The sun is shining in Houston as we sit on a park bench and the melody of a saxophone floats across the breeze. It still feels like summer here. It's tough to believe that it's fall in the south. Out of five weeks of travels, we have had only three days of inclement weather. It has allowed us to do lots of outdoor exploring. We rented bicycles on a street corner and our pals in Houston took us for a little tour. They also took us to our first climbing gym experience. We are hooked! We scooped up someone's extra tickets on Craigslist for the Houston Diwali Mela 2013 festival at a baseball stadium. We were four of maybe 10 non-Indian attendees and it was quite the event!! There were thousands of people there dressed in their best saris and dotis all colorful and bejeweled. The drums thundered and shimmering dancers performed in the aisles. Vendors offered trinkets and Hindu art and clothing. We ate a delicious meal from some street vendors and watched several dance performances on the main stage. We eventually left when we realized that we couldn't understand 90% of what was being said because we don't speak Hindi.
So, flashing back to last week...we reluctantly said farewell to the beaches of North Carolina and headed south through South Carolina and Georgia. We made a stop in Savannah to play some evening tennis in a gorgeous park that was filled with gnarled, Spanish moss-covered Live Oaks. Many of these trees are several hundred years old and they are simply massive. It was hard to show their grandeur in a photo, but I tried.
As we wound through Georgia, we passed plantations covered with crops that just don't thrive in the Northern climate. Cotton, sugar cane, sorghum and tomatoes grew mile after mile. Ironically, the sky looked a lot like a cotton field that day.
Later that night, our GPS took us on a dark, back woods adventure down winding country dirt roads that were overgrown with the jungly foliage of the Deep South. We dodged numerous armadillos, which, if you've never seen one, are the size of a cat and pinkish gray, like a possum covered in leathery scales. They move slowly and when they are threatened, they roll into an armored ball.
We decided to try our luck at finding a Couch Surfing host that would take us in late in the night around Tallahassee, Florida. Within an hour of posting a request, a woman offered us a bed for the night. We arrived there around 11pm and stayed up chatting with her until 2 am. We had so much in common and really enjoyed the stay. She had this happy flag outside her front door. It seemed like a slogan for our road trip.
She suggested that before we depart the area that we visit Wakulla Springs park. It was nearby, very close to the Gulf of Mexico.
Wakulla Springs is one of the world's largest and deepest fresh water springs. Florida has more fresh water springs than anywhere else at over 600 springs! Who knew??
We arrived and bought tickets for a boat tour. The water was swimming temperature year round and based on vintage photos in the beautiful guest lodge, it is a hot spot in the summertime for tourists to cool off. The tour guide said that 400,000 gallons of spring water come up out of the ground every minute and flow into a 150 foot deep pool, which then gently flows about 20 miles to the ocean.
The shallow water was crystal clear and we could see every fish, turtle and diving bird that we passed by. There was abundant life in every square inch of that refuge. We saw well over a dozen manatees, even some wee calves with their mamas. Sometimes when we got too close they swished their tails in the sandy bottom to create a cloudy mess. This was the best photo I could get.
We also enjoyed seeing the alligators basking in the sun. They ranged in size from a foot long and five pounds, all the way up to 12 feet long and 600 pounds!
This guy "Big Willie" was a local legend for many decades until one morning when he was found poached, floating in the spring. There was a huge reward for the guilty party(ies) but no one ever came forward.
After our afternoon in nature, we drove over the many miles of bridges that span across the Gulf Coast bayous, New Orleans-bound. A local fella had agreed to host us via Couch Surfing for three nights. I had been to New Orleans briefly back in 2003, prior to hurricane Katrina and expected it to be less amazing, but it wasn't. The people of New Orleans had come together to rebuild and repair their gorgeous city. It now seems stronger and more lovely than before!
I can't say this any more simply...it won us over and we wanted to stay forever. The bold colors, the constant sound of jazz music, the art, fashion, food, tiled street names and overall friendly vibe stole our hearts.
