Indian Bayou

I and a small contingent of the Pelican Paddlers braved the chill today and ventured a few miles down Indian Bayou, from Sam Houston Jones State Park to “the island” for one last paddle in 2012. The temperature barely reached 50 today, and I was concerned I would be cold. But I dressed warm enough, maybe even too warm, and had a delightful time. My arms reminded me that I hadn’t been on the water in two months. Too long.

The bayous in Louisiana are beautiful, even in winter.

I didn’t catch any with my camera, but we saw several blue herons. Otherwise, not much wildlife. I suppose one could say one of the best parts of kayaking in the winter is that there are no mosquitoes.

I'd explored Indian Bayou several times in the past, but never before in winter. You can read about a couple of my other trips down this pristine waterway here.

Happy New Year, everyone! How are you celebrating the end of 2012?

Natchitoches' Festival of Lights

As promised, we went to Natchitoches for 86th annual Festival of Lights last Saturday. The weather was perfect, though maybe a bit too warm (close to 80 degrees) for December. Never quite sure this time of year, I wore corduroy pants and a long-sleeved holiday t-shirt. It was way too warm for that. And to boot, I was certain it would cool off after the sun went down, so I unnecessarily carried around a light-weight jacket all day. Imagine the band kids in those heavy uniforms, marching what I would guess to be around a 3-4 mile parade route. This is Andrew’s “Oh, Mom . . ." look.

 

I knew the place would be packed. Knowing I don’t deal well with crowds, I had mentally psyched myself ready several days in advance, but nothing could have prepared me for the masses that descend on Natchitoches for this daylong celebration – the parade, food, music, fireworks, and unveiling of the over 300,000 lights that adorn darling downtown Natchitoches. Out of curiosity, I called their Visitors Bureau and discovered they estimated the crowd to be around 75,000! Wow!

 

It was a good day overall. The parade was long, about two hours. Dance and cheer teams, floats carrying queens, politicians, and area business owners, high school marching bands, costumed characters, all tossing candy and beads to the throngs. I could do without the noisy vroom vroom of approximately 175 motorcycles. And the policemen on their bikes needn’t preen at quite so high a decibel level. But these funny Shriners made me smile.

 

I did a little Christmas shopping in the overcrowded shops along Front Street. The fireworks were some of the best I’ve seen in my life (and I've seen a lot), truly choreographed to Christmas music and with different unusual displays of explosives I’d never seen before.

 

They don’t flip the switch on the lights until after the fireworks, in a grand reveal. We’d grown weary of the crowds by then and wanted to head home after the fireworks (church and all the next morning) but in hindsight, I wish we had spent a bit more time looking at the lights. Traffic was an absolute nightmare. It took us an hour and a half to get out of the town. But it’s a worthwhile event to do at least once. It’s a Louisiana holiday tradition.

(In the name of full disclosure, I did not take these night shots. I found them on the internet.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are curious what Natchitoches looks like on a normal day, read this post from my archives here. But Mighty Max is no longer there. And the lovely park has been expanded, improved, and is absolutely stunning.

Tell me about your fun holiday events or traditions.

Flashback Friday -- Getting into the Christmas Spirit

Gasp! I just realized that this post makes three Flashback Fridays in a row. Which means I have not written a "new" post in over three weeks! So sorry, readers. I promise I will have a brand new one early next week. Because tomorrow, we are going to an exciting Louisiana Christmas tradition -- something that has been on my list pretty much since we moved here -- the Natchitoches Festival of Lights and Christmas Parade! Finally. Eric has been going to school in that town for three years now. After he graduates this spring, we may never be in Natchitoches again. So it's now or never. The fact that Andrew's high school band is marching in the parade gives us added incentive.

Anyway, I found this post from 2010. It's basically where I am presently -- getting into the holiday spirit. There are so many festivals, lighting ceremonies, parades, fireworks displays, galas, and holiday happenings this weekend, who wouldn't be in the spirit!

Speaking of lighting ceremonies, that reminds me of Light Up Night in Pittsburgh. I always loved Light Up Night. I miss it. Look, I found a photo. Isn't it beautiful?!! Fantastic! Pittsburgh readers, tell me about your Light Up Night traditions. Where do you like to view it from? Louisiana readers, have you been to the Natchitoches Festival of Lights? What are your don't-miss recommendations?

