States: 16 Days: 91 Miles: 24,720
Louisiana most definitely lived up to all my expectations, and some more. Every time I make it to a new state, I look out for the “Welcome to…” signs and when I spotted the “Welcome to Louisiana” sign, I had a surge of happiness that lasted all the way to Baton Rouge. On arrival to my beautiful BnB, I was informed that there was a great pub/restaurant over the road, so I went straight over to get some dinner before an early night. One of the things I had been looking forward to the most in Louisiana were the “mudbugs”, so I was very pleased that after asking (none on the menu), I was given an option of 3, 4, or 5lb options. Not having a clue about how much a pound of mudbugs was, I decided to go for the middle option and was fully satisfied when out came an 18-ich metal plate piled high with delicious, hot, spicy, sweet mudbugs. I went back the next night. And the next. And the next. I think I have successfully proven that you cannot overdose on langoustines.
I had a busy few days in Baton Rouge, as I found out that unless I wanted to pay hundreds of dollars to stopover in plantation houses, there weren’t many places to stay, so a lot of driving ensued. I had already decided to treat my time in Louisiana as a holiday – i.e. don’t stress too much about the budget and say yes to everything (well – almost everything – I’ll get to that later). But I couldn’t help noticing that the average cost of a night’s stay shot up after booking my Louisiana hotels. Baton Rouge was worth it, though. I have never stayed in a more comfortable bed or in a more lovely house. It was amazing I actually got out of bed to visit anywhere.
Day one was spent visiting Avery Island, a giant salt dome island and swamp where Tabasco sauce was invented and is still the only place in the world where it’s made. So I now know all about Tabasco sauce and have had a Bloody Mary (perfect marriage between Avery Island and a visiting girl from Worcestershire) in the birthplace of Tabasco. I should say, I had a few sips of a Bloody Mary in the birthplace of Tabasco. I mostly ate the trimmings and tried my hardest to like what I was drinking. But I couldn’t. Bloody Marys are disgusting. Sorry Worcestershire. I did, however, also try jalapeno pepper, and raspberry chipotle ice cream, which were both delicious.
Next morning over one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had (seriously, how did I ever leave this BnB), my Small World Hypothesis was illuminated when I struck up a conversation with my table mates. Turned out I’d just met Simon Winchester, OBE, famed journalist and writer, on tour researching his next book. Talking about one of his books that is currently being made into a film by Mel Gibson, the neighbouring table’s occupants leaned over and said that they’d just finished reading that very same book! Small world.
Next couple of days I spent exploring Vacherie, learning about plantation life and exploring the remnants of beautiful plantations and houses, and touring Atchafalaya, searching for alligators and other swamp life and ticking off one of my 100 places. Interspersed, of course, with copious amounts of oysters and also trying my first fried green tomatoes. I planned to get very fat in Louisiana.
I was the most excited travelling down to New Orleans and figured I should begin my NOLA adventure the way most tourists do – on Bourbon street. Informed by my Dad that I absolutely wasn’t allowed to drink rum (my go-to beverage) on Bourbon Street, I obliged him by trying an Old Fashioned in at least four establishments along Bourbon until I found a genius bar tender that introduced me to Angels Envy Rye – rye whisky aged in rum barrels – the best of both worlds! I proceeded to park myself there for the next few Old Fashioneds. On drink number two (at this bar), I found myself sitting next to a lovely married couple from Cleveland, with whom I continued chatting and drinking at several establishments throughout the evening, thinking I had made another set of friends and could possibly have somewhere to stay when I made it up to Cleveland. Turned out I was being quite naïve about my standing, as I found out when they asked me, at around midnight, to go back to their hotel with them. Thinking back to my pledge to ‘say yes to everything’, I somehow did manage to politely decline and make a fast escape back to my hostel (alone).
