Another Win in the Books
It was a fantastic tailgate day with some wonderful friends and a win to boot.The Family Curse on Wachovia
Back in 1954, I was yet to be conceived but my parents were well under way at raising a family and building a career.
My parents and two sisters lived in Rocky Mount, NC in the eastern part of the state near the Tar River.
At some point Dad was offered an opportunity to move to Durham, NC for better opportunity in his career.
My family found a house and made arrangements for the girls education, and lastly closed their bank account in Rocky Mount by requesting a cashiers check.
Upon arriving in Durham, Dad took the cashiers check to the local Wachovia Bank and Trust Company to set up a new account. The bank gladly set up the account but told Dad that they would put a 10 day hold on his check until the funds cleared. He explained that a cashiers check was as good as cash but the bank would not budge.
At this point my father snatched the check from the banker and in a Charlton Heston, Moses like voice with the wind blowing and lightning bolts flying said, "Fine then my good man. I shall never do business with you, nor my family, nor my children's children, and all future generations of Hunnicutt's and the fruit of their loins." Or something to that effect.
And so it was that a curse was placed on Wachovia and my father opened an account with Durham Bank and Trust.
I have avoided doing business with Wachovia Bank my entire adult life to honor the family curse.
And now...Wachovia is on the ropes looking for a healthy bank to buy them. The Hunnicutt curse took 54 years to run it's course. I raise a coffee cup to your memory Dad. Wachovia is going down!
PC News
The other day I noticed a peanut skin between the cover of my notebook computer and the actual LCD screen. This should have been a clue that something wasn't right.
At work the next day I forced air in the area to dislodge the skin to a better, less annoying position.
Finally on Sunday I heard a cracking sound on my notebook and saw the whole cover of the PC coming apart.
On Monday I dropped off the notebook and awaited the bad news. New screen covers front and back plus labor for less than $300. Not bad. The PC is two years old and still works fine. I have it backed up too.
I should be back in the saddle by Monday and have a new looking PC.
At work the next day I forced air in the area to dislodge the skin to a better, less annoying position.
Finally on Sunday I heard a cracking sound on my notebook and saw the whole cover of the PC coming apart.
On Monday I dropped off the notebook and awaited the bad news. New screen covers front and back plus labor for less than $300. Not bad. The PC is two years old and still works fine. I have it backed up too.
I should be back in the saddle by Monday and have a new looking PC.
Hick Alert!
Sometimes I feel like such a hick. A moment ago I had this conversation with Shannon of Sirius satellite radio.
Me – “I need the little thang that plugs in my dash..... my dawg broke it off.”
“Yes.”
Maybe I should have practiced what I was going to say while I was on hold.
Browserless
I am a man without a browser. I used to use Microsoft Explorer and had no complaints.
Oh I dabbled in Firefox just to be a bad boy and the experience enabled me to communicate with nerds better.
But MS Explorer was my browser and all was right with the world.
Then came along Microsoft Vista. It seems that Explorer hung up in
Firefox was cool and all the cool kids were using it. We were outlaws and we had extensions. I got my Firefox all configured and all was right with the world.
Then one day my Accuweather extension disappeared. This angered me because I like weather. But I went on until one day my Google Toolbar disappeared.
I tried reinstalling the extension and it didn’t show up. I tried uninstalling Firefox and reinstalling Firefox and the toolbar and it didn’t work. I cannot function in this modern world without my Google toolbar. The toolbar has all of my links, my maps, my email, my documents, my everything.
Then along came Google Chrome. Wow! Google’s own browser and I was ecstatic. I was going to be cooler than cool…I was cutting edge.
It seems however that Google Chrome developer team didn’t find it necessary to develop a Google toolbar for Google Chrome. Sounds familiar in a way with the Vista/Explorer debacle. In addition, Chrome doesn’t work with the current release of Java so I can’t use many web applications like weather radars.
So back to crashing Explorer.
One last thing…no comments please from nerdy ass Apple users please.
We are completely chillin’ down here in
There is good football on the TV and I am glad to declare an Evelyn Wilson weekend after a hectic week.
