I am a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, doctor and traveler but most of all at this stage of my life I am a follower of the mantra of Madeline Albright: "Some people pursue enlightenment by sitting quietly and probing their inner consciousness; I make plane reservations."
Long travel day and not much to say. We are in Big Bend National Park in Texas. It is located on the US – Mexican border. I had heard it was nice and since it is a national park it seemed like a natural for this trip. On our way to the “Big Bend Resort” (who do they think they are kidding?) we encountered a variety of creatures. In addition to the expected horses and cattle we saw a road runner and snake. Patrice did some wonderful driving to avoid sending those little guys to their final resting place. Speaking of resting places this so called resort is a dump. Well I am sure I wouldn’t have been so harsh if it we hadn’t just come from Heaven on Earth aka “JW Marriott in Austin”. One more tribute to the hotel, please see the picture below of the shower with a hidden drain.
Today I want to reflect on some aspects of the trip thus far. This is day 13 and if you are liberal minded, which I know you all are, this is our 3rd National Park (The Gateway Arch being the first and Busch Stadium the second).
So far this has been more of a BBQ tour. Since it is unlikely we will see much in the way of quality BBQ for the rest of the trip let me make my own judgement on the Best City of BBQ. My vote goes to Memphis. I agree that our sampling is small so further testing is absolutely in my future but so far Memphis is light years ahead of New Orleans or Austin.
Today we were greeted by a moderate drizzle so we wimped out and got a ride to the Capital building instead of our planned walk. We arrived moments before the 12 pm tour after being strip searched (well, not really).
Our tour guide was very nice but did not impress us with her knowledge of Texas history (asking for confirmation that the Civil War ended in 1861. Sorry actually that would be 1865).
After the tour we got to see the State Senate in action. They were discussing a bill that involved a tax break for egg producers. We were then subjected to some of the worst puns about eggs that I’ve ever heard. About 6 senators were wasting taxpayers money telling stupid jokes. Our tour guide said the state legislators meet only during odd numbered years. Now I know why.
Tomorrow we head for Big Bend National Park. We have been hearing awful news about the rains but so far we have only had very mild showers. Let’s hope that keeps up.
I am not sure if we will have good wifi in the National Park. So it is possible you might not hear from me for a couple of days (is that a round of applause I just heard?).
I know I told you that this hotel is heaven but see the attached photo and I think you will agree they want me to relocate here. We worked out this morning and the stationary bikes have TV, Internet, and simulated videos of rides in the Alps and French Riviera.
Your prayers WORKED! It rained rather heavy early so we took a cab to the LBJ Museum instead of walking as we had previously planned. But thanks to your anti-rain prayers we did not have any further issue with bad weather the rest of the day and night.
Our visit to the LBJ museum was a huge success. There were great videos, graphics, memorabilia and recorded conversations. I was in my element. I turned a “recommended” 90 minute tour into a 3 hour 30 minute experience (and Patrice thought three Pirate vs St. Louis baseball games were torture?). My favorite part was the “Please hold for the President” phone conversations. I loved the way he was in such command talking to people like Dixiecrat Richard Russell of Georgia (“Don’t tell me you can’t do it, I am telling you that you WILL do it. I am not asking you to do this for me, you are doing it for your country”) and Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell (“What are you doing? Why didn’t you get it done? I don’t care what you need, you NEED to get this done!”). Other phone calls showed his sensitive side. There were a couple with Lady Bird that were very heart warming. I was teary eyed when we left the museum.
At night we headed to the Colorado River for the much ballyhooed Bats of Austin. I must admit this was a bit underwhelming. The bats were tiny and very hard for me to see. It was dark so a photo of the rapidly flying bats was out of the question. I have attached a bat picture for those who might otherwise be disappointed. The highlight of the Bat experience was hooking up with our friend from LA, Tai, who now lives in Austin.
A blog without any mention of food? Is this possible?
One last meal in Nola before we left town. We had grits and the highly recommended corned beef omelette at “The Grill” in the French Quarter. In addition to a great meal we were treated to one more dose of southern charm. We were “Honeyed”, “Babied” and “You have a happy Mother’s Day, Child” throughout our meal.
On our way back to the hotel we decided to walk back via Bourbon Street since we had not been there this trip (I swear this was Patrice’s idea). Check out the signs below and you get an idea of the types of activity you find on this famous walkway. Do any of these places look like a good venue for a Mother’s Day celebration?
