Trombones and Troubadours – A Visit to New Orleans

January 19, 2015 Rob Sims Leave a comment

Milepost 1-19-15 New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA)

Our southern wanderings landed us in New Orleans yesterday for the very first time, a day trip from our current campsite at Dauphin Island, Alabama. The first thing that anyone needs to know about visiting the Big Easy is that one day is nowhere near enough to take it all in. Kaye and I knew this going in and decided to dedicate our limited time to the French Quarter.

The French Quarter is known for its porch-lined buildings the reflect the traditions of the old country. — The French Quarter is known for its porch-lined buildings that reflect the traditions of the old country.

The streets are rather narrow and lined with old two and three-story brick buildings with beautiful balconies that add a distinctive charm suggestive of Paris. Of course.

Our tour was self-guided and on foot, so we avoided the buses and carriages and asked for directions whenever we wanted to; there were always very talkative locals willing to help. They were oozing with city pride, walking encyclopedias of local trivia.

There are carriages and rickshaws available and the streets are shared by cars, bikes and pedestrians as well. — Carriages and rickshaws are available and the streets are shared by cars, buses, bikes and pedestrians all at the same time.

We hadn’t wandered very far before we came upon the first of many street bands blaring Dixieland jazz with lots of horns. It seemed there was a band on every street corner… and in many of the restaurants as well so the visitors’ meals are always serenaded.

Our lunch and dinner were both seasoned with music at outdoor cafes, first at the Market Cafe, then the Beignet Cafe at Music Legends Park.

We were surrounded by brass statues of music legends at Beignet Cafe.

A 12-piece youth band was performing on the street corner across from the Market Cafe. — An 11-piece youth jazz band was performing on the street corner across from the Market Cafe.

This 12-year-old was a spirited trombonist. — This 12-year-old was a spirited trombonist who put a bit of southern soul into every note.

The French Quarter is a wonderland of street performers, and they are not all musicians. Some were troubadours, artists and statues… who came alive at choice moments and startled passersby.

This silver Steampunk statue came alive with whirring sounds when he moved.

There is a plethora of shops down both sides of every street between the cafes and pubs, so the signature pralines and poboys and beignets were readily available… and a whole lot more!

Spiritists and palm readers abound in the French Quarter.

A part of the architectural extravaganza here — and not to be missed — is the famous Saint Louis Cathedral in the middle of the French Quarter. It is beautiful both inside and out.

The fairytale-looking Saint Louis Cathedral towers over Jackson Square. It’s taller than wide.

Anyway, I would not recommend the French Quarter of New Orleans for a quiet getaway. It’s a loud and raucous place full of brass bands, rich cuisine and southern soul. And that’s in the daytime. After dark, add neon lights and a bit of decadence.

Street performing is hard work and this guy was done for the day. We could relate; walking tours are exhausting too!

And check one more amazing place off the bucket list!

Side Roads

DREAM BIG. start small. (guest post)

January 6, 2015 Rob Sims Leave a comment

This is a great New Year’s post (but it speaks to lifestyle as well) that Aunt Sassy (my daughter) published on her site for solo travelers on January 1st:

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DREAM BIG. start small.

