Today husband and I drove from Devils Lake to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and toured both the north and south units. I have tons of pictures of peaks and canyons, but I choose this as my picture of the day because of the layers and line to the Little Missouri River.
Day one of the 2011 great American road trip puts me in Devils Lake, N.D. The flooding in North Dakota has been devastating this year, and this barn was a roadside reminder that the water isn’t going down anytime soon.
My first trip to New Orleans was full of the expected, classic tourist attractions. Husband was photographing location shots for a client, so his assignment was to capture easily recognizable images of The Big Easy. While our days were full of Bourbon Street, pretty iron balconies and po-boys, New Orleans turned out to be a graceful yet mysterious lady, revealing her charm once you got to know her.
I repeatedly say that travelers should get off the beaten path and avoid tourist traps at all costs. However, some how, New Orleans has the tourist thing right for the most part.
Music
Preservation Hall – Visitors should not leave New Orleans without seeing a 30 minute show of traditional Dixieland jazz at Preservation Hall. We met
a family from England that had come to New Orleans just to see a performance. It’s that good. Being that legendary, you will need to wait in line for the $12 ticket if you want a seat. There are six benches that hold 20 people in the hall, and everyone else stands (it holds about 50-60 people). So it pays to wait outside about an hour before the show to guarantee a great seat.
Fritzel’s – If you want the traditional New Orleans sound, you can find it at the tiny but crowded Fritzel’s on Bourbon Street. There’s no cover charge but the music is solid and they play all the old favorites.
Sing Sing – Walking up and down Bourbon Street, we were continually attracted by the sound coming out of Sing Sing. It wasn’t another jazz bar, but a blues bar. The night we went in to listen to music, a nice older gentlemen sitting in the back showed me where the “alternative” ladies restroom was as a lined formed at the regular restroom. About 10 minutes later the band leader announced a name I can’t remember, and there was my restroom angel on stage. He proceed to belt out a Muddy Waters tune that made me think the blues master had come back from the dead. His voice slid into song after song, and when he was done, the band leader thanked the 73 year old for sharing his voice. For the rest of the night, the guests they invited on stage sang old style blues, and the patrons danced. Don’t miss this place.
Neighborhoods
For a casual day away from the French Quarter, visit the Garden District for lunch and a view of old mansions of the deep south. Lafayette Cemetery, the most elegant of all the NOLA cemeteries, is located here. Just catch the St. Charles Street trolley and step off at Washington Avenue.
If you are looking for a brush with the locals, check out the Bywater neighborhood. It’s a hike from the French Quarter but gives you a good perspective of the varying neighborhoods of New Orleans. Art and coffee shops pepper the streets. If you need an iced latte and a sandwich, stop at Sound Cafe at 2700 Chartres Street, which is between the Bywater and Marigny Districts. If you need a place to rest you feet, Mimi’s in the Marigny is full of locals and an excellent break on your way to the Bywater District. Located at 2601 Royal Street, they serve a nice selection of beers and cold tapas in the afternoon.
Food
The Ruby Slipper was recommended by two random people before we set foot in NOLA. Walkable from the French Quarter at 200 Magazine Street, we hit the spot for breakfast. The menu combinations were impressive, and husband declares he experienced the best French toast of his life.
I tried red beans and rice at several establishments, and Evelyn’s Place was the best. Located at 139 Chartres, you have to ignore the serious level of dust
attached to all of the wall ornamentation while you’re eating. But the banter between the owner and his daughter, along with the local chatter is classic, perhaps more New York than New Orleans. The rice and beans are a must if you like saucy entrees. Skip the bad grocery store French bread served with it. Not worth the calories.
Cafe Du Monde is the famous coffee stand next to the French Market. Order a coffee and an order of beignets. It’s one of the most touristy things to do in town, but it’s worth it. Just have cash. Cafe Du Monde does not accept credit cards.
Need a cheaper alternative? Rouses Market at St. Philip and Decauter is perfect for picnic food and cheap beer to take to Jackson Square.
Cemeteries
As I mentioned earlier, the Lafayette Cemetery #1 is a must see. The unadventurous might want to avoid Lafayette Cemetery #2, which is near Lafayette in the Garden District, but a few blocks in the opposite direction. Husband and I ventured there during the day, and while we felt safe, the neighborhood isn’t the best. You will not feel like you missed anything by skipping this spot.