 

A Previous Post on Thanksgiving

It's Flashback Friday and naturally my thoughts linger on yesterday's celebration of Thanksgiving. Here's a post I wrote back in 2010 about Thanksgiving in Louisiana, though that holiday is over and we are on to the next one. We listened to Christmas music the whole ride back from visiting relatives in Houston and I am now officially in the holiday spirit!

Flashback Friday -- Baton Rouge

So here I am, holed up in a Baton Rouge hotel, on deadline for a story about holiday hams, while Eric sings with the All-State Choir folks. Looking out my hotel window, it appears to be a beautiful day! Obviously, I'm not getting out much here (though I do have an exciting trip to Whole Foods planned for later this evening!), but I'm reminded of a fun family trip we took to Baton Rouge in 2008. We had such a good time, I had to write two posts about it. Here's Part 1 and Part 2.

Picnic -- A Play About Choices

We drove to Natchitoches yesterday to see Eric in Louisiana School for Math Science and the Arts’ Theatre production of Picnic, the 1953 Pulitzer Prize winning play by William Inge. The show program calls it “A Play About Choices,” and goes on to say . . .

1953 was a long time ago and the world has changed a lot since then. What makes this play relevant in today’s world? In the 1950s, the common image of the American family was that of perfect people living perfect lives surrounded by white picket fences and lush backyards. Playwright William Inge questioned that worldview. He wrote about genuine people who made choices with their lives, not necessarily good or bad choices, because sometimes that distinction does not exist. Just choices. Choices that people have to live with for the rest of their lives. However, sometimes the choices are made for us and one person’s happy ending is another person’s tragedy. And that is what makes this play relevant even today. Our choices still define us and the people around us. For better or worse, we must live with them.

And that got me thinking. About choices. In each and every day, there are numerous decisions to make, forks in the road that determine particular outcomes. Some choices might affect only the course of that one day and have no impact upon others. But some choices, like ripples from a pebble tossed into a still lake, truly do affect the course of our lives, and oft times the lives of those around us. Sometimes our choices impact total strangers, sometimes ordering the destinies of generations to come. It’s a bit overwhelming to think of it, really. If we over-dwelled on the magnitude of our decisions, we’d go crazy with doubt, fear, and worry. But the truth is, the simple act of living our lives entails enormous responsibility.

How do we arrive at decisions we make in life? What determines and influences the choices we make? It’s embarrassing for me to remember my own self as a young adult in my 20s. I prescribed to the self-indulgent notion that I am the most important person in the world to myself. Yes, I recall thinking and feeling that way. It seems incredibly selfish to me now, or at the very least, too simplistic. Maybe it was merely through the process of growing up, and especially I think becoming a parent, but I’ve come to learn that there are so many more factors than myself to consider when making choices. We want to consider the best interest of others. We don’t want to hurt people. And yet, we see it all the time, there are people who take this mindset to the opposite extreme. They become martyrs, sacrificing so much of themselves that they don’t live their own lives. How do we know where to draw the line between doing what is right for ourselves and still considering the best interests of others?

Anyway, Eric did a great job performing the role of Howard Bevans, a comical booze-swilling bachelor businessman with questionable morals. In the end, Howard, as do many of the characters in Picnic, must make a monumental life-changing decision. Like all of us in our day-to-day lives, they just hope it all works out.

The most poignant line of the show comes near the end, when Madge, on the brink of risking all to follow her heart, cries on her mama’s shoulder, “What can you do with the love you feel? Where is there you can take it?”

What indeed?

Here’s Eric and Andrew in the lobby after the show. They switched hats.

Flashback Friday -- Donuts

Bob and I have been taking my eleven year old minivan to an auto repair shop in south Lake Charles way too often lately. We leave at 6:30 in the morning, to get it there when they open at 7:00. Then I drive Bob to work so I can use his car all day. It's quite inconvenient. On the plus side, we've gotten into the habit of stopping at Happy Donuts on the way to PPG. Which reminded me today of a post I wrote back in 2009. You can read it here.

Bob and I are both partial to chocolate glazed. What is your favorite kind of donut? Do you have a favorite donut shop?