Lunch Time Sights

A lively silence follows the dawn. Lively from birds announcing their presence, dogs greeting each other, chickens clucking away in conversation, the leaves rustling in the breeze (if one happens to blow in). But the absence of the whir of cars, the white noise of televisions, and even human voices renders this otherwise energetic morning silent.

Until lunch time comes around. Then you catch the sights of village life.

Yaya's mid day soup. Yes, we have soup in this hot humid climate!

The young boys shooting hoops under the mango tree.

A little girl home from kindergarten.

A shopper on errands during her lunch break.

A Boeing 737 shattering the lively silence with its jet engines.

As the airplane's drone fades away toward the general direction north of the sunset, I sigh in contentment. I would rather be here, than in Guam, where that plane is headed. (If the plane had taken a turn toward the general direction of the sunrise, behind Mt. Tonachao, behind our house, Pohnpei's lively silence would have been shattered by her roaring engines.)

Ne anawas anim meinisin!

(Good noontime all!)

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Good Morning Truk

The sounds of morning in Truk.

1. The rooster's crow that breaks the reverie of dawn. 

2. The soft drumming of rain on the tin roof.

3. The steady rhythm of uneven footsteps in the exercise room.

4. The shrilling wail of a homebound drunk staggering under the breadfruit tree. "WEEH-HOOH!"

Good morning Truk Lagoon!

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Flying Gold

My friend Palomino thinks frequent flyer programs are a hoax. "It's just another means for solicitors to obtain your contact information!" he said. Nevertheless, I convinced him to sign up. After a roundtrip to China, he declaimed "What good are those points I earned on that trip?!"

What he doesn't realize is that it starts to pay off when you've logged at least three trips across the Pacific Ocean - or across any great distance for that matter. First, you get priority when checking-in at the airport. Have you ever seen the check-in lines at the ticketing counter around the holidays? And when you did, didn't you envy the fellow who cut right to to front of the line to check his bags? Yeah, that someone was ME!

Second, have you noticed that airlines have now designated bulk-head rows and emergency exit rows as "Economy Plus" seating? It's still economy, but you'd have to pay an extra $200 if you want to the luxury of stretching out your long legs. I don't have long legs, but I do get up to use the lav quite often.

Third, have you ever observed a peon, unsuspecting economy traveler get called to the podium at the gate, only for her to turn around with an ear-to-ear grin, holding a crisp, brand new boarding pass, and then entering the aircraft through the First Class doors? That's ME!

Why? Because I am what the industry calls an "elite" frequent flyer, having flown roundtrip across these glorious United States and across the Pacific Ocean for a total of five times in the last three hundred and sixty five days.

Here's living proof. My last trip to Micronesia and the Philippines.

Knowing that I'd have to pay for a boxed lunch on the fligh from Seattle to Guam, I packed a healthy sandwich and fruits from home. Oh, and my friend, The  Author, gave me some cookies and Twizlers to munch on.

But who wants a plain, night-old sandwich on the verge of sogginess, when you have all this on the menu!                   

  

Ah, Guam. I was told at check-in that upgrades are not given on flight in Micronesia. But at the gate, I was presented with a crisp brand new boarding pass when the one I was originally issued would not go through the reader. So from Guam to Truk, this was what I had for breakfast.                           

So is it worth signing up for a frequent flyer program? 

Yes. 

The catch?

Fly the airlines that honor that program.

And you're good to go gold!

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New Orleans, To Do:

We had this trip booked for months. We ran into a little fiasco, but nothing unfixable. And once we got there we made a To Do List:

1. Check-in at Marriott.

 


2. Explore the French Quarters.

3. Eat at Deanie's Seafood.

4. Go on a Haunted Tour.

Yes, vampires are included. But not the Twilight kind. The vampires in New Orleans are of the Dracula category, where humans can destroy them. 

 

It would be wise to have a vampire kit if you live in New Orleans... There's the basic, commonly known wooden cross, wooden steak, holy water. But here's something new that I learned about weapons against vampires: Rope, knotted many times. Playing cards, or any gaming accessories that have a chronological order. Rice, or small grains. Because if the attacking vampire manages to escape the first three weapons - Dracula vampires are not lightning fast like Edward Cullen - throw the knotted rope at it, and it will stop advancing to un-knot it. 

If you linger long enough for the vampire to finish un-knotting - unless you're trapped with it, I don't know why you'd want to stick around to watch him finish - throw rice grains all over the floor. The vampire will pick them up one at a time. It would be a bonus if the vampire has poor vision, and is not wearing his glasses. 

If you're still around - boy, that vampire must be better looking than Cullen in Forks, WA! -  throw that deck of cards all over the floor, and the vampire will busy itself gathering each piece in chronological order until the deck is full. And if, for whatever reason, you're still around when he's done with that, why don't you give it a book of advanced Sudoku, and see if that'll work out. At least that's what my friend, Lana, suggested.