Abby rode down with the pack and everyone was on their best behavior. We counted feet, nipples, tails, lungs, butt holes, etc currently in the truck to pass the time. Having a bird in the car was a nice wildcard.
Abby did finally get to meet her new owner and they hit it off better than I expected. This will be a good home for a dog who was on death row just 6 weeks ago with big time medical problems to boot.
I need to nap now between college games.
An Idea
I was attending a funeral the other day. While waiting for the
service I closely watched the funeral director close the coffin noting something I can imagine being very handy for the tailgater.
Take you average run of the mill coffin. Tear out all the fluffy stuff inside and replace the right side with a built in grill and the left side with a cooler. Put in some drawers at the bottom for storage and you’ve got yourself one nifty tailgate package.
How cool would that be?
Oh lets take this further. Find an old
Then roll out the coffin, fire up the grill and pop open a cool one. A cool one…that’s funny.
I need to go pack for
A Short Vlog and Opinion
Remember Ike and Gustov a few weeks ago? For most of us hurricanes make TV news watchable.
There is noting quite like a good natural disaster to take your mind off politics and financial markets. And we Americans do natural disaster coverage first class.
Hurricanes are the perfect news story if you think about it. You know pretty much where the news will be and when it will be. There is a build up; Then the actual hurricane; Then the aftermath and damage. All of this news delivered to you in High Definition TV.
The film crew packs up and every goes about their normal life. How fun was that?
The problem is unless you have experience a hurricane you have no idea of the hardship that lays ahead for folks in its path.
Americans down in
There will be nothing near normal for them for a long time. They will have to face the reality of this disaster every day. This will go on for weeks, months and years.
It took Gigi and I ten plus years to completely clean up from hurricane Hugo. It took two weeks to restore water and power. I remember thinking that the world had forgotten us.
Remember these folks and everyone in the path of these terrible storms. It takes a long time to heal.
And now for a Friday Vlog. I recorded a drive through the cut on I-40 in the
Return of Abby
Yes I am an idiot. I have logged over 1,000 miles in two weeks driving Abby to and from East Tennessee Border Collie Rescue foster home of Karen and Jay who live in
Heck, Abby and I have our favorite stops now on I-40. Did you know there is a beef jerky outlet near
A few days after I dropped off Abby in
Tomorrow Abby will ride with Peaches, Cedie, Duke, Haley, Gigi and Boscoe along with yours truly in an extended cab pickup towing a 12,000 pound RV.
Wouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall watching this ride?
Captain America to the Rescue!
Boy am I tired. I feel like one of those Eboli Monkeys bit me.
This is a cruel email I sent yesterday to a friend who works for failing insurance giant AIG and his response.
Eric,
I know soon you will be cleaning out the promotions room with all the AIG stuff. Don't forget Ty and I. We prefer wicking golf shirts in a Medium size. Also we are willing to hit AIG golf balls.
Realize that your promotional items are heavily discounted so you can give us legally far more product than you could just a few weeks ago.
Keep your head up.
We're thinking about you.
Reggie
DUDE! I needed that...thanks for making me laugh ;)
Eric
Well it seems that last night before I went to bed that Santa Fed agreed to bail out AIG with 85 Billion your money to save the world from Financial Collapse. Yes the markets would have collapsed, I do not jest. And yes that is American tax dollars used to save the worlds largest international group of thieves and the world markets.
Basically we nationalized a company like some third world country would do. So Americans we now collectively own an insurance company just like the constitution says.
Enough of my soapbox.
I have found a forever home for Abby. This means I drive back to
Cef.
Swimming With the Sharks at the Edge of the World
There is something to be said about the exhilaration and rush that I feel when I am in danger. The adrenalin heightens my senses. I feel almost super human in my mental processes. My thought sequences run three steps ahead before my body can physically catch up. I am so alert. Outcomes and options seem so clear.
Another dark shadows pass effortlessly under me. I feel vulnerable. Was it real or did I imagine it? I get another shot of the magic brain drug from my body.