While the trolley will take you to a cluster of cemeteries located near City Park, they start to feel the same. If you’re not a history or cemetery buff, skip the trolley cemetery route and visit St. Louis Cemetery #1, located just blocks from the French Quarter near the Iberville housing project (which means probably best to avoid at night). St. Louis Cemetery #1 is the oldest Catholic cemetery in New Orleans. Located at 3421 Esplanade Avenue, it opened in 1789. Legend has written that Marie Laveau, the “Voodoo Queen,” is buried in the Glapion family crypt, although there is no proof of the fact. Yet, the grave is marked with souvenirs and triple X’s visitors have marked after leaving coins for good luck. The most interesting statistic to me is that over 100,000 people have been laid to rest in #1, and it’s just one city block today.
What left the greatest impression on me were the people of New Orleans. Of all the places I have visited, New Orleans comes in right after Ireland. Tourism is their mainstay, but instead of being neutral toward visitors, the people I met were warm and interested in your life. Most won’t approach you. You have to ask a question or make a comment. But then you’re in, and the conversations can last seconds or hours if everyone has the time. New Orleans is just nice from top to bottom.
What to know before you go
The tagline for Soundset 2011 is “A Festival of Hip Hop,” which is a modest description for the full-on celebration Soundset has become in the last four years. Created by Minneapolis record label Rhymesayers Entertainment in 2008, Soundset has grown from a show in a downtown Minneapolis parking lot to the largest hip hop festival in the Midwest, bringing nearly 20,000 to the outskirts of a south Minneapolis suburb on May 29.
This was my first year for Soundset and I didn’t know what to expect besides a little rain that had been predicted. While there were a few people in the 50-60 year old range, the crowd was predominately young, teens to 20-somethings. But age didn’t matter. The crowd was open and friendly, sharing the love of music with fist bumps and dancing in the mud. At one point when two young women started talking with me about their experience of meeting phenom rapper Mac Miller, one of the girls asked how old I was. When I told her she squealed “You’re the same age as my mom!” And I could tell it was a compliment.
Today Soundset asked its Facebook fans what their favorite part was from the festival. I paused to think about the question, seeing if I could pin-point down one moment. Instead, the word “celebration” kept coming to mind. In addition to 10 hours of non-stop hip hop, Soundset featured a live painting wall where you could watch graphic artists show off their work. There was a skateboard ramp for demonstrations and a final showdown. There was a sponsored DJ academy where anyone could try their hand at scratching. Professional DJs kept the beats booming in the Elements tent, while “B-Boys and B-Girls” (known as breakdancers in my day) threw down their moves.
While big name headliners like Big Boi and De La Soul were part of the festival this year, Rhymesayers works hard to keep Soundset a Minnesota focused event, highlighting their signed artists. Meet and greets are also a part of the plan to bring the music to the masses. Rhymesayers had meet and greet tents set up in both VIP and general areas, and other artists were selling their CDs and shirts in standalone tents. I have never been to a festival where I could walk up to an artist and chat them up. But at Soundset its the norm.
If you’re thinking about Soundset 2012, there are a few things to consider.
Fans pose with one of my new favorite hip hop artists, Grieves and Budo.
Thankfully husband had a Sharpie on hand when he had a chance encounter with Minneapolis favorite, Brother Ali. The Brother signed husband’s “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” he had packed along for the day. If anyone can translate the phrase in Arabic, let me know!
Last week I attended a conference that was held at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando. If you have to be in Florida, enclosed inside a conference room for eight hours a day, the Hard Rock Hotel is the place to be. Every crack of the building oozes cool. Classic rock plays throughout the hotel 24/7. “Turn down” service consists of fresh linens and your television turned to old MTV videos.
After my meetings each day, I took a spin around the hotel to stretch my legs and look at the rock memorabilia hanging in each corner. Some of my Hipstamatic iPhone favorites included:
Cyndi Lauper dress
Eddie Vetter jacket (Pearl Jam)
Elvis is in the house!
Fountain at front entrance of Hard Rock Hotel
Cool, right? I just hope there are no hidden cameras inside the elevators, because I practiced a lot of new dance moves riding back and forth from the lobby to my room.
A Dallas-based taco shop looked North when deciding to open up its newest franchise. Rusty Taco, named after its co-founder, Rusty Fenton, debuts in Saint Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday, April 5.