I can’t count the numbers of times others, upon learning that I am travelling alone or camping alone or going to the movies alone, incredulously say “I would love to do that, but I just can’t!” And “just can’t” has a different meaning for everyone but usually it is some variation of being scared or anxious or overwhelmed or intimidated or….you get the picture. Here’s the thing: if you have actually said some variation of wanting to do that someday but being too scared to do it then you are actually worlds ahead of those who have never even considered doing anything as “crazy as this.” If you are one of those who has never ever in your life considered challenging yourself in this way and are totally happy the way your current level of adventure is in your life, then so be it and awesome for you (and why are you reading this blog?) BUT if you are so blessed/cursed with this desire to go out and explore the world, then you are already at the “but HOW do I actually do it” phase. This phase is where I am a Viking. So I got your back. Here’s the dealio. Ya gotta DREAM BIG! But start small.
First, spend some time daydreaming about those huge things you wanna do and where you wanna do them. This is not the time to be practical or reasonable, this is the let your inner child run wild. For instance, I want to sip wine (and eat pasta) in a café in Italy after a day of gazing at art and architecture. I wanna gulp beer in a Bavarian tavern after touring the Neuschwanstein Castle. I want to blissfully wander around Quebec City some long winter weekend. I want to sweat in a bazaar in Istanbul. I wanna savor Scotch after a day of angling in Scotland. I want to sip pina coladas on tropical beaches (at least once a year). And, above all, Iceland. All of it. Etc. And so on, and more. These are my dreams. (And someday, many of them will be my stories). Take some time to dream big. Write those big dreams down. Tell them to someone. Speak your fantasy into a wish. Turning those wishes into goals comes later.
So, now you are dreaming big….. but, did you get overwhelmed at all by thinking about actually doing those? Did you catch yourself saying “aw, but I can’t actually DO these things.” This is where the starting small comes in. When it comes to action, small steps are the key to later taking big leaps. The truth is I already have a lot of my big dreams done, many of them were easier to do with other people….I’ve wandered art museums and sipped wine in Paris in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, I’ve toured London several times, I spent a month in Hong Kong, a summer in Morocco, and sipped many a pina colada on many a tropical beach. But I can’t do all of those remaining wishes of mine right now…not only do I not have the time and money yet, but I also don’t have the research done yet. And some of those are really intimidating if I don’t know what I’m doing yet. It doesn’t matter how much I travel, I am still very intimidated about travelling to unknown places (especially where I don’t know the language) alone. I’ve done it and I will continue to do, but it is still scary. And the longer times in between trips, the more anxious I get before the next big one. So I often have to start small again.
Starting small means starting where YOU are NOW. And it’s different for everyone so it isn’t gonna be starting at the same place someone else starts (so stop comparing). What are you currently comfortable with and is there a way you can push just a teeny tiny bit past that? Are you okay with flying somewhere alone for business, but get overwhelmed with going on a vacation by yourself? Are you ok with driving a few hours away but not quite ready for a big road trip by yourself? Are you okay with running into Starbucks and waiting in line for your Pumpkin Spice Latte alone but not ready to go to a nice dinner by your lonesome? Figure out small step things you can do. For instance, on your next business trip, maybe stay 2 days longer and do some sightseeing alone. Or perhaps choose a place you are okay driving, but book a night in a hotel and go out for dinner while there to make it more of a roadtrip. Next time you are in the Starbucks line, get your coffee “for here” and get used to sitting alone quietly reading a book while caffeinating. This is your chance to push yourself just a little more and have some fun with it. Once you start small where you are NOW, you will have found yourself just a little further along. And then, you start small from where you are then. Before you know it, small steps turn into quite the epic journey.

This is me exploring our nation’s capitol by night when my work sent me there for a conference by day. Starting small. But I’d been dreaming big about visiting DC for decades.

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Here’s the link to Stacy’s site ( You will also find a lot of women’s self-confidence content there). Consider Following her at:

http://fatauntsassy.com

The Southern Sojourn

The Seasonal Southern Shift

January 3, 2015 Rob Sims 1 Comment

Milepost 1-3-15 Dauphin Island, Alabama 70 degrees

Call it Snowbirding or Winter Migration or whatever, the population of the nation undergoes a significant redistribution twice a year. Kaye and I are part of the northern exodus that accompanies the onset of cold weather in Michigan. We stayed home long enough to have Christmas with the kids and grandkids, and then we hitched up the RV and set the GPS for the Alabama coast and took off.

On the way down, we stopped at Memphis Tennessee for a New Year’s Eve dinner of catfish and ribs at B.B. King’s Blues Club.

Outside B.B. King's Blues Club the street was starting to fill with party-goers who were waiting for the midnight Guitar Drop. — Outside B.B. King’s Blues Club the street was starting to fill with party-goers who were waiting for the midnight Guitar Drop at the end of Beale Street..

BobnKaye at BB King's — A New Year’s Eve dinner at B.B. King’s Blues Club was an unexpected bonus for us.

Our first campsite of the trip and of the year was at Tom Sawyer RV Park on the west bank of the mighty Mississippi River where the tugs were shoving the barges up and down the river all night long.

A third day of driving landed us at Dauphin Island Park a few miles off the coast of Alabama at the mouth of Mobile Bay.

Dauphin Island is surrounded with white sand beaches. Oone of them a short walk from our campsite. — Dauphin Island is fringed with white sand beaches, one of them a short walk from our campsite.

Our campsite is under a stately old live oak tree. — Our spacious campsite is under a stately old live oak tree.

Dauphin Island is the site of the historical Fort Gaines that saw action during the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay (1864). It’s open to the public and promises to be a great backdrop for some photography in a couple of days. Across the bay is its counterpart, Fort Morgan on another barrier island.

I'm looking forward to a wandering tour of Fort Gaines with the good camera. — I’m looking forward to a wandering tour of Fort Gaines with the good camera.

On the first day here I jumped on the bike and took off for a 6-mile ride. This is one of the reasons Kaye and I like to get away from the north during the winter; our exercise routine falls apart when the cold weather arrives. At this southern island there are many miles of cycling trails and beaches to be explored.

All roads -- and bike trails -- lead to the beach at Dauphin Island. — All roads — and bike trails — lead from one beach to the next at Dauphin Island.

The island also is home to a nice Audubon sanctuary, although I think the terns and the pelicans may be outnumbered by snowbirds during the winter.

So this is our home for the month of January. When we left the north it was 10 degrees. Today it reached 70 here. That’s what I’m talking about! I haven’t slipped on snow or ice even once since arriving.