This is how I felt thrice while swimming in the presence of sharks or barracudas down in
I got back on the drug yesterday at work.
I am in the industry that is making headlines. My house is worth more than Lehman Brothers after all the combined efforts of brightest Ivey League business minds ran it into the ground.
I am a little player in a big scary sea right now and I am loving it.
Oh Sweet Victory!
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We had a great day of live football in Charlotte. We all headed to the sacred tailgate grounds around 9 AM for a chicken wing and Michelob Light breakfast.
Then the meat fest continued with brunch of brats, hamburgers, hotdogs and skewered shrimp.
We had special guest tailgaters from Chicago who brought food, friendship, and a team to beat in the heat.
Abby
In my mind I have a dog hall of fame that is ornate and beautiful. In there are ebony busts displayed of my favorite canine pets that have gone on along with their stories of greatness. My hall of fame honors Dody, Redbud, Dottie, Barkley, Blacky, Galaxy, Rockwell, Rusty, Little Man, and the list goes on. I hope that many will be added in my lifetime.
Yesterday I inducted Abby. She is gone now and we miss her very much.
On Friday I drove to
I got this encouraging email from Karen, “So far so good. She fits right into the family. It's like she has been here forever.”
It is amazing how much you can bond with a loving animal in just a month.
I will miss you Abby.
Sorry Muffy and Biff
In the boo, friggin hoo and cry me a river department.
It seems no one felt much pain when regular gasoline climbed to $3.99 a gallon a while back. Meanwhile I was paying $4.80 for diesel along with all the folks that ship your bananas and toilet paper.
Well the tables have turned with gas selling in the mid $4 range overnight and my dear old diesel is selling at $3.81.
People are screaming over the prices here in
Tell your sad story to the Cubans and Haitians.
I Got Polled!
I got polled last night. Wait a minute…that didn’t sound quiet right.
Last night a pollster called me on the phone and I did one of those political polls that you hear about.
It went on and on. So long in fact I had to pee halfway through the phone call. I was on a mobile phone so I quietly sat down to pee in order to reduce pee noise. Gigi was outside the door laughing at me.
It was interesting to me at least about how the questions were asked and how the scales were set up for responses.
Keep in mind I was a marketing major in college so this stuff was right up my ally.
One of the more clear cut questions asked me how I would rank the following on a scale of one to one hundred with one hundred being the highest in approval. Then she read off John McCain, Barry Obama, Sara Palin, and dipshit, oh what his name…Joe Biden.
The poll honestly seemed balanced. I couldn’t determine who was actually paying for the poll. I listened for bias.
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My New Toy
The other day when I was certain that we were going to be inconvenienced with Hannah I decided to run out and buy a Honda EU2000i generator.
As you may recall from previous posts, Gigi does not have marital relations without electricity. Don’t read anything kinky into it, she just has to know there is electricity and all the fantastic things that go with it like water and lights before she turns her thoughts to sex.
I didn’t want to take any chances so I thought I would add this new Honda EU2000i generator to my fleet of one 4000 watt generators already in the garage.
This new generator is a gem. It is light, quiet enough to have a conversation nearby and has enough juice to run the refrigerator and a few lights in the guest house.
I have always wanted a Honda EU200i. I have looked at them for years in catalogs. I have drooled over the accessories. Did you know you can hook two of these babies together and have a quiet 4000 watt generator? Be still my heart. Two of them!
I may take this thing tailgating this Sunday if I can figure out what I need to power up. Maybe a few fans if it hot.
I Am Ready for Some Football
Oh the joy of opening Sunday in the NFL. I am beside myself.
Last year I spent opening Sunday in
The bartender was a master remote operator. He would flick between NFC and AFC games to catch all the action and scores.
And like always there was one Jets fan in attendance.
I saw this morning that it is 45 F in
If I were a rich man I would be collecting my stuff in the guest bedroom now. Yes in my imaginary rich man world I would be staging for my 6 month hibernation to the island. Ideally I would exit this place sometime in late October and return in time for The Masters in early April.
