Swamp LifeStyle Pt. II

Swamp LifeStyle Pt. I

Gulf Coast LifeStyle

While New Orleans does not really have a beach (sorry Lake Pontchartrain, but you don't count), we are a scant 3 hours from Gulf Shores, AL.  At the beach this past weekend, the topic on everyone's mind was the BP screw-up and subsequent unleashing of oil all over our coast.

We saw few signs that any oil had been dumped into the Gulf of Mexico at all, other than the smattering of tar balls along the sand.  The water itself looked and felt like normal, and there were crabs, minnows, and even dolphins cruising around as if nothing was wrong.  From a recreational beach-going perspective, the sand was as white as ever, the water as crystal clear as ever, and the relaxation as accessible as ever.

From my lay-man's understanding of the BP screw-up, the damage will be mostly unseen.  Fish populations shut down, a Gulf Coast fishing culture on the brink of extinction, coastal wetlands wiped out, etc.

Here's hoping that the damage is less than expected.

One Day Visitor - LifeStyle Condensed

Camellia Grill, streetcar, beignets, hurricanes, Uptown..... how to cram as much into one day as possible.

Photos From a Friend

Photos courtesy of Baca.  Experiences courtesy of New Orleans.

 

Tourist LifeStyle

Classy and skanky.  This juxtaposition embodies my relationship with New Orleans, and this is how I like to portray the city to visitors.  Mix in Pat O's versus Margaritaville.  Cochon versus Miss Mae's.  Cafe du Monde versus Unique Grocery.  Hurricanes versus Cherry Bombs.  Abita versus High Life.  With two DC friends in town and an Italian called Cajun leading the way, we hit the highs and the lows and a few in between.

We somehow managed to squeeze in Uptown, Downtown, Warehouse District, Marigny, French Quarter, and Magazine all into about 36 hours of mayhem.  Most impressively, we walked the fine line between never stopping and never getting exhausted.

Moreover, the weekend reinforced two ideas that have become ingrained in my head since moving to New Orleans.  First, I miss the hell out of my friends from Washington, DC.  Second, I absolutely love this town.

These photos are compliments of Audrey.  More photos of the weekend will be coming soon.

Over and Out.

NOLA Blight-Style

I recently joined a recreational flag football team named Team Blight Reduction.  In honor of our 5 touchdown loss the other night, I thought I would snap some photos of a few blighted buildings.

Nearly every American city has its fare share of run-down buildings, and all things considered downtown NOLA is in pretty solid shape.  But if you look around for it, you can find some smatterings of urban decay.  Sometimes an eye-sore, I see these as a strangely comforting reality of living in a city.

At the very least, a run-down empty building can provide for some quality signage.