We arrived at our host's home and hunkered down in his wonderfully fun, traditional "shotgun"-style home. All of the rooms were in a row, save the bathroom. Kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms, front and back porches, straight as an arrow. What a great place.
We must have put 15 miles on our shoes touring around the magical streets and back alleys of the city. We strolled through City Park, which is 1,300 acres, and saw a neat sculpture garden followed by the New Orleans Museum of Art.
The people of the city collectively cleaned up the mess in the park after the hurricane to build back good cheer and keep the city beautiful...and secure the venue where many of the city's music festivals are held throughout the year.
There are two things I can guarantee you will see in this city: amazing musical performances and beads. There are Mardi Gras beads in Every. Single. Tree. And on practically every power line.
We marveled at the grand, colorful houses with big old rocking chairs, porch swings and gas lanterns burning around the clock. The yards were mostly solid green foliage with avocado, palm and banana trees amongst the gigantic live oaks and tangled vines. The locals refer to the grassy medians between the traffic lanes as "neutral ground". We got around the city by vintage street cars.
The oldest, and longest running street car in North America is in downtown NOLA (as the locals refer to their city). We made so many fun connections with folks as we rode the streetcars around the city. One man stood out above the rest. Richard was a veteran, about 60 years old. He was also on a cross-country road trip. He carried with him, in his jacket pocket a small, plush goat. I asked him what the goat was for. He said it belonged to his wife, who had recently passed away from cancer. He said that they always wanted to see the country together, so this was his way of bringing her spirit along. He referred to himself and his mascot as "two old goats". We had a great conversation, and I was once again reminded that we are all on a personal journey. We all want answers to life's mysteries and we all reach out in our own ways to connect with others and hear their stories, exchanging puzzle pieces along the way.
One evening, the air was sweaty and thick and there was a steady drizzle of rain. We walked through the old streets of brick and cobblestones, which are notoriously treacherous. One website suggested that you leave your heels and coffee cups at home before embarking on a walking tour. We stepped in many pot holes and stubbed many toes. At one point, a large, wet rat came charging toward us and scampered across my feet and proceeded across the street. Not something that you see in Canada. Something else you don't see in many places are real estate signs that read as follows:
We had an evening out on Frenchmen Street, in the French Quarter with our host, Louis. We had a hoot going from one jazz club to the next. The dancing and clapping and cigar smoke all added to the energy of the night.
This was on a Wednesday. Every night is a music night in NOLA. There were street bands playing on many corners with buckets out to collect tips. Some are big band brass jazz and some are comprised of a home made mop bucket upright bass, washboards, spoons and banjos.
At one club, The Spotted Cat, I must have ventured a little too close to the dance floor because an older gentleman swooped over and pulled me onto the floor with a twirl. It was a very sweaty (and slightly awkward) dance, but when we finished I smiled immediately said "we need to take some swing dancing lessons!" Watching the locals dip and spin and laugh had an addictive energy to it. What fun!
On our last night in NOLA, we strolled through Jackson Square in the heart of the French Quarter. In a row along the fence were fortune tellers, palm readers and tarot card readers. We decided to check them out. One man called out to us with a smile and so we went to see what he had to offer, mostly for fun. He said his name was Jeffy and he wore a red and black sparkly jester's hat, which was a bit comical. He offered to read our tarot cards and our palms and we smiled and took a seat. There was a cold wind that night so we huddled close over his tiny table. For a good 20 or 30 minutes, he told us that we would both live long lives and travel a lot and be very successful in our business ventures and our relationship. These all seemed like pre-packaged comments that could apply to anyone. But then he got specific. He said, "don't have more than three children, more would be too many. Bring reiki into your lives for healing, and keep learning, and then teaching what you know. You are both meant to be teachers."
He's right. We both love to teach AND we both love to learn. I am convinced that it's why we are all here.
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