I would love to spend the holidays on
But I’m not rich so I must settle for 1 week a winter on the island I love.
152 days is a long time to wait but I must.
Thought for the Day
I was in a sports bar the other night having a few chicken wings and I got to thinking.
I heard that we export chicken feet to
I wonder if they think wings are gross and they send their wings to us in exchange for the feet. It would be a numerically equivalent trade.
Someone has to be sending us wings because we American guys eat a lot of them.
Maybe somewhere in China right now two guys are whooping it up over a basket of buffalo chicken feet while watching soccer or what ever they watch having this same thought?
We will pack up and hook up and be on our way by this afternoon. That’s the great thing about a RV vacation home. The only thing we leave behind is a concrete slab and a few plug-ins.
My sister in
She said she would go to the DMV today to get IDs for her cats and then on to Wal-Mart for a couple of small fanny packs to carry the IDs.
Hurricane Chaser Wreg
I see from the latest forecast that Hanna will now hit my RV in
I plan to stare into the eye of the beast tonight to be in place for an evaluation on whether to tow the RV back home until all these hurricanes pass.
Two hurricanes I’ve stared down in a week. I’m a tough guy, huh.
Not coming to see me Hanna? I’ll come down and see you bitch!
I was in the Apple store this morning in
A cool woman (they think they are all cool) called his name and he came forward. I followed. She looked at me and asked if I was moral support. I said, “No. I’m PC.”
She laughed heartily. I just kill myself sometimes.
There was this guy standing around in the Apple Store with a bright pink hat with the bill turned up like Gomer Pile. You young folks Google Image Gomer Pile. It ain’t pretty.
He kept scratching his forehead making his pink hat slide back while his mouth hung open like Gomer.
It was all I could do to not walk over and slap the ever loving dog shit out of him and tell him to act right. I’m note sure why he pissed me off so bad. I am usually a bit more tolerant. He was a fruit ball.
Do you remember a while back when I was stealing Wifi from Mike down in
Well it seems that Mike is not a porn man since when he comes home on the weekend he turns off his Internet connection.
Back in June I decide to order my own broad band for the RV and tried ATT DSL. They botched the order ASAP so I cancelled the service before it was installed.
Today I got a bill for $99.00 for the first month including a phone line and installation.
I spent 58 minutes on the phone and finally told them to disconnect, I’ll pay the bill, and give them another $100 if they could get me off the phone now. They couldn’t understand my story and thought I was trying to screw them.
And finally….
We had one fellow in our group that could tell a story that could keep your attention like when you were a kid hearing a story from your teacher or old relative. He is only 54 but had life experience like he was 154.
These stories were good and he had about 15 hours of them. I never got annoyed at his talking. These were damn good man stories and I laughed.
He wasted no words or sentences but covered all the details. Some were funny and some were sad. Some were adult in content.
He never repeated a story even though we all have plenty of adult beverages over the weekend.
We all took turns at storey telling but I think his were the best.
I swear I recall the radio only being played once while we all listened to a football game.
The rest of the time this new friend entertained us.
It was a damn good one of a kind man weekend.
These stories were good and he had about 15 hours of them. I never got annoyed at his talking. These were damn good man stories and I laughed.
He wasted no words or sentences but covered all the details. Some were funny and some were sad. Some were adult in content.
He never repeated a story even though we all have plenty of adult beverages over the weekend.
We all took turns at storey telling but I think his were the best.
I swear I recall the radio only being played once while we all listened to a football game.
The rest of the time this new friend entertained us.
It was a damn good one of a kind man weekend.
Other Observations
Have you ever traveled to another land and after about two days their culture went from charming to annoying? If not give Mexico a whirl; if you not sick of loud bugles, tacky costumes and la bamba then you are a better person than me.
Louisiana was starting to get on my nerves just a tad. How about a salad guys? Got any Cajun songs that are not some heavy fiddle music?
During the evacuation a few folks got testy but I think those folks were assholes anyway.
At a crowded rest area a young woman attempted to walk her two large young labs while her husband tended to other things. It seems that one lab broke from his collar and jumped into a stranger’s car and landed in the driver’s seat. The dog was clearly afraid and confused.