Here is where a torrid love triangle ended in murders.

The pharmacy where one of the victims of the love triangle was acquiring her arsenic.

The home of some doctor, I think, who caused a lot of deaths. I think. Or whatever! This establishment is haunted too.

Two Washingtonian Husky football fans bored with haunted tales, but tagging along to humor their wives. (Thank you.)

And as if the tour guide, Marilyn, read their minds, she brought us to the Bourbon Orleans Hotel for an intermission, with a Voodoo Mojo on the house.

Aaaah, out of the sweltering heat, and a tall glass of something cold and smooth will tide them over.

See what I mean?

Marilyn, our tour guide, truly believes in the paranormal. "Take lot's of pictures," she said. And even if the photo doesn't turn out good, do not destroy it! Come back it, pay more attention to it later, and I guarantee one of you will find something out of place in the photo. A ghost. The only ghost I see in this photo is the jiggly legs under those denim shorts!

Last stop on the tour is this abandoned building that was originally a hospital. Its last occupants were the victims of the Yellow Fever epidemic that ravaged New Orleans in the mid 1800's. 

The last activity that took place in this building was, recently, a team of fire fighters who rushed into the building after cries of "help!" were reported coming from inside. These brave men came rushing out, crying, declaring they'll never go back into that building again, no matter who's crying for help.

Quenched by their Voodo Mojos on the house, these three Washington Husky football fans dared to knock on the barred door.

Are you scared yet? Well don't be. There's plenty of crucifixes and holy water in the St. Louis Cathedral to keep you safe. 

And at the end of the night, they're all just buildings. Old, beautiful buildings on Chartres and Decatur (pronounced "char'-ters" and "de-kay'-ter", not shar-trays' and deck-a-tour', as I repeated like an educated idiot!), and other plainly pronounced streets.

The pharmacy.

The Yellow Fever hospital...

Empty graves. I must mention that all graves in New Orleans are above ground because of the water table. New Orleans lies below sea level, you see. So whatever you bury underground is bound to float back to the top eventually. 

Even a city as steeped in culture and history as New Orleans entertains superheros. This Superman must have had one too many Voodoo Mojos, and couldn't get far enough away from a vampire.

And the lottery. Here, a Mega Millions billboard announces its weekly lot to the residents of D'iberville Memorial Park.

And here, this group of Washington Husky football fans flash the W in the midst of Louisiana State Tigers phantom fans. We had the balls to show our pride, even though the Tigers whipped us silly. But that's a whole other story. 

Which brings me to number five on the To Do List:

5. Have a beverage! Or two.

6. Dine at Brennan's.

No matter how many gumbos you've had, have some more! Because each and every one of them is uniquely delicious.

Then have the prime rib. I prefer the end cut because I'm a well-done kinda gal.

Try something different: portabella mushroom fries. Oh, the flavor bursts in your mouth!

And do not skip dessert! This was the best coconut cake I had ever had!

7. Explore Bourbon Street. At night. Because this is when the street comes to life.

NOT Bourbon Street = No Activity

Bourbon Street = What'up Dawgs!

(Hurricane Isaac was just here...)

New Orleans has a paranormal effect on humans. Once the sun chases the darkness to the west, people fade away from the streets.

The only telltale signs of there ever been a raucous event are beads stranded on electrical wires, the result of poorly aimed throws by wavering hands.

But for the die hard Washington Husky football fans, the new day begins.

With...

8. Have a beignet and frozen cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde.

9. Take a tour bus. 

Because if you do what your fellow tourists suggest, to save on expenses by renting a car to visit historical sites, you wouldn't know that the Interstate 10 causeway was unpassable just a week ago. I-10 goes by Lake Pontchartrain. Well, it's not really a lake; it's an estuary that is connected to the Gulf of Mexico. Which means, its water level is affected by oceanic tides. Combine this with the fact that Lake Pontchartrain is ginormous, and pushed by the forces of a hurricane like Isaac, this body of water is sure to rise!

10. Visit some plantations. 

My favorite was The Laura. This plantation was originally owned by Laura’s great great grandfather, and then by four generations of Duparc women until Laura sold it off just before 1900. The main house is a traditional Creole design (the Duparcs were Creoles), built by slaves from Senegal. 

Photos of Laura through her life, starting as a baby (top left), and at the age of 100 (top right).

Back of house.

The main house's cooking quarters. "Dirty kitchen".

The fact that the plantation was ran by one family doesn't mean they didn't have their share of drama. There was so much drama that the property was divided in two portions, and Laura's grandmother Elizabeth eventually had her own house built, to get away. 

