Top Ten Lists

You see them everywhere these days. Newspapers, magazines, internet sites, late night talk shows. The top ten best places to . . . , the top ten favorite . . . , the top ten easiest . . . , the top ten worst . . . . A writer friend of mine insists these top ten lists amount to nothing more than lazy journalism. Mere filler and fluff for pages or airwaves. And yet they remain a pop culture staple. Publishers love them. Do readers? Personally, I get pretty excited when I read that Pittsburgh is the number one most livable city, rates high for having a low cost of living, or boasts the most football fans. I feel sad when I read that Louisiana ranks high as one of most unhealthy states or has poor standards for education.

What do you think? Do you read top ten lists? Do you enjoy them? Do they influence your behavior or opinions? Do you really want someone telling you where to find the best pizza in town or would you rather figure that out for yourself?

I guess I was lazy this weekend. I did little exciting or noteworthy. So here are my own top ten best reasons to love living in southwest Louisiana.

10. Shorts and t-shirts in January. Sure, we suffer stifling heat and humidity in the summer – what part of the country hasn’t lately – and occasional hurricanes. But I love not bundling up and shivering in winter, dealing with treacherous driving conditions, and paying $300.00 monthly heating bills. I love that I can get outdoors and play year round. Recently, I'm learning how to kayak. Like I always say, I’d rather be hot in the summer than cold in the winter.

9. Free parking. Everywhere. No kidding.

8. Minimal traffic. Seriously. If five cars line up behind a stop light, the locals think it’s a traffic jam.

7. Roads. Long, straight, basic grid pattern, easy to learn my way around. And without the freeze/thaw thing going on in the winter, very few if any potholes. Okay, enough about driving and weather.

6. Food. Since moving to Louisiana, my taste buds have savored the most incredible new cuisines and some dishes I’d never even heard of before. Gumbo, jambalaya, etoufee, po boys, boudin, crawfish, shrimp and other fresh seafood; it’s all so good!

5. Interesting wildlife. Nutria, roseate spoonbills, armadillos . . . . An alligator in Lowe’s garden center? Why did the chicken cross the road? To show the opossum it actually can in fact be done.

4. Festivals. Louisiana.com states Calcasieu Parish alone hosts over 75 annual festivals. That's only one parish in a five parish region. Suffice it to say, there are a whole lot of festivals around here. I've said it before; we celebrate everything!

3. Music. Zydeco, Cajun, swamp pop . . . if all that doesn’t make you want to dance, there’s no hope for you.

2. Unique culture. I’m learning French by osmosis. I’m fascinated by the traditions of Mardi Gras, pirates, swamp lore, and the Acadians. It’s a daily learning experience. And I love the arts in Lake Charles; the many galleries and museums, theater, ballet, the symphony, the list goes on and on.

And my number one top ten reason why I love living in southwest Louisiana . . . friendly people. The folks here are amazing; kind, helpful, caring, welcoming, shirt-off-their-backs-for-anyone-types. My family and I have been on the receiving end of so much goodness. It’s truly heartwarming. Of course, Pittsburghers rank high on the friendly list, too. On my top ten, Pittsburgh and Lake Charles are tied for first place in the friendly category.

Let me know what you think on those earlier questions. And just for fun, create a top ten list related to your own hometown.

Weekend Happenings

Wow, what an awesome weekend for Lake Charles music fans. Street Side Jazz Band played at Stellar Beans coffee shop Friday evening. Asleep at the Wheel, a favorite of mine from college days, performed at the Civic Center Saturday night. Various bands at the annual Cajun Music and Food Festival entertained all weekend at Burton Coliseum.

And I didn’t see or hear any of it. Nope, except for a writing/work-related thing on Saturday and church on Sunday (which also has awesome music!) I stayed home, read, walked, watched a movie, perused the Sunday paper, baked banana bread, swung in the hammock, rode my bike . . . relaxed. Some weekends are simply meant to be less exciting (busy, stressful) than others. Yay for downtime!

While I wiled away a Sunday afternoon, photographer/writer friend Frank DiCesare went to that Cajun music festival and took a few photos. The guys below call themselves Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin' Cajuns. You can find more of Frank’s photography on his website.

Fort Lauderdale

Bob and I spent the weekend in Fort Lauderdale. Quick trip, but fun, while the boys were away at camp. Here’s Bob hanging out at Bahia Cabana with his buddies Jake and Elwood.


You may not know this about me, but I have a fountain fetish. Truly.


We weren’t really there long enough to see much besides big yachts and mansions while riding on the water taxi. I kinda like this one.


By far the sight that wins the most interesting/unusual/weird award goes to this car. Who does this?

