Travelin' Man

I've been either on the road or out of town quite a bit lately, spending at least one day each of the past five weekends driving to or from Natchitoches. It started with a trip to New Orleans on the Sunday of the Women's World Cup final between Japan and the United States. I have previously used this space to praise the Women's US National Team, and today will be no different. I love how they play, even when they don't always play well. At their best they play with relentless energy and love for their teammates. This year's team gave outstanding effort all the way through, and I felt they played their best game of the tournament in the final.

Alas, it turned out to be a losing effort. Four or five scoring chances (at least) in the first half went off target. Japan came back from a goal down on two separate occasions and looked like the calmer, more professional side when it came down to penalty kicks. This was the first time the US had made the WWC final without winning, and the US has still never won a World Cup on foreign soil. We'll get 'em next time.

New Orleans/Orange Beach

I watched the game with a friend of mine at Finn McCool's in New Orleans. Depending on the results in the semifinals, I told her I might be watching the US play in the finals on Sunday. She said she'd join me to watch. So on Sunday I picked her up at her house and we drove over to Banks St. Parking spots near the bar were all filled, and she said, "Oh, I know why there are so many cars here. There's some sort of big soccer thing today and this is a big soccer bar. That's what there here to watch."

Me: "I hope they're showing it," I said, "because that's what we're here to watch."
Her: "Really? I thought we were here to watch a tennis match!"
Me: "Tennis? Why would I invite you to come watch tennis with me?"
Her: "I dunno. I just knew you were a big sports fan, and I thought there was some big tennis thing going on that you wanted to watch."
Me: "No, we're here to see the Women's World Cup final!"

When we had parked and gone inside I asked her, "Were you really going to come here and watch tennis with me?" She said yes, and I said, "Wow, you're a really good friend!" For whatever reason she had really thought I wanted to come watch a big tennis match at a bar.

The next day I picked up a cousin in Baton Rouge and drove to Orange Beach, AL for a week of (mostly) relaxing at the beach. I went to Florabama for the first time, a bar that straddles the state line between Florida and Alabama. At one point I was spotted by a former State Quiz Bowl participant who recognized me as the moderator for the last two TV rounds. Luckily I was not doing anything inappropriate at the time.

The water at the beach was clear and warm, which I like, but calm, which I don't. I like to crash against some surf to pass the time. Other than that I have no complaints, and we came back to Natchitoches the next Saturday.

New Orleans/Baton Rouge

After a few days at home I left town again to go to a cousin's wedding in Baton Rouge -- so of course we went to New Orleans first and ate at Galatoire's. I won't tell you what we talked about, but I will say that when you have the busboy behind you go wide-eyed and start laughing very hard, you've had a good night.

Thursday we had lunch at Willie Mae's Scotch House on St. Ann Street. I'd been hearing for a few years how good the fried chicken was. The menu item is called simply "America's Best Fried Chicken" and comes with three pieces and a side. Due to what I assume must be plate size constraints, the chicken for most of us came out on a single platter. The pieces were hot and juicy. The skin was not thick but very crispy. I will tell you how good it was using this example:

When I bit into a piece and juice started rolling down my chin, I did not reach for a napkin to wipe it away. Instead I used the fingers on my right hand to try and scoop it back into my mouth. It was that good. On the way back to Baton Rouge that afternoon the most common refrain in the car was "Damn, that was good fried chicken."

If you have a long life ahead of you, I recommend both Galatoire's and Willie Mae's but not on the same day. For if you have them on the same day, you will be dead. Not in the physical sense, but you will be dead to any future food experience for the rest of your life. Nothing will be that good. You would also be on your way to being the 500-pound alcoholic a N.O. native I know says they would be if they still lived there. If you've got a week to live, then I say go for it.

The wedding was short and lovely at White Oak Plantation. The first dance song was "Rainbow Connection" sung by Kermit the Frog. I thought that was an inspired choice. The recessional song was "Don't Know Much About History", also a nice changeup from what we're used to hearing at weddings.

Houston

Next Friday my dad and I went to Houston to see my uncle, who is a Dominican priest. We stayed at the priory he lives in with several other priests. We were the first to stay in the newly-added section. We went to the Brewers-Astros game that night at Minute Maid Park. I thought it was a very stale environment to watch a baseball game. It feels like you're in an office building that's had a baseball field built into it. It got a little better when they opened up the roof after the game to show fireworks. The Brewers are good, the Astros are not, and that's all I'll say about the game itself.

We took it easy Saturday, having lunch at an English pub type place and dinner at a friend's house that evening. Sunday we went with my uncle as he said Mass and then headed back home.

New Orleans (again)

Another trip to New Orleans, and dinner at Vincent's on St. Charles Sunday night. Monday we had brunch at Camellia Grill (bacon omelet with hash browns), then I went with a cousin to Clearview Mall to see Captain America, which I thought was pretty good. Good action, good acting, a solid comic-style storyline involving godly powers, Nazis and America. It also sets up for the Avengers movie coming out in the near future. Dinner at Superior restaurant near the hotel closed things out.

I don't want to alarm anyone, but it looks like I'll be spending the entire upcoming weekend in Natchitoches.

Miscellaneous

ESPN3 is a wonderful thing. A lot of stuff you miss in real time can be replayed online. Watching the Barcelona-Real Madrid soccer game, I noticed a difference in American sporting events and Spanish League football. Before games here, some current pop/hip-hop/country song is probably playing to get the crowd revved up. At the Bernabéu they were playing Nessun Dorma. Advantage, España.