In addition to the whimsical frills of this house, I was very impressed with her foundation. The house stands on brick columns to escape the moisture of the ground. Each column stands atop a pyramid buried deep below the ground. 

 

 Of course the size relationship of the column and the pyramid are totally not proportional; the pyramid is actually quite larger in proportion.

Some slave quarters still stand on the plantation. In fact, the last slave descendant finally moved out of one of these houses in the 1970's! (Although they practically moved next door.)

Raw sugar, pressed from canes.

Here's an interesting fact about The Laura. From Senegalese folklores, this is where Br'er [brother] Rabbit was born!

Another plantation we visited was Oak Alley, aptly named for the twenty-eight giant live oak trees that line the front walk leading to the main house. This house is a classic antebellum design, surrounded by twenty-eight columns representing the live oak trees. 

 Looking off the front balcony toward the Mississippi River.

This walkway is about eight hundred feet long! Who needs a treadmill when you have this!

There was no "personal" history in this house. What it boasted was the furniture and accessories that were used during its era. It's outdated for today's interior design fad, but I rather liked it! It reminds me of visiting my grandparents homes when I was very little. Not that my grandparents had mansions decked out with ten tons of solid wood furniture; it was more the atmosphere of "oldness" that brought back memories. 

The birthing room or nursery.

The children's room.

The sick/death room. Note, from L-R: the mirror covered with black sheer, the mourning dress on the chaise lounger, the somber headwear on the dresser, next to the artwork of the Guardian Angel, and finally the medicine flasks on the table with the lamp.

On to brighter subjects... I'm not much for the columns, but I sure liked the shutters. Why don't houses back home in the islands use shutters like these? I love the lever that holds the shutter open.

One of the attractions of this plantation tour that impressed me was the hostesses' attires. All the way down to the pantaloons!

11. Have Breakfast at Daisy Duke's.

12. Have a Southern Iced Tea while you're at it!

See, iced tea in the south is not like iced tea anywhere else. I've been told it's the way they brew the tea: in the sun light, with sugar water. 

Well, the south must have some ethereal sunlight and magic water. Because this beverage, on the house if you mention Yelp (Thanks, Lana!), made me want to hit the sack after two swigs. Upon taking my first swig - it was a very hot morning! - I noticed a bitter taste. But Lana reassured me that it was only tea, and nothing more. (Thanks again, Lana!)

13. Wear comfortable shoes (or zories), even if you dress up. 

The photos don't show it, but Yours Truly is wearing four-inch wedge sandals. Yup, she looked hhhhawt! 

Even if you're out with the boys...

Especially when you're...

14. Having a hurricane (or two) at Pat O'Brien's. And don't forget to return those glasses to get the three dollar deposit back. (They impose a three dollar deposit on hurricanes because too many tourists take off with the glasses for souvenirs.)

Because when you wear dangerously sexy shoes, your senses dulled because of #13, you better remember to...

15. Pack a traveler's first aid kit, because you're going to need it to treat the consequences of having been dangerously sexy. The closest Yours Truly had for a first aid kit was a traveler's sewing kit. And I was quite impressed with the way she used it...

Have you seen the movie 127 Hours? In microscopic comparison, that's how I achieved this... with a sewing needle.

 

Okay, okay, I exaggerate.

16. Get on the mighty Mississippi River, on the steamboat Natchez, the last authentic, genuinely steam run river boat left in the world. Well, at least in America. It gives you an idea of what it might have been like to travel on the river back in the pre-dawn of diesel fueled propeller tankers. And it gives the viewer a totally different perspective of the devastation left in the wake of hurricane Katrina (2005).

  Domino's, the largest sugar producer in the USA.

Catholic all-boys' school abandoned since Katrina.

And while you're on the Mississippi, you might as well...

17. Pile on the comfort of Southern cooking. Gumbo, beans and rice, étouffée, fried catfish, coleslaw, corn bread. And wash it all down with southern iced tea - the virgin version.  

18. Stroll with the locals on Riverwalk. And because they are confident of their LSU Tigers, they have no qualms about flashing an encouraging double-u.

19. Do the Twilight Run. So what if the temperature is 104ºF when the race starts, and 98º at the post race party! Southerners know how to make it worth the sweat! And, they're so gracious, they'll personally drive you back to New Orleans from the race venue (Harahan). Thank you, Lauren!

These lovely medics on hand to cheer you on.

And trust me when I say Yours Truly needed the cheer. Her blistered feet were crying uncle!

20. Order room service. You deserve it after running 3.1 miles on blistered feet. 

21. Have a muffaletta at Central Grocery. You'd think you'd died and gone to heaven!

 

You'll need #18 and #19 to sustain you when you...

22. Catch a LSU Tigers football game against your beloved UW Huskies.

23. And not the least, have another beignet... Okay, fine, make it two!

 

Geaux New Orleans!


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