

The St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square New Orleans.

Where Yat? A common greeting in the Big Easy meaning "How you doing?" or "What's on your mind?" it seldom means "Where are you?" You also hear "Who Dat?" which is a statement of pride, like "Did you see that; it was amazing!" or "I'm cool." Depends a bit on the context. Yes, I'm still here in NOLA. It was about 70 today with a light breeze. Last night was nice and I took the time to locate several things I wanted to see, but mainly finding the meet-up location for today's Haunted History Tour. I stumbled across many things I'd read about in guidebooks simply by covering a lot of ground.

Jesse, the Haunted History guide at the meet-up
in front of Dr. Zombies Voodoo Shop.

Today's tour was a walking tour. (So, yes, my legs hurt.) It was more interesting for the architecture and history than for the ghost stories. Mainly interesting was that the city was established by the King of France who emptied the prisons by giving the criminals a choice of execution or life or being sent to New Orleans. They chose exile. He also gathered up all the woman of ill repute, shackled them to a criminal and put them on a boat. By the time they arrived, babies were on the way, too. Wallah!  Instant families to settle the new world.

So, in a nutshell the place was created by a corrupt politicians, criminals and loose women. The guide suggested the city's current state was simply a result of DNA.

A Cajun band playing Zydeco at the Bayou Club.

I did finally catch many quality music artists, both on the street and in clubs (playing jazz, blues and more). No dixieland, yet.

I saw one amazing Cajun band playing Zydeco, which was one of my goals. They were awesome! I love that music!

Seven Strings and a Two Dollar Bill.

I also saw a street performance that really tickled me, because it was unusual. They duo played old country music with a guy on banjo and a girl playing a small guitar (almost mandolin size) while tap dancing.

Blackened Chicken Po' Boy.

And I finally had a Po' Boy the Gumbo Shop. It wasn't as big as the ones at Jimmy's, but it was fifty cents less and in a much nicer place. I had a blackened chicken sandwich that was both tender and tasty. While not as spicy as I expected ((or would have liked) there was a house Creole Seasoning that I added to bring some heat and zest. Very nice.

Oh! I stumbled upon children's bookstore of all things and bought a copy of one of my favorite books to read aloud, Petite Rouge: A Cajun Little Red Riding Hood.

Tomorrow I drive to the Honey Island Swamp in Slidell where I will tour Honey Island Swamp in search of their swamp monster then drive through the Garden District to see the Antebellum mansions before dropping down in to Houma.

From Driving Machine to New Orleans

Photo taken at a New Mexico rest area.

I drove a twelve hour day (only stopping for gas/bathroom breaks, so I didn't take many landscapes) on Sunday and finally made it to NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) through torrential rains most of the way through the state.

The evening in NOLA was clear and warm (a balmy 70 degrees). The next morning I awoke to gray, overcast skies and much rain. It put a damper on things until about noon today and walking about was nice.

This street car isn't named Desire.

Yes, walking. I'm walking my legs off. The Big Easy is not so easy to get around in. Rather vast and LOTS to see. Can't say I'm loving it. The city is basically given over to partying (drinking, gambling, smoking, and music...oh, and eating).

It's Spring Break and there are LOTS of twenty-somethings milling about. None of the bits of music I caught last night were as good as Mickey Scott's band in San Antonio (I'll post a video of them doing Blue Suede Shoes on my author Facebook page). Some good outdoor jazz here this afternoon though at the French Market. I did pop into a few clubs here last night (and there are a LOT of them) but I didn't like it. Not my scene.

On Decator Street (Rue).

I explored more broadly today. I have not and will not visit Bourbon Street (where the debauchery runs wild and rampant). I strolled along Decater, Royal and Pirate's Alley mostly. Royal is a lot nicer than Decater. The city is quite old and trashy, but Royal looks pretty good if you don't look down at the street (which is decrepit).

On Royal Rue.

I have over 100 photos already, so I can only show a few here. I tried to capture the influence on Disney's New Orleans Square and you can definitely see where they got their inspiration. Disney is so much cleaner and bright though.

I can also see why the bookstores I contacted wouldn't host me; they are so small and deal mostly in used books anyway. I saw Beckham's Books and the Faulkner House (I'll have to share that picture series later due to space formatting issues).

Jambalaya with Red Beans and Rice.

As far as eating goes, I couldn't get into Cafe du Monde (specializing in beignets and French roast chicory coffee) due to the crowds and lines. Nor have I been able to eat at Johnny's Po' Boys for the same reasons. I did eat jambalaya and red beans and rice with a Barq's root beer (they didn't have sweet tea) at Cafe Maspero and that was quite good.

The red beans and rice were heavy on the beans, spicy and tasty with cooked to perfection veggies (the "holy trinity" of green peppers, onions and celery) and tasso (smoked ham). The jambalaya was heavy on the rice (like rice pilaf) with only a little andouille, shrimp and veggies and not very spicy (I make better). I also had a praline from "the best praline" shop in the city and I make them just as good.

The original House of Blues facade.

I probably won't do Cafe du Monde, but I still hope to eat at Johnny's and the Gumbo Pot and I might try to get some Shrimp Creole someplace (maybe in Houma where I hope to catch some live Zydeco which they don't really do here).

Shopping-wise, I bought myself some gumbo file for making gumbo (a  thickner made from sassafras) and an apron that says I'm an Honorary Cajun.

French Market Plaza (Can you see
where Disney got inspired?)

Tomorrow I take a Haunted New Orleans Tour and check out a few more local "attractions" (touristy must-dos). The next day I'll do the Honey Island Swamp Tour and head down to Houma.

BTW: If you click on the pictures you can see them larger.