The husband ran over and got his dog out of the man’s car, apologized and waited for his wife to help with a new leash and collar. All the while this man screamed at the young husband in a loud animated fashion that he should have control of his animal.
I saw the whole thing unfold so I went to the young woman and took a leash to the young husband. He thanked me.
I gave the loud asshole a stern look and he shut up.
And finally one evening we were at a bar in the hotel having supper and a few beers. A young woman came in that was obliviously one toke over the line. She was drunk as Cooter Brown but in an entertaining way.
She was accompanied by her less drunk boy friend.
One of the patrons at the bar began to yell at her for being drunk. Hello! We are in a bar in New Orleans…this is what happens to most folks if you sit here long enough.
I reasoned with the man and told him she was harmless and was on schedule to begin crying or pass out soon.
She began to cry a few minutes later and her boyfriend escorted her out.
Be nice people. Drunks and dogs are people too.
Louisiana was starting to get on my nerves just a tad. How about a salad guys? Got any Cajun songs that are not some heavy fiddle music?
During the evacuation a few folks got testy but I think those folks were assholes anyway.
At a crowded rest area a young woman attempted to walk her two large young labs while her husband tended to other things. It seems that one lab broke from his collar and jumped into a stranger’s car and landed in the driver’s seat. The dog was clearly afraid and confused.
The husband ran over and got his dog out of the man’s car, apologized and waited for his wife to help with a new leash and collar. All the while this man screamed at the young husband in a loud animated fashion that he should have control of his animal.
I saw the whole thing unfold so I went to the young woman and took a leash to the young husband. He thanked me.
I gave the loud asshole a stern look and he shut up.
And finally one evening we were at a bar in the hotel having supper and a few beers. A young woman came in that was obliviously one toke over the line. She was drunk as Cooter Brown but in an entertaining way.
She was accompanied by her less drunk boy friend.
One of the patrons at the bar began to yell at her for being drunk. Hello! We are in a bar in New Orleans…this is what happens to most folks if you sit here long enough.
I reasoned with the man and told him she was harmless and was on schedule to begin crying or pass out soon.
She began to cry a few minutes later and her boyfriend escorted her out.
Be nice people. Drunks and dogs are people too.
The Human and Real Costs
I noticed far too often that many of the evacuees were poor blacks from New Orleans. The evacuation itself was casting economic hardship on a group of people that could ill afford the expense.
Before you cast me as a racist I do know for 100% what a black person looks like. I only make the assumption they are poor, if they are many in number driving a very old and poorly maintained car. I saw all seats full in most every car that I would classify as poor blacks. There are poor, very poor blacks all along the gulf coast.
I drive old cars that are well maintained. If I was ordered to drive 500 miles in any one of my cars I feel certain that nay of them could make the trip.
I overhear several personal and phone conversations where the cost of gas was going to be a hardship and the cost of a hotel was going to be impossible.
“I can’t afford $158 a night for a hotel”, I heard from one woman talking on her cell phone. By now she was out of harms way with her family in Jackson Mississippi but no place to go or money to feed her family.
When I stopped overnight I gave no thought to the costs. I simply slapped my credit card on the counter and didn’t ask.
If you live on the border of paycheck to paycheck and an unexpected expense of even a few hundred dollars comes up it become a financial nightmare.
I wanted to help but the numbers were too high. It was literally a sea of humanity in need. Perhaps next time the state or feds could post help with breakdown up and down the interstate.
When I got to Atlanta, we stopped for a sub sandwich. A white man with a dog approached me and my friend and told us he was down on his luck and could we spare a few dollars.
No we told him.
Before you cast me as a racist I do know for 100% what a black person looks like. I only make the assumption they are poor, if they are many in number driving a very old and poorly maintained car. I saw all seats full in most every car that I would classify as poor blacks. There are poor, very poor blacks all along the gulf coast.
I drive old cars that are well maintained. If I was ordered to drive 500 miles in any one of my cars I feel certain that nay of them could make the trip.