We then left the Big Easy and 515 miles later we found ourselves in Austin, Texas at the JW Marriott hotel. This place is amazing. Our room is huge with every convenience known to mankind. We have a corner room with spectacular views of the city. After getting settled we explored the hotel, first going to the executive lounge. There we found televisions with private sitting areas, newspapers, fresh fruit, nuts, yogurt, drinks, cookies, candies, yada, yada, yada. Then we went out by the pool area and found a spectacular view with loads of comfortable sitting space and a beautiful pool. We also went to the gym (to see, not to work out, of course) and it had every piece of equipment you could possibly desire. Our self guided tour ended with a visit to the concierge who fell over himself making suggestions of things to do tomorrow. When he finished he thanked us! I love this place. I told Patrice if I find a conference schedule at the JW Marriott in Austin, I am going. I don’t care what the topic is, I am going.
This morning we went to Elizabeth’s for breakfast. We went there during our Pseudo Freedom Trail Tour in 2014 and I had to return so I could eat “Red Neck Eggs” and Praline Bacon again. See the picture below and you will notice that I couldn’t wait and dug in before snapping this shot. I won’t tell you that after breakfast we went to Loretta’s for sweet potato pie and pecan pie because that would seem too decadent. Loretta is a charmer and has a wonderful sign in front of her place (see below).
We then took the trolley to City Park and toured the beautiful sculpture garden. At the entrance to the park we saw a bronze statue of Confederate General B.T. Beauregard. It still amazes me how many Confederacy statues and monuments you see in the South. We managed to miss the statues of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. We also didn’t go to the Confederacy museum. The World War II museum provided enough visions of senseless death and suffering for one trip.
This evening we had a wonderful dinner with our friends Angie and Don (see below). In addition to a spectacular meal we had a delightful evening talking about our visit last year (with Erica and her friend Sienna), our travels, family and a bunch of other things (yes Richard, we talked about you). Mostly we talked about reasons to come back to New Orleans (as if we needed any more).
Tomorrow morning we head to Austin. We have read that the forecast is for rain and thunderstorms for the next few days. If you can say a prayer that the rain be sent to California instead everyone will be very grateful.
Today we started out with the New Orleans Movie Tour. (Where does Patrice find these things?) We met our guide, Jonathan Ray, at 10AM, for a tour around the city hearing information about the movie industry and other interesting facts about New Orleans. Apparently due to tax breaks more movies and TV shows were filmed in New Orleans last year than either NYC or LA. Jonathan had one other couple signed up for today’s tour but they didn’t show up. So just like our Memphis BBQ tour we had our own personal chauffeur and guide today. The tour was excellent. We would stop at a site and then watch a clip from a movie that was shot from the very location where we were parked. Jonathan was hilarious. Again an activity that made me cringe when Patrice told me about it turned out to be a blast. See the brief video below.
After the tour we had to have the obligatory stop at Cafe du Monde for Cafe Au Lait and Beignets.
We then took the ferry across the Mississippi River to Algiers Point. Our guide, Jonathan talked about the place and said there wasn’t much there. We should have taken his word and gone to the pool instead. When we got there we asked a local person to tell us about things to do and see in Algiers Point. She told us she was not from around here and didn’t know where the “hysterical” sights were located. She did introduce us to a local woman who worked at a day care. The day care worker told us about 3 bars and the court house. Hmmm, made me glad my grandsons don’t go to that day care. Note the sign below that explains the hours of operation of Bobby D’s store on Algiers Point. Need I say more?
Dinner was at Irene’s. Last year we tried to get into this restaurant but without a reservation they said the wait was close to two hours. We took a pass last year and made sure we had reservations this year. As many of the readers of this blog know, my mother’s name is Irene. And the meal was just like she prepared it herself. We started out with Crab Gratin and Escargot for appetizers. We then had Crawfish Bisque. Our main courses were Soft-Shell Crab and Lasagna (calling it lasagna is an understatement. This dish was spectacular). For dessert we had bread pudding (also an understatement). Foodies, check out the photos below.
After dinner we went to Preservation Hall, a jazz icon of the city. We waited on line for 30 minutes to get in so we could stand up for a 50 minute show. It was well worth the standing and waiting. I had long wanted to go to this place and in spite of the wait, standing and lack of A/C I am happy to cross that off my “To Do” list.
Today we visited the WW II museum. I won’t say anything cutesy about that. It is an amazing tribute to so many people who died and suffered through 4 very dark years of the world’s history. When it was first suggested as a possibility I wasn’t all that interested in going but I’m very glad I did. I managed to get a great shot of the bomber from WW II known as “Overexposed”. Note Patrice posing near the cockpit.
