Ever since I visited Idyllwild to train for my Dolomite hike, I’ve been itching to go back. Recently I went with my friends, Lori (who had been before) and Sandra (who never had). We just stayed one night, but even that was rejuvenating.
“What do you want to do when we go to Lafayette,” I asked my mother. “Well, there’s an arts and craft gallery I’ve always wanted to go to,” she replied. We spent a happy hour browsing the eclectic collection of art, jewelry, pottery, and decor at the tiny shop called Sans Souci in the oldest surviving commercial building in downtown Lafayette (circa 1840). It’s a craft guild filled with art from Louisiana artists (and beyond). I picked up a couple of simple prints (now, if only I actually had the wall space for them!). She bought a piece of “wearable…
If you’ve never paid good money to cook your own food in a restaurant, you’re missing out. Yes, I know it seems odd. But in New York City, a city where truly you can have any kind of culinary experience you wish, eating Korean BBQ is a must-experience. Max had never been to a restaurant like this, though he loves both Korean food and BBQ. And being a growing boy of 13, having a mountain of meat to doze through was wonderful. The price is higher than your average meal, but with all the tiny bowls of pickled this and…
Gumbo. Pirogue. Chère (pronounced “shah.”) Fais-do-do. These are all words and concepts that I grew up with, the child of parents who were raised in Louisiana, in Cajun country. It wasn’t until I was much older that I came to understand that the average child didn’t eat crawfish or listen to “chanky chank” music when they visited family as part of a cultural experience.