Embracing the Fleur de Lis

My trip home started with a detour the great LA, and I mean the state not the city. This was my first time in LA and it was almost exactly as everyone described--hot, dirty, sticky, and backwoods. But to its defense, it does have a certain charm and a culture of people unlike anywhere else I have been.

Although it's great to visit new places, the real reason for the visit was to see one of my high school best friends, Katie. She and her husband have been living there (in Lafayette) for the past year and a half working with their church and starting a community center and renovating an old Victorian home in the hopes to one day turn it into a children's home. They have done some amazing work there, and it was awesome to see what all they have done.

I flew into New Orleans, where Katie and her friend Kristie picked me up and showed me around New Orleans. Honestly, after an afternoon there I was about done. We did walk go see the major tourist sights, ie: Jackson Square, and rummaged through some antique shops. Though I never had the chance to see the city pre-Katrina so i can't really compare, all i saw were a lot of dilapidated buildings, tent cities, homeless walking the streets, and trashy stores and bars.

After leaving NOLA, Lafayette and St. Martinville were much easier to like. Katie took me to see Cajun dancing, the Tabasco Factory, and try the drive-thru daiquiri bars (i still can't believe that is actually legal!). The people were very nice and the old churches and bayou reminded me of being placed in the midst of the Awakening--kinda surreal.

The Fleur de Lis to LA, is kinda like that silly confederate flag is to a lot of the South. It is absolutely everywhere. I saw it on windows, dishes, tassels, clothes, pillows, jewelry, and they even have enough ornaments to make your own fleur de lis tree after the Christmas season is over. But, somehow i made it out of LA without one fleur de lis item...this is purely by mistake i assure you, and when i realized this i was in the Lafayette airport with its one gift shop that smelled so much like vomit i had to forgo all efforts to secure a fleur de lis souvenir. Oh well, life goes on!

Katie and Tim's house was also amazing, and i didn't even realize until i had left that i never took any pictures of it. I really enjoyed helping Katie pick out things for the house, and could i have, i would have liked to just stay with them and help them out with their house and community center. And also, it was wonderful just getting to spend time with such a good friend. I have said it many times before but i am really so lucky to have such wonderful friends. Even after not living in the same town for almost 6 years now, we are still just as close as ever and can pick up right where we left off. And even though i am loving living my own adventure, the hardest part will always be being so far away from the ones i love.

So sad we have to part.....