Next morning, I went in search of Ms Linda’s Yakamein or ‘Old Sober’ in NOLA parlance; spaghetti, broth, alligator meat, and copious amounts of sriracha hot sauce. Definitely woke me up and kicked the hangover in the butt. It also took me past Desire Street, which was a nice bonus (unfortunately no Streetcar anymore). My first full day in NOLA was pouring with rain, so I had to satisfy myself with a museum day. Luckily in NOLA, a museum day is one of the best things you can do. The National WWII museum is one of the best tourist attractions in the US, and it’s easy to see why. The scale, scope, and material were all spectacular. Possibly the best historical museum I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. However; don’t go when you’re hungover, as it’s a lot of walking! Once I’d seen and walked as much as I could bear, I headed back to the French Quarter for some VooDoo action, visiting two of the VooDoo museums there. Even treated myself to a VooDoo Doll because, well, why not.
My last few days in NOLA were much sunnier and so I spent the majority of my time pootling around, seeing what I could see. Which was a lot. Keeping sober to avoid the hangover and any other strange married couples, I went to bed early to wake up early for my most anticipated experience: beignets at Café Du Monde, followed by working off all that powdered sugar by walking the French Quarter. A trip to New Orleans wouldn’t be complete without a trip on the Natchez and visiting some of the spectacular graveyards, and luckily I also managed to catch an early Mardi Gras parade on my final evening. All in all, the most spectacular ten days in the State.
After leaving Louisiana, I made my way across the south coast of Mississippi and Alabama to the Florida panhandle, which had unfortunately been hit by Hurricane Michael late last year. The area was still badly damaged, wreckage piled up alongside the side of the road and forests of trees literally snapped in the middle, heads lying on the ground. My AirBnB host was still repairing and replacing some parts of her home but had recently refurbished her guest room (where I was staying) and it was a lovely space, you would have never known the place was under six inches of water.
A couple of days recuperating from Louisiana and wandering around Apalachicola was a lovely experience, although perhaps one too many late nights in NOLA had left me with a nasty chest infection. That plus me managing to smack myself in the head with the ceiling fan (don’t ask) left me feeling a little sorry for myself. My lovely AirBnB host had invited me to a few events over the few days I was there, and I finally relented when she mentioned “Pub Quiz”. I do love a quiz. So off we went to the local and proceeded to meet the most lovely bunch of people. We also won the pub quiz. Note to self – keep saying yes to things, as it’s far better than sitting alone in your room binge watching Parks n Rec!
Whilst my holiday within a holiday was only supposed to be earmarked for Louisiana, I found it quite difficult to feel like anything but on holiday when wandering around Miami. With the crystal-clear skies and white sands, 30-degree weather and even the stereotypical guy rollerblading down the street in vest and shorts with giant headphones on. Not my particular scene, but interesting to walk around Ocean Drive and Miami Beach. Little Havana was much more my speed, especially as I managed to find the same late-night eatery from the film Chef (see blog number one for my inspiration) and eat the very same Cuban sandwich that inspired him on his journey. Felt like a nice circle of inspiration. Another boat ride around the Everglades got me within arm's reach of an alligator (although I definitely did not test that theory). Another iconic dream realised, speeding over the River of Grass in a fan boat.
On my way down to the Florida Keys, I stopped by a Winery (I was on holiday after all) that specialised in non-grape wines. I tried wines made from avocado, mango, passion fruit, lychee, coconut, and strawberry. I might also have walked away with a few bottles of the coconut and lemongrass wine. I have yet to open a bottle, though, as it most definitely needs a balcony with a view and some significantly better weather than I’ve experienced over the last few weeks. Perhaps another human being to enjoy it with would also be nice, which has also been lacking recently!
Finalising the holiday experience with the ultimate US holiday destination; Key West, I spent another few glorious days wandering around with the gypsy chickens along the beautiful streets, watching spectacular sunsets, eating yet more seafood and many, many Key Lime Pies. I attempted to walk off all the gluttony by walking to the southernmost point of the continental US and spotting Highway 1’s Mile Marker 0. I also took a look around Key West Cemetery, with a number of residents with a great sense of humour, including; “I told you I was sick”, “I’m just resting my eyes”, and “I always dreamed of owning a place in Key West”, amongst many others. All in all, a pretty spectacular couple of states and definitely a very indulgent time. I will now be camping and cooking my own food as much as possible to make up for all the indulgence!