I overhear several personal and phone conversations where the cost of gas was going to be a hardship and the cost of a hotel was going to be impossible.
“I can’t afford $158 a night for a hotel”, I heard from one woman talking on her cell phone. By now she was out of harms way with her family in Jackson Mississippi but no place to go or money to feed her family.
When I stopped overnight I gave no thought to the costs. I simply slapped my credit card on the counter and didn’t ask.
If you live on the border of paycheck to paycheck and an unexpected expense of even a few hundred dollars comes up it become a financial nightmare.
I wanted to help but the numbers were too high. It was literally a sea of humanity in need. Perhaps next time the state or feds could post help with breakdown up and down the interstate.
When I got to Atlanta, we stopped for a sub sandwich. A white man with a dog approached me and my friend and told us he was down on his luck and could we spare a few dollars.
No we told him.
The Flowmax Boys hit the Road
I visited The Big Easy for the first time on Thursday morning.
I may never be able to travel to The French Quarter of New Orleans ever again if the naysayers are right about hurricane Gustav.
The French Quarter is not pretty. It smells and it down right weird. I saw a guy walking down the street in broad daylight with nothing on but a jock strap. No one seemed to take notice.
There are the homeless, drunks, bars, jazz clubs, strips clubs, restaurants, prostitutes, tourists and thieves walking about this famous area. I saw it all in 24 hours in this town and even witnessed the theft along with the shop keeper chasing the thief while two cops stood by and laughed.
In spite of all of this it has its own charm.
After waking up at 2:00 AM to catch my flight we eventually arrived very early Thursday morning around 9:30 AM. We checked in our hotel Price Conti which is located just off of Bourbon Street.
We went out foraging for breakfast and found a place open near The Casino.
Local whites here speak with thick Cajun accents and the blacks remind me of a combination of a low country South Carolina accent mixed with a touch of Caribbean.
Blacks here still have a forceful African Influence from their customs, foods and beliefs that was reminiscent of blacks I have seen in St Croix.
I dinned on a crawfish and shrimp omelet with Louisiana hot sauce with a high pile of grits and biscuits. It was enough to feed 5.
We found most of the locals to be very friendly and all of the shops and restaurants were truly one of a kind.
During our stay we ate our fill of variations beans, rice, chicken, pork, crayfish, shrimp, sausages and hot sauce. The mainstay is starch and meat.
The following day we headed to Baton Rouge for the football game on Saturday.
Baton Rouge is a friendly and charming town without all the nasty of New Orleans. The foods and accents are the same, just the city is more “normal”.
In Baton Rouge they love their LSU Tiger Football team here but everyone was courteous and helpful even though we wore our Appalachian State garb. Locals went out of their way to make us feel at home.
The weather was stifling hot and humid beyond anything I had experienced with the approach of Gustav.
By now hurricane warnings were out and evacuation orders were given. Our ability to fly out of New Orleans was very doubtful. The game time was changed from 7PM to 4PM and finally 10 AM to avoid evacuation plan overlap.
And so it was that five 50 something idiots drove into a hurricane to see their college play the mighty LSU Tigers.
Our alumni tailgate began at 7:30 AM with you guess it, beans and rice and meat stuff with beer. It was all good. The event was supposed to be held inside in the cool AC but by now the Feds has seized the building for FEMA. Damn Yankees.
By game time it was dangerously hot with high humidly and no breeze to be found. I drank four liters of water and a paint bucket size Diet Coke during the game.
LSU clearly overpowered ASU and my Mountaineers fell in defeat.
At the end of the game we went back to the hotel and decided to get out of town while we could. We would drive all the way back to Charlotte since getting back to New Orleans airport was doubtful. They wanted us out of the hotel anyway because FEMA and the National Guard needed the rooms.
About 2 hours north the Flowmax boys decide to pee and get some road graze. We pulled in gas station to see masses of people loading up with gas, food and water. The lot was full and the shelves were empting quickly.