Dinner was an experience. Our daughter, Lindsay, suggested we eat at a restaurant operated by Chef John Besh. Apparently he is a famous chef who operates 4 or 5 restaurants. We went to “Restaurant August” here in New Orleans. We were not at all disappointed. See the attached photos and see if you can tell which is the Crawfish Étoufée, Soft Shell Crab and Chopped Salad. I hate to admit it but that wasn’t all we ate.
I need to get to the treadmill. Can someone carry me?
Before leaving Memphis we had to eat one more time at our new favorite breakfast place, the Blue Plate Cafe. Today our waitress, Rosa Lee, was the woman who gave us directions to the Mud Island River Museum on Monday. Since our waitress on Monday morning claimed she had a poor sense of direction she recruited help from Rosa Lee. As I recall her directions were “You go down that way for a bit. Turn left there, I don’t know the name of the street. Go down the hill toward the river and asked someone down there”. Well Rosa Lee was about as good of a waitress as she was a tour guide so we got a late start on our trip to New Orleans.
On the road to the Big Easy, Patrice did a great job driving while I navigated (“Go south on highway 55 until you smell the alcohol, vomit and urine and then you’ll know we are there”).
Dinner was at the Palm Court Jazz Cafe, recommended by my friend Steve. Dinner was excellent and the music fantastic. The hostess danced with the band. See the attached video for a brief snippet.
It is a bit humid here and Patrice wants to go to another museum tomorrow. I might hide by the pool.
The Mud Island River Museum was open today. We went. That about sums it up.
After Mud Island we explored the latest sensation that has hit Memphis. It is Bass Pro Shop at the Pyramid. Bass sells all sorts of outdoor equipment. They have a wide variety of gear for fishing and hunting and all the accessories that one could imagine. Their store at the Pyramid is truly a mega-store. The Pyramid was an arena where the University of Memphis played their basketball games. Apparently it was not acoustically ideal for concerts so when the Tigers left for a nicer home court, the arena did not have much use. Along comes Bass Pro and not only converts it into a store they have made it a happening. There are sections devoted to kids entertainment (rifle shooting of course), dining (restaurant and confection sales, including some amazing fudge), a bar at the apex of the building with breathtaking views of the city (see below) and of course what store is complete without its own hotel. Yes the place has a hotel in it. Did I forget the ponds with a variety of fish and an alligator?
We then went back to our room at the Peabody Hotel. If you are not familiar with this place I will let you know it is a Memphis institution famous for the ducks in the lobby fountain. Every day at 11AM the “Duckmaster” marches the ducks from their rooftop home down the elevator across a red carpet in the lobby to the fountain. Then every evening at 5PM he marches them from the fountain to the red carpet and back up the elevator to their rooftop hang out. It is a real gas. People sit in the bar or line up along the red carpet an hour or more in advance to get a picture of the ducks. The hotel is obsessed with them. You see duck dolls, umbrellas, t-shirts, soap, etc. You name it and they have a duck model (see below). The Peabody might not be a National Park but it certainly is a National treasure, especially if you like ducks.
Baseball is over for a while so I am at Patrice’s mercy for the next two plus weeks. Today she wanted to visit the Mud Island River Museum (hmmm, can I read my book there?). The museum is a short walk from the hotel and IT IS CLOSED ON MONDAYS! A little reprieve for me, even if only for one day. On our way back to the hotel we found that Memphis has a Fire Museum (see below). The museum houses a series of exhibits including old firefighter equipment, videos and a wonderful memorial to the 343 firefighters who died in the 9/11 tragedy. Some of the information made me wonder about the intelligence of the people living in this town (notice the 911 information sign below). Like most museums you exit into the gift shop so I made myself an honorary member of the Memphis FD (see below).
After a brief rest at the hotel we met our guide for the Barbecue Tasting Tour provided by http://www.Tastinroundtown.com. Tours are limited to 12 people and the idea of being carted around town eating BBQ cuisine sounded like fun. We arrived promptly at the meeting place but wondered if we made a mistake since no one else was there. Our guide, Lance, welcomed us to the tour and told us we were the only people who had signed up. We had our personal chauffeur and tour guide. Lance is Italian and originally from New York and got to Memphis 6 years ago via Indiana and Chicago. He certainly could have made me believe he was a native from Memphis since he was a cornucopia of information about Memphis history and culture. He filled us in on the subtle differences between the various BBQ offerings in the city and how they differ from what we would encounter in Kansas City, Texas and other places. Not only was he informative he was quite funny. That’s him pictured with us below.
After the BBQ tour we went back to the hotel to work out and to see if we could break even for the day caloric wise (not a chance of that). Feeling much less guilty now and wondering were we might find some pecan pie.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 