The Music Box Village

 New Orleans, LA

Waiting for the show to begin

Live Music on a Cold Night

This weekend our friends Christy and Chris invited us to attend a show at The Music Box Village with them.  The venue is a really cool outdoor art installation that is often open for kids to run around and climb on things but tonight it was set up for live music.  There was a bar in the back serving up beer, cocktails, ciders, and hot drinks and a taco stand selling tacos.  We got right when the doors opened so we could explore.  You were allowed to enter many of the structures but a few were set up for the show and off limits.  The band we were seeing was the 79ers Gang.  They are a Mardi Gras Indian Group.  you should read more about that whole thing here.  They were joined on the stage and throughout the venue by The Preservation Hall Band but not the same band we saw at Preservation Hall.  It was a great show with a diverse audience.  Probably the most diverse group of people I have seen in a long time.

We saw quite a few bars on the way we would have wandered into if we had time.

There were music instruments all over the place for people to mess with.  I messed with this one and decided to keep my day job of not working.

You could get good views on some of the 2nd levels of the structures

The band played funked up Jazzed up versions of Mardi Gras music

Band members moved all over the area and played and sang from different places.  This guy stood right next to me.

You can see the Preservation hall Tuba or Sousaphone (I can't tell the difference).

It was a great show and incredibly unique.  Like nothing I have seen before.  

If you missed my last post you can see it here.  We endured a tornado warning.

Marked Safe from the NOLA Tornado

 New Orleans, LA

Our first Tornado Warning

Extreme Weather

Last night we experienced our first Tornado Watch and then our first Tornado Warning.  A Tornado Watch means be prepared and a Tornado Warning means take action.  The action we took was to make sure we knew what we were going to do if we heard a tornado.  We got a loud notification from our phone which was muted that the Warning was on.  We moved away from the window and decided the hall would be the best place to wait it out if it came to that.  The rain was hard and the lighting and thunder was intense but we didn't experience strong winds or a tornado where we are.  We did lose power for about 5 minutes.  Long enough for us to grab our solar camping lantern and have it ready.  A pretty strong tornado did touch down about 3 miles away in almost the same path that one took in March. Tornados also hit all around the Louisiana and Mississippi area and even Texas.  Reports show that there were 3 fatalities. 

This morning we went for a walk with Francis and things look normal in our area.  The normal amount of water, the normal amount of leaves, and the normal number of intact roofs.  We feel very fortunate that nothing went wildly wrong for us.  

Taken before the heavy rain started.  It seems like the water has been in this construction area for a while.

That's it for today.  If you missed yesterday's post you can find it here.

Out and About in NOLA

 New Orleans, LA

We got the NOLA Blues

Iconic Food

This afternoon we walked to Bywater and went to Frady's One Stop for a plate lunch and a sandwich.  It's a popular cheap eats place that was apparently featured on a Netflix show.  It's a tiny place with a daily special.  Donna got the Red Beans and Rice Plate Special and I got a quarter muffuletta.  

Potholes are a BIG DEAL in NOLA.

My quarter Muffuletta 

Josh opted for the whole so he could have leftovers.  Leftovers for days.

Preservation Hall

After an afternoon of relaxing we walked over to Preservation Hall .  We had tickets for an early show.  Preservation Hall is an iconic Jazz Venue that has 3 or 4 shows a night and cranks 100 or so people through a 45 minute set.  It is no frills, you get a bench seat if you pay for it or you stand and there are no bathrooms and no drink service.  It is a very unique experience.  The show was great and it was a fun experience even though it was very different.  On the way we stopped at Leah's Pralines, a confectionary institution here in NOLA.  They make their own Pralines so they are fresh.  Pralines are pecans in a melt of sugar and cream sort of between the sugar and the caramel range.  They were very good.

We had to walk down Bourbon Street so I took a photo of Neon. 

They didn't allow photos inside during the show so this will have to do

That's it for today.  If you missed yesterday's post you can find it here.

Tiki Twice in Louisiana

 New Orleans, LA

Mahalo!

Tonight we went to Beach Bum Barry's Latitude 29.  This Tiki Bar has been around for 8 years and they do a great job.  The decorations are great and they are all dolled up for Christmas which is cool too.  The cocktails were good and the food was great.  We also got to share the experience with Sophie and Josh who also like going to Tiki Bars.

Josh and I getting our Tiki on!

This time of year a bunch of Tiki Bars do Sipping Santa where they all have the same drinks on a seasonal menu.

A few days ago we went to more of a dive Tiki Bar called Aunt Tiki's.  It is way more rough around the edges and the drinks aren't nearly as refined.  I don't recommend it if you want a true Tiki Experience but if you want a Tiki Dive Bar it's the place.  I hear it can get a little wild at night.

The Greeter was there to welcome us

Some bars have slot machines in them

Old School Cigarette Machine

That's it for today.  If  you didn't read the previous post you can find it here.