Zydeco and Pirates

Today we’re packing for the big trip. This morning over rice krispies and coffee Chloe and I looked at the internet cams (boring) and checked the calendar for the Rock ‘n Bowl (cool).

Brian Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers are playing next Thursday night, and since we’ve never heard live zydeco, we’re going to check it out. These guys continue the cajun country dance style of Clifton Chenier, and they are hot. Check out one of their new tracks here.

I also found a great story of the gentleman pirate Jean Lafitte here. This privateer was a real patriot who fought with Tennessean General Jackson to save New Orleans and the lower Mississipppi from a British invasion. Despite many attempts by Governor Claiborne to arrest Lafitte, the pirate tricked the Brits and defended his adopted country in her time of peril.

If we get a chance, we’ll lift a pint in Lafitte’s honor at his old blacksmith shop on Bourbon Street. Here are some great photos of the delightfully decrepit place.

Maps and Breakfast

This morning over breakfast Chloe and I talked about maps and our trips. We looked at the globe and the road map of New Orleans and talked about Canal Street and the Algiers Ferry. Then Chloe got the idea to draw her own map, which she is doing as I write this. It’s not bad for a 4-year-old.

During our spring break trip we were driving to the ferry one night and drove past a warehouse full of people and floats, Guys were going in with cases of beer. That was Kern’s Mardi Gras World, where all the Mardi Gras floats are made. The next day as we were leaving we saw the floats crossing the bridge with us on their way to the Saint Patrick’s Day parade downtown.

Some of the places we want to go are Cafe Du Monde, Audubon Aquarium, is still closed, but the the Canal Streetcar is open and free until June 30. Here’s a newspaper article on the subject. The shipwreck museum in the Jackson Brewery. Of course we’ll stop by the statue in Jackson Square and say hello to Old Hickory.

Family Vacation in NOLA!

My brother called yesterday with a cheap time share deal, last night we had the big discussion and this morning we’re hoping to go to New Orleans for a week! We’ll stay at Club La Pension, which is at the edge of the Quarter just off Canal.

See, somehow my wife Karen still doesn’t think of New Orleans as a place for a family vacation, even though we took our oldest daughter when she was 4 months old. Maybe it’s the fact that I when she cried I took her to Bourbon Street. I figure if people actually go to Las Vegas and take the kids, New Orleans should be a walk in the park. Or the French Quarter.

These folks really need our tourist dollars right now, and I’d like to show the ninth ward to my family first hand. I’m curious to see if any of the houses we gutted are being rebuilt yet. Anyway, I have this sentimental idea that Americans should rally behind the city right now and plan a vacation there!

I saw this comic from New Orleans wearing these cool t-shirts on Last Comic Standing. I want one to match my tattoo.

On a side note, I’m working on getting some audiobooks donated to New Orleans libraries ruined by Katrina. If anyone knows librarians in the city, leave a comment below.