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). (2008 Update:
LHG closed its doors in 2007)
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.