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©Andrea D. Rubinstein, 1995-2007
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This website is created and maintained by Andrea Rubinstein.
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Bay2Bayou: The Journey and
Arrival In Acadiana
(9/16/02) Over Labor Day weekend, I set out from San Francisco to Lafayette, LA. It was a long trip, but very scenic, especially in Northern Arizona and through the Painted Desert in New Mexico. Three consecutive 12 hour-days of driving (about 725 miles per day) without cruise control can really wreck your body. Once I got to Lafayette, I broke down and treated myself to an hour long massage - the office I went to also sold herbal remedies, vitamins, and other lotions and potions. I almost felt like I was back in the Bay Area, except the massage therapist had a Southern accent.
Some highlights of the road trip included spending the first night in
Williams, AZ, which is about 30 miles from the Grand Canyon, and the last town
on Route 66 to be bypassed by the interstate freeway system. It is well
preserved... maybe even stuck in the 50's... all the shops have Route
66 trinkets or western wear for sale. But this doesn't take away from how quaint
the town seems or how idyllic the setting was, among tall pine trees. The
night I was there, the rodeo was in town, along with a bunch of Harley Davidson
bikers to see it. In the local 50's ice cream parlor, called Twisters, the
bikers and the bronc-busters met up to shop for Route 66 t-shirts and eat ice
cream cones. Another highlight was a stop in Gallup, N.M. Looking for a gas
station, I stumbled upon the Wigwam Motel
looking fine under Georgia
O'Keefe skies on old Route 66. The rest of this patch of Route 66 had nothing of
interest (including no gas stations) so I went down the road a bit and found
Earl's (on a different patch of Gallup's old Route 66). Earl's is one of those
coffee shops that seem stuck in time. I was seated at a table next to an older
Navajo woman who was eating a tuna fish sandwich. She looked like Marilyn from
the TV show, "Northern Exposure". After I sat down, the waitress came back and
presented me with a little flyer that shows the distance from Earl's of all the
local attractions plus major cities, N, S, E & W (SF was about 1200 miles). I
remarked, "I wonder how she knew to bring me this," since I hadn't said much,
and the Navajo woman piped up, "Oh it's written all over you." That broke the
ice, we chuckled, and then had a great conversation about her family and her
life (she has been a one on one caregiver for the infirm and elderly for 26
years).
I spent my first days in Lafayette unpacking, dealing with Bell South, getting my phone wiring modernized, and DSL installed (they lost my order & told me I didn't place one even though I had a confirmation # and the DSL modem they sent me was at the house - go figure... ) But by last Thursday morning the main line was working and after a few hours I had my home and work laptops networked and working in the living room. I needed a few pieces of furniture to set up my home office... desk, bookcase, etc., which gave me an excuse to explore some of the many used furniture stores and flea markets in and around Lafayette (in Grand Cocteau, Washington, Opelousas & Breaux Bridge for starters). For my desk I decided to purchase a small table from a talented local craftsman, Don Brasseaux. He restores and recycles old cypress and barnwood and each piece is handmade & signed. I visited his workshop in Breaux Bridge, and he showed me some techniques he uses to recycle the materials. After the desk was delivered I just sat in the room and admired it for a while. It is just gorgeous. Next time you are in Acadia, you can see Don's work displayed at the Jefferson Street Market (in Lafayette), at Precious Past Antiques (in Breaux Bridge), plus a few pieces at What Bayou Trading Company in Opelousas, and the new Louisiana Heritage and Gifts (a recently opened shop focusing on Louisiana culture and music, run by Cajun musicians Mitch & Lisa Reed. They also hold Cajun Jam sessions (Saturday afternoons 3-5), music lessons & cultural workshops there. (LHG is located at 500 Gloria Switch Road just 10 minutes North of I-10 from Lafayette - take I-49 towards Opelousas and get off on the Gloria Switch Road exit. Turn right - it is about 1-2 miles down the road, on the right). Email lmreed@bellsouth.net or 337-237-9258 for more info.
One thing I love about being here is how everyone is friendly and is interested knowing your story and sharing theirs. I seem to be somewhat of a novelty wherever I go. With a California license plate that reads SFBAYOU, I've had people see the car, and then walk up to me (or follow me into restaurants ) to talk to me about San Francisco or California. (One local said - "could be friendly, could be just nosy, cher"). Still, it is very different from the Bay Area and very charming. And Cajun accents, when I hear them, just make my ears smile.
I was so busy with house stuff my first week here that it took me a whole 4 days before I went out dancing or doing anything else in the 'fun' category. But I've made up for lost time since then. I went to Vermillionville to see Terry & the Bad Boys. Zydeco Joe plays at Gentrys (the old Cajun Pier) every Friday night and I've seen him both Fridays now. Last weekend I went to the Mamou Cajun Festival honoring Bois Sec Ardoin. He played with a band which included some of his children and grandchildren plus members of Balfa Toujours, Also on the schedule were Jason Frey & Mattis Tratte (who called out 'hello California' when he saw me), the Vidrine family band & Paul Daigle. I went to the monthly ArtWalk in Lafayette's downtown, which was quite the happening place. At the Blue Moon Guest House & Saloon (which, with live music presented on the covered back deck in a friendly atmosphere, is becoming quite the local hangout) I caught solo gigs by Sam Broussard, (singer/songwriter and lead guitar with Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys), the Hardheads (a local Lafayette favorite Southern rock band with Cajun influences, and Lee Tedrow (former lead guitarist with Geno Delafose, playing Delta blues). At Randol's I saw Chavivari and joined the Krewe de Canaille (a Lafayette based Cajun dance club). Geno Delafose played Grant Street Dance Hall in Lafayette on Saturday night to a good-sized crowd, and on Sunday I saw Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys at Whiskey River - by the end of the evening, 12 women had climbed up and were dancing on the bar. In the last 2 months, Terry Angelle, the club's owner, did a major upgrade on the air-conditioning system and it makes a big difference. Zydeco Joe sat in with SRMP for a few songs, playing rubboard and singing the vocals for "Uncle Bud", and the band actually sounded funky!
With all the music happening so close to home (my longest drive was to Henderson - 20 minutes away) and the shortest to Grant Street (3 minutes), I haven't made the effort to get to the zydeco clubs in the country yet. After years of, for the most part, having to commute over the Bay Bridge to dance, (AND 2100 miles on the road not yet a distant memory) the ease of access to great music here without a long road trip is a wonderful luxury that I just want to savor for a while, and. for sure, there is more than enough close by.
Finally, what is interesting to me how easily this place feels like home. I seem to know some people almost every time I go out to listen to music or dance, and it is nice to have a place where I can relax, fix my own meals, do the laundry and not feel like I have to be running from place to place to do everything! And there always seems to be something going on. In the next few weeks I am going to check out some Cajun jam sessions with my t-fer in & around Lafayette - one is being held at the Blue Moon on Wednesday nights (this jam has changed venues from Chris's Po-Boys on Jefferson St), and the new jam at Louisiana Heritage, as well as attend Festivals Acadiens this upcoming weekend.