The interstate was very crowded but moved at a steady pace of about 45 MPH. We began seeing a lot of old broken down cars alone the way. I don’t think most of those old cars had seen an interstate in years.
We overnighted in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home to the Crimson Tide. The next morning we stopped by the Bear Bryant museum to pay our respects to this great coach and headed east to Charlotte.
Finally yesterday we rolled in around 5 PM safe and sound.
It was an exciting trip. I had never visited Louisiana or driven through Mississippi. It was neat to finally see the Mississippi river and to eat real Cajun food. The “normal” people were nice.
I may never be able to travel to The French Quarter of New Orleans ever again if the naysayers are right about hurricane Gustav.
The French Quarter is not pretty. It smells and it down right weird. I saw a guy walking down the street in broad daylight with nothing on but a jock strap. No one seemed to take notice.
There are the homeless, drunks, bars, jazz clubs, strips clubs, restaurants, prostitutes, tourists and thieves walking about this famous area. I saw it all in 24 hours in this town and even witnessed the theft along with the shop keeper chasing the thief while two cops stood by and laughed.
In spite of all of this it has its own charm.
After waking up at 2:00 AM to catch my flight we eventually arrived very early Thursday morning around 9:30 AM. We checked in our hotel Price Conti which is located just off of Bourbon Street.
We went out foraging for breakfast and found a place open near The Casino.
Local whites here speak with thick Cajun accents and the blacks remind me of a combination of a low country South Carolina accent mixed with a touch of Caribbean.
Blacks here still have a forceful African Influence from their customs, foods and beliefs that was reminiscent of blacks I have seen in St Croix.
I dinned on a crawfish and shrimp omelet with Louisiana hot sauce with a high pile of grits and biscuits. It was enough to feed 5.
We found most of the locals to be very friendly and all of the shops and restaurants were truly one of a kind.
During our stay we ate our fill of variations beans, rice, chicken, pork, crayfish, shrimp, sausages and hot sauce. The mainstay is starch and meat.
The following day we headed to Baton Rouge for the football game on Saturday.
Baton Rouge is a friendly and charming town without all the nasty of New Orleans. The foods and accents are the same, just the city is more “normal”.
In Baton Rouge they love their LSU Tiger Football team here but everyone was courteous and helpful even though we wore our Appalachian State garb. Locals went out of their way to make us feel at home.
The weather was stifling hot and humid beyond anything I had experienced with the approach of Gustav.
By now hurricane warnings were out and evacuation orders were given. Our ability to fly out of New Orleans was very doubtful. The game time was changed from 7PM to 4PM and finally 10 AM to avoid evacuation plan overlap.
And so it was that five 50 something idiots drove into a hurricane to see their college play the mighty LSU Tigers.
Our alumni tailgate began at 7:30 AM with you guess it, beans and rice and meat stuff with beer. It was all good. The event was supposed to be held inside in the cool AC but by now the Feds has seized the building for FEMA. Damn Yankees.
By game time it was dangerously hot with high humidly and no breeze to be found. I drank four liters of water and a paint bucket size Diet Coke during the game.
LSU clearly overpowered ASU and my Mountaineers fell in defeat.
At the end of the game we went back to the hotel and decided to get out of town while we could. We would drive all the way back to Charlotte since getting back to New Orleans airport was doubtful. They wanted us out of the hotel anyway because FEMA and the National Guard needed the rooms.
About 2 hours north the Flowmax boys decide to pee and get some road graze. We pulled in gas station to see masses of people loading up with gas, food and water. The lot was full and the shelves were empting quickly.
The interstate was very crowded but moved at a steady pace of about 45 MPH. We began seeing a lot of old broken down cars alone the way. I don’t think most of those old cars had seen an interstate in years.
We overnighted in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home to the Crimson Tide. The next morning we stopped by the Bear Bryant museum to pay our respects to this great coach and headed east to Charlotte.
Finally yesterday we rolled in around 5 PM safe and sound.
It was an exciting trip. I had never visited Louisiana or driven through Mississippi. It was neat to finally see the Mississippi river and to eat real Cajun food. The “normal” people were nice.
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