Cajun Hospitality

A great deal has happneed since the last time that I posted although it was merely three short nights ago. Since camping and driving is not the most condusive for finding "good" internet hubs the posts may be covering numerous experiences.

Picking up and leaving May 25th from meridian was the start of a journey which has already been a learning experience. Everything I am exposed to from when I wake up till I go to sleep is new. My brain almost forgets to take everything in because there is so much out there to see. From the new experience with fire ants in Meridian to eating beignets at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans the trip has been a real journey.

Since the spontaneous meeting with Chrissy (whom i had heard about from Brenda in PA), Meghan, Lindsay, and Rafa in Jackson we have headed south. Heading towards the Natchez Trace (a scenic road south) we were anticipating riding a good portion of it by bike, but our plans changed when the road turned out to have no shoulder and therefore didn't lend itself to biking. Instead we found a bike trail winding around a resevoir and went for a 28 mile ride. Although we weren't able to bike the "Trace" finding another place to bike didn't prove difficult which bodes well for finding more places to ride later in the trip hopefully.

Continuing south we broke in the new tent at Lake Lincoln State Park. Was really hot which isn't super condusive for camping but the scenery was nice and we got a good deal of sleep.

Yesterday we then made our way to the wonderfully colorful city of New Orleans. New Orleans is really a city of contrasts. You have the quiet shops, the huge casino, the giant houses, and the small houses abandoned after the storm. It seems that for every amazing site there is an equally sobering one. But, in the sobering parts of the city there lies hope. After eating beignets, walking the city, and listening to some amazing jazz we ran into a small new orleans music festival. the people who were at the festival were the "real" people of the city, locals who stuck through the tradgedy. With the backdrop of abandoned houses they sang and danced with a goal of raising money to one day bring the city back to what it can be. This hope was a lift for me especially after hearing of the earthquake in Indonesia. Destruction and rebuilding is a cycle which for many people in the world is reality. As a traveler it is hard to see this but i believe hope can prevail.

Leaving New Orleans I had the distinct honor of meeting Nate's friend Bubba who lives South of the city. I was treated to some real Cajun hospitality as well as some authentic Louisiana Shrimp Gumbo....which was incredible.

Today......moving on into Texas......