Back from the South
Not that I update regularly anyway, I never have things I want to write about (here’s my question to the bloggers who update daily or even semi-weekly: where do you find all this stuff to post? I need some ideas, here!) but I thought someone might like to know where I’ve been.
Me and hubby took a week to go visit his relatives in Alabama and Baton Rouge. Really wish I could have seen more of Baton Rouge or visited New Orleans, but we were only there for two days to attend a second cousin’s wedding, then spent the rest of our time in Alabama near Mobile.
Southern culture/geography/climate/history etc. is just so different (to a person raised in the northwest US). I had a vague notion of it from my southern mum and more recently my southern mum-in-law, which boiled down to grits, Confederates and “y’all”. But even just a week in the South with granddad-in-law showing us around was eye-opening. The South is much older than the northwest, it was thriving well in advance of our area (transport didn’t depend as heavily on railways) so it seems to have more of an identity foundation. Almost anyone from the US can think of the South and think of a few things that are distinctive to it. That’s harder to say for some other areas.
Food was very good. I love seafood, and on the Gulf Coast, we ate lots of it. The sad part of living inland, along with the depressing lack of beach, is the fish is never quite as good, so I take advantage of coastal areas’ fresh seafood as much as I can. I’d also rarely gotten to have Cajun food, so that was a great experience too. It was my first time trying crawfish etouffee, SO TASTY.
I never would have anticipated how much Katrina has changed the landscape and the attitude of the Gulf Coast. Driving back to Alabama from Baton Rouge, we passed through a Mississippi coastal town that had been torn apart. There had previously been casino barges offshore- gambling was illegal onshore- but they were all destroyed in the hurricane. So, as a result, they moved the casinos onshore! They had some nice-looking casino hotels along the way, and a good deal of them still under construction. Mississippi didn’t want to lose its revenue 
and everywhere we were, we noticed people still using the phrase “after Katrina” as a qualifier. There was just enough damage everywhere that you couldn’t forget about what caused it. Katrina seems to have sobered the outlook of the people who lived through it.
On our last day before flying out, we visited the Mobile Art Museum. Boise Art Museum pales in comparison. Mobile’s is a lot bigger, they had some really gorgeous exhibits. The first one we walked through had a lot of Romantic period art, mostly portraiture, still lifes, and ships. There was the permanent collection which included historic furniture and paintings that were of historical significance to the area. My favorite, though, was the featured exhibit of art by gen-x and post-boomer artists in the “new south.” I really have a fondness for innovative contemporary art, and this definitely struck a chord with me. Some pieces spoke of the artist’s experience with politics, some spoke of the experience of black people in the modern south, others of living with privilege in the south. All of it was educational. I walked out of there feeling like I’d seen something new.
Well, that about sums it up. Another thing, my hubby and I recently celebrated our one-year anniversary. Yay! So, we’re doing well. I also start school again today for summer classes. I’m not too bummed, though- it’s a class I wanted to take in the fall but couldn’t, so I’m looking forward to it, even if it is four-and-a-half hours straight.
Till next time, y’all!
Catherine
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