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Rusty Taco is sure to draw a crowd from the Saint Paul/Highland Park neighborhood, right across the parking lot from Trader Joe’s on Lexington Parkway, at the 35E and Randolph Avenue interchange.
Rusty and some of his Dallas crew were in Minnesota this weekend, and I got to sample the tongue-tingling delights at a private opening.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am a strict vegetarian, but Rusty Taco has one taco for me – the Rajas. The “meat” is grilled poblano, mushrooms, onions, red pepper, cilantro and queso fresco cheese, which I skipped. I liked the smokey, grilled flavor and how the mushrooms were used as the dominant ingredient. Husband is a big fan of the Rusty Taco, filled with achiote pork, pineapple, onion and cilantro. He also enjoyed both brisket offerings, slow roasted and served with onions, or with BBQ sauce and slaw. I also heard several people comment about how good the Baja Shrimp Taco was.
In addition to the Rajas, I made the mistake of diving into a side of chips and salsa, pretty much inhaling the entire thing. The chips are warm and thick, fried to perfection, and the salsa is red tomato fresh, with a slight kick. While I took down the chips and sauce, my table mates devoured chips and guacamole, saying it was excellent.
A few fun facts:
Opening this Tuesday at 7 a.m.
Rusty Taco, 508 Lexington Parkway South, Saint Paul, MN 55105
Crystal Cove State Park is an unlikely place just off Pacific Coast Highway in the Newport Beach area. You can either walk the beach or stay above the ocean on the cliffs above, looking down from several vantage points. In either place you can take in the natural beauty of the California coastline, just minutes from elite shopping and high-end housing.
I was intrigued by the park after hearing that abandoned cottages peppered the beach. While the historic area is known primarily as the location where the movie, “Beaches” was filmed, I went for another kind of history. In the 1920s Japanese farmers leased land from The Irvine Company, which still owns the same land today. The farmers sold their produce on the side of the road in the surrounding area. However, with the dawn of World War II, the Japanese were packed up and shipped to internment camps. Their cottages still remain on Crystal Cove Beach, worn by sun, wind and sea.
One of the abandoned cottages once occupied by Japanese farmers.
Some of the beach is rocky, offering visitors a chance to climb closer to the surf – with caution.
Walking path above the coastline.
You can truly walk for miles.
Check out the Crystal Cove State Park brochure if you would like to learn more.
I had two immediate objections to going on a Warner Brothers Studio tour:
The flip side? I love movies enough to at least be curious about why the Warner Brothers VIP tour was so special.
At the end of my three plus hour tour, I walked away with a better understanding of how movie and television sets work, and a greater appreciation of how they put together blockbusters in such tiny areas of a back studio lot. I also marveled at the engineering and detail work that goes into every set. These people are masters at their craft, and the Warner Brothers VIP tour made me appreciate that.
Hooray for Hollywood.
Entrance to the emergency room doors on “ER” – with the “L” train tracks above. And those tracks look like steel, don’t they? Nope. Just painted wood.
Considered one of the greatest runs for Warner Brothers, the set of “Friends” is still intact, if not exact, on a corner of the furniture and supply rental space.
Need to rent some furniture for your movie? Warner Brothers rents by the week. There are floors and floors of crystal chandeliers, rugs, chairs and antiques. And isn’t that psychedelic 1960’s chair from an “Austin Powers” movie?
Not just “a” Gran Torino, but the Gran Torino from the Clint Eastwood flick.
At the end of the day, it’s cool to be on the back lot.
Shhhh. Filming in progress!
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, one travel tip. It is true what they say. Skip the Ring of Kerry and head for Dingle Peninsula instead. Less tourists, same gorgeous scenery.
Slainte!
Keeping with my theme of “things to do in the North when it’s cold outside,” I couldn’t let winter slip by without mentioning the Hudson Hot Air Affair, a celebration of hot air ballooning in Hudson, Wisconsin. Held in early February, the event brings ballooners from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, the Dakotas, Illinois and Nebraska. Thousands of spectators flock to the event for family activities, a pancake breakfast, a silent auction, and to an open field to watch the balloons launch into the winter sky each morning. One of the more popular events is “Moon Glow,” when balloonists fire up their balloons in the twilight hours, which is what I caught this weekend.
Travel Snapshots 