Happy Birthday, Mom

Cost of a plane ticket from Lake Charles to Pittsburgh . . . more than my husband wanted to spend.

Number of travel hours, after a flight delay, missed connection, overnight stay in Houston, and a rental car malfunction . . . way more than I wanted to spend.

The look on Mom's face and the joy in our hearts when I surprised her and showed up at her 70th birthday party . . .

Priceless!

Lake Arthur, Louisiana

I had heard of a town named Arthur somewhere in the area – the weatherman mentions rainfall amounts there, a friend’s husband works there, there’s a great Hispanic grocer there, it’s a beautiful area, no, it’s industrial – it’s in Texas, right? No, it’s in Louisiana . . . I’d hear or read. I was confused about Arthur. It took me four years to figure it out . . . Port Arthur is west of Lake Charles in east Texas. Lake Arthur is southeast of us, over in Jeff Davis Parish south of Jennings.

I’d been considering going to Lake Arthur, just to check it out, for some time. But a feature story in Sunday’s American Press convinced me to finally go. Promises of a pretty beach and an ice cream store clinched it for me. It’s a teeny tiny town, population around 3,000 in an area about 2.5 square miles. We stopped for lunch at Nott’s Corner Seafood and Deli. That’s a big crawfish!



Eric and friend Josh ate gumbo. Look at the size of those bowls! You would think we were in Texas!

Down the road from Nott’s we found the beach. They ship in sand from the Ouiska (pronounced whiskey) Chitto River, a place in Louisiana I’ve not yet been, which is known for its pretty white sand. The park has plenty of covered pavilions to escape the sun. It’s quite nice.


Water soccer?


This small town is currently in the process of revitalizing, a “work in progress,” as one proprietor told me. There are a few gift shops, but with three teenage boys in tow, I didn’t take the time for those. I heard there’s a new bakery, but I didn’t see it. We concluded our trip to Lake Arthur with a visit to LA Scoops, the new ice cream parlor I’d read about. They serve locally made Kleinpeter Ice Cream. The Triple Chocolate Stampede will leave you wishing you’d ordered two scoops!

Sailing on Father's Day, 2011

It’s been even breezier than usual in southwest Louisiana lately, so we took advantage and went sailing today. Bob says a Sunfish is a one-person boat, but we easily fit two people on it. First Eric went out with him, then me, and finally Andrew. The lake is so warm right now, feels like bath water. And salty! Lake Charles is supposedly a freshwater lake, but Bob says the strong constant southerly wind this year has pushed seawater right up the ship channel and into the lake.

Great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon!

Vacation Favorites and Other Notables

Over our two week trek through west Texas and southeast New Mexico, we experienced many things, but as is always the case, certain things stood out.

Favorite restaurant: La Trattoria, Alpine, Tx. Their dark chocolate hazelnut cheesecake is possibly the best dessert I’ve ever tasted in my life.

Favorite lodging: The Maverick Inn, Alpine, Tx. This quaint motel with a Zen cowboy atmosphere is owned and operated by a family of cats, but they have a couple humans working for them.




Favorite lodging lobby: Hotel El Capitan, Van Horn, Tx. This place is an old renovated hotel in a teeny town off I-10. I asked the desk clerk about the bullet holes in the stairwell window. “I don’t know, but it used to be a bank,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. I’m always looking for a good story.



And while I’m in Van Horn, this was our quirkiest discovery: “Fancy Junk.” No one was there to talk to, the place wasn’t officially open, but someone there has a knack for making artwork out of scrap metal . . . insects, spaceships, dinosaurs, etc.




Okay, while I’m still in Van Horn, what the heck is a Haul of Fame? No, we did not eat there.


Favorite critter encounter: This had to be a tie. I couldn’t decide between the colorful lizard or the tarantula. Both were photographed during a hike on McKittrick Canyon Trail, Guadalupe Mountains National Park.



Most nostalgic moment: At the Carlsbad Museum and Art Center, there’s an exhibit of 3D photography of the Lecheguilla Cavern. When I looked through the lenses at the first photograph, I immediately was reminded of “View Master,” one of my favorite toys as a kid.

Longest drive: Alamogordo, NM to New Braunfels, TX – over ten hours.

Biggest disappointment: So few bats flying out of Carlsbad Cavern at dusk.

Most educational visit: McDonald Observatory. This place has an awesome deal. For eight bucks, you get a three hour astronomer-led tour of some of the largest telescopes in the world. I learned more about the sun and how telescopes work – it’s all about mirrors – than I ever knew I wanted to know. Great place!





Most physically challenging endeavor: Hiking to the top of Emory Peak, Big Bend National Park. (See previous post.)

Most pleasant surprise: There are no mosquitoes in west Texas or SE New Mexico!