Trip Tidbits En Route through the Deep South

Experiences and observations along the journey to the 50th college reunion.

• New Orleans: My first visit ever to the Big Easy presented a city of stark contrasts. After our ride on the Mighty Mississippi River aboard the Natchez stern-wheeler, we strolled through Jackson Square and across the street to the St. Louis Catholic Cathedral, with roots that go back 300 years. This part of the French Quarter is sedate and stately — nothing like I held in my mind’s eye. I thought all of it was like Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras. Then again, a walk along Bourbon Street is oh so honky tonk, even at mid-afternoon.

• Memorable Meal 1: The Crescent City Brewhouse is a cozy microbrewery recommended by the Beloved1’s daughter and son-in-law. Great raw Gulf oysters. Every time I have raw oysters I feel like I’m playing Russian Roulette. I like ‘em nonetheless. But i never had the large, mild, meaty ones they shuck here, at the hands of Kelvin, aka “Gator.” Yum.

• Memorable Meal 2: Dinner at Bayona, fine dining in the French Quarter. We had seats in its intimate courtyard. Very relaxing after a day of walking the city. We almost always split an entree. It’s not about the money. It’s about the often too-generous portions. We had the duck breast, because it’s been absent from our dining choices for a while.

• Macon and Milledgeville: As we drove through such place names, I was reminded of The Fateful Lightning, a Civil War novel by Jeff Shaara I just finished It brings to vivid life Gen. William Tecumsah Sherman’s march to the sea that burned swaths of Georgia. We’re headed now to Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, SC, both spared of the federal army’s torches.

• The weather: So far the skies have smiled upon us. It’s been mostly sunny since we left San Antonio. But this could quickly change. Some 20 have died as tornadoes swept the Midwest. My 93-year-old mother and my brother in Pittsburgh were left without power for eight days by severe windstorms there. Can you say “climate change?” Never mind that it’s a term that falls on a the Administration’s deaf ears. Given the evidence to which we’ve all come to witness, how can you not worry about it?

• Best Beignets: These deep-fried pastries are a common must in North Orleans. One of the iconic places to order them is the Cafe Du Monde just off the riverfront. They come to your table in servings of three. If you can find them, that is, under the mounds of powdered sugar heaped atop.

New Orleans sites, clockwise from upper left: St. Louis Cathedral altar; Kelvin, master oyster shucker; beignets at Cafe Du Monde; the Natchez stern-wheeler.