You always hope to meet interesting characters on the road. We shared breakfast at the Cobb Mill B&B this morning with a group including Bud Ellis who created another career for himself after retirement building carousel animals in his workshop outside Chattanooga – and teaching others how to do so as well. His business is called Horsin Around Carving School. He’s been responsible for the revival or creation of two carousels in Chattanooga.
After a very enjoyable breakfast we hit the road by 9 and headed south through the rest of Alabama, passing through Tuscaloosa, the home of the University of Alabama Red Tide. Then over the state line into Mississippi. We exited at Meridian at about noon. We met our daughter Kate and her husband Tom for lunch at the historic Weidmann’s Restaurant. Tom’s cousin Alec was our very friendly waiter and we had a great lunch including Fried Green Tomatoes!
Back on the road we traveled across the rest of Mississippi and into Louisiana, then across the very long bridge over Lake Pontchartrain, and into “The Big Easy”. We are staying at a lovely historic hotel called Le Pavillion considered to be in the Downtown/Central Business District, well removed from the craziness of Bourbon Street. We arrived before 6 and were able to walk for over an hour, along the riverfront and then into the chaos in the French Quarter. Good to remind ourselves how crazy it can be there. Then back to the hotel and out to dinner. Headed to Austin TX tomorrow.
Our Saturday Playlist:
Bonnie Raitt
– Angel from Montgomery
Bruce Hornsby and the Range
– Sneaking up on Boo Radley ( refers to a the reclusive mystery character in the Pulitzer Prize winning classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” that takes place in Maycomb, Alabama and was written by Harper Lee who grew up in Monroeville, Alabama).
Neil Young
– Southern Man. How could we not include this song from After the Goldrush?
Sarah McLachlan
– Angel. A bookend to Bonnie’s Angel.
Van Morrison
– Tupelo Honey (we are assuming that honey comes fromTupelo Mississippi)
Bob Dylan
– Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again( from the groundbreaking Blonde on Blonde). Dedicated to Pablocito and Professor Taylor.
– Tangled Up in Blue. It was in New Orleans that she bends down to tie the laces of his shoes.
Lucinda Williams
– Joy. She wants it back and thinks it may be in Slidell, just the other side of the Lake from NOLA.
Vienna Teng
– Pontchartrain. Crossed on the world’s 2nd longest bridge over water. As Stan Lee used to write, ” nuff said”.
Can’t believe that you did not include Ferante & Teicher’s Gone Home to Mama’s Double Wide
quick question for the bloggers and any of their readers. what prolific actor made his screen debut as Boo in To Kill a Mockingbird? And, please settle once and for all – is Blood on the Tracks Dylan’s greatest album? Madly fond of Tangled Up in Blue from that masterpiece.