Day Two: BBQ, Bugs, and Ghosts, Oh My!

We crossed into Mississippi, our second new state of the trip, around 11 this morning. I really like how each of the welcome centers have reflected the character of the state. Mississippi's carausel horses weren't as awe inspiring as Alabama's full scale Saturn 1B rocket, but they were sweet and full of southern charm.

Lunch was at Leath's BBQ in Hattiesville MS.

Oh my goodness. Long family style dining tables, secret recipe slaw, sweet potato fries, sauce warmed in a crockery pitcher, big ol washcloths for napkins, and some good Q!

Y'all notice how suddenly all my text is centered? Yeah, I'm noticing it too. Typing in a moving van, trying to get my little tablet to cooperate, can barely see the screen for the sun glare, so we're all just going to ignore the sudden shift in text formatting.

Moving on.

Sweetling's pic of things to do in New Orleans was the Audubon Insectarium.

We got there about an hour before they closed, but could have easily spent three hours in the place.

It was really well done and interesting. The main hall had many displays of living creatures along with the standard what is an insect, what is an arthropod, what is a bug, what is a spider sort of information presented in really bright, engaging formats.

The side rooms each had a theme. One was "Underground" (no pics because it was dark). It allowed you to walk under the leaf litter through the soil on a scale as if you were insect sized. Then a room on termites and the damage  a new breed is causing in New Orleans. A room on insects and fishing, on insects of the swamp lands, on bees, etc. etc.

My favorite room was the Hall of Fame gallery. I have never seen insects displayed in such a stunningly beautiful manner. The photos I was able to eek out of my phone camera do not do these works of art justice.

And finally (look, the text justification fixed itself), finally, the capstone of the Insectarium was the Japanese Butterfly Garden. Since it was the last room, we were able to slow down and fully enjoy it.

Dinner was at Pierre Maspero's in the French Quarter. Ed and I split a blackened chicken jambalaya and Sweetling had blackened redfish. It was all very good. 

Following dinner, we walked over to the Mississippi River and then walked around the French Quarter for a while.

We were also irresponsible in The Fudgery. We bought 4 and a half pounds of fudge, plus extras.

We went to Cafe du Monde because, you know, its Cafe du Monde, but none of us were all that impressed with their beignets. Maybe its something that has to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee to be appreciated. I did find the streamlining of their kitchen line to be pretty interesting.

By far the highlight of the French Quarter was the Ghost Tour by Voodoo Bones Lady. Our tour guide was amazing. He was so animated and he told such good stories. He began the tour by saying that he had grown up in New Orleans, and he was going to share with us the stories that he grew up hearing told. His love for his city and his passion for its stories really came through.

It was great. It made all our lists of favorite things from the day. Two hour walking tour and we had an amazing time the WHOLE time!