Category: Photography Blog

Posted on

A Cab Driver Named Francis

One of the mornings that I was in New Orleans, I woke up early and thought that it would be a great wake up treat to bring my travel companions some beignets.   I walked outside, walked for a moment and then realized I had no clue where I was going.  I hailed a cab, jumped in, and told the driver what I needed.   I soon realized that I jumped into the cab of New Orleans best tour guide/entertainer.

When I told him that I wanted to find some beignets, he laughed and said ok, we’re on our way.  As we zoomed through the small streets of the French Quarters, he told me that he had always lived in the city and has seen it go through so many changes.   He first talked about the drinking history in New Orleans.  “It’s just part of who we are.”

When he was a teenager, there were still bars in different categories.  There were beer bars for anyone over 16, liquor bars for eighteen to twenty-one year olds, and then twenty-one and older bars. When driving drunk, the cop would follow you home, drive your car, or have someone else come get you.  It has always been a party, but now, with the influence of new laws, social taboos, and a hot college destination, drinking in New Orleans takes on its own life.

We arrived at the one and only place to get beignets in the city, Café Du Monde but the line was so long that Francis, my driver, asked, “How important are these right now?  You can get them later and there is no way I’m letting you wait this long for them.  Will donuts be good? I know where the best donuts in town are.”

As we went to get donuts, we passed by Saint Louis Cemetery Number 1.  This was before our visit there, so he informed me of the basics, but then mentioned that he will be buried there because that is where his family tomb is; Just more fact that these cemeteries are still fully functional. 

We got to this donut shop, but it wasn’t a donut shop at all, it was a small little market.  Of course, me being me, asked if he was sure.  “They get two large boxes of donuts from the shop and sell them on their counter.”  That is a driver that really knows his city.

I ran in, grabbed the donuts and some juice, and got back in the cab.  As we made it back to where we were staying, I asked about rent in the French Quarters.  It can be a mind trick looking at the residential part of the French Quarters.  So many houses look ran down and beat up but the minute you step through their front doors, the entire world changes.  Francis shared with me on how deceiving this can be but to know that the French Quarters are still the highest priced real-estate in the city.  

My little twenty-five minute journey that morning way one of the highlights of my trip.  Francis was so informative and was a great welcome wagon to the city.  I unfortunately didn’t have my flip or my camera with me, but here are some of the other pictures from New Orleans I have.  They still show some highlights of the French Quarters as well as a little extra.  The next time you’re in a new city; don’t disregard your cab drivers.  They drive the streets day in and day out.  They are the visitor’s best resource for the city.

 

Posted on

Gram’s Place Hostel

Gram’s Place hostel was a great experience for my first official American hostel experience.  Hostel and America aren’t necessarily two words that go together.  The word hostel tends to be more associated with backpacking in Europe or the phrase “While I was in the Peace Corps”.  Believe it or not, there are plenty of amazing places to stay here in the U.S. that fall under the category of hostel. 

I was displaced for a night in Tampa so I went and checked out Gram’s Place.  While I was there, I got to see how eclectic an American hostel can get and how it really takes the shape of the people who are currently staying there as well as every other person who has stayed there before them.   It was only a night, but I got a chance to meet some great people.  Two of them, Jo and Valoree, you’ve now met.  I also got to meet a British man who just got done traveling much or northern South America who I may see here in New York this week.  

I also had a great conversation with the live in/ work exchange woman from Rhode Island.  She was a free spirit who seemed to have lived everywhere at some point and definitely loved having that freedom in her life. If I would have stayed one more night, I definitely would have got more details in her story.  I can only imagine.

The owner took it over after his brother, Mark Holland, passed away.  Mark named the hostel after Gram Parsons.  If you’re unfamiliar with Gram Parsons, he was an extremely influential musician who created the Byrds and was quite involved with Emmylou Harris.  Being that the hostel is named after him, it is not unexpected that there is commonly live music being played at the hostel.

Here are a few pictures that I took while I was there.  I didn’t get many, but these still display the greatness of this location.  When travelling our country and you’re looking for something adventurous and inexpensive, don’t disregard our hostels; You may find that it fills a void you didn’t know was there.

 

Posted on

Saint Louis Cemetery #1

Cemeteries have a spot in all of our towns, cities and communities.  How we take care of our dead really does say a lot of what we want in our future when we pass away.  In New Orleans, they take their cemeteries seriously.  One of the spots that we made certain to check out when we were in New Orleans was the Saint Louis Cemetery Number One.  This is told to be the oldest cemetery in New Orleans, not to mention the most haunted, but that is for your own beliefs to juggle.

One of the reasons that New Orleans cemeteries are so unique is that they are built above ground.  With the water table being so close to the surface in the city, this was the only way to do a burial.  With these tombs being in the direct sunlight, and the circular shaped ceilings on them, they are known as oven tombs.  The tombs naturally cook the bodies in them so when another person in that family passes away, you just place that corpse right on top of the last.  It really is a space saver, yet a respectful way to bury the dead that is continued to be practiced today.  My wild cab driver from one of the mornings while I was there told me all about his families plot is in this cemetery and that is exactly where he plans on being buried. 

For more history about this phenomenal piece of American History, check out the Wikipedia page on it.

 

Posted on

Lunch in Baton Rouge

In between Beaumont and New Orleans, we took a moment to have some true Cajun food in Baton Rouge.  Well, when we got to downtown Baton Rouge, we were a little shocked that the whole of downtown had become a ghost town.  It seems that after three in the afternoon, there is no reason for business’ to stay open.  Thankfully, as we wondered around for a moment, we found Poor Boy Lloyd’s.  There him and his staff took amazing care of us and shared a little of the history of Baton Rouge and its relationship with the Mississippi River.  For the four of us sitting there, the river’s journey was slightly comparable to ours because all of us came from the north where much of that water came from. I have only a few pictures from downtown Baton Rouge but it’s something.

Posted on

Beaumont in Real Life

The next morning, after meeting Rhonda, I got up and thought I would go to downtown Beaumont and get some coffee and take a better look around.  Unfortunately, when I got down there, coffee was not to be had.  I did though get to see a lot of great historical buildings and see what Beaumont was built on. 

The main highlight of Beaumont was from an oil find on Spindletop, January 10th, 1901.  The population grew from 10,000 to 30,000 by the end of that March making Beaumont one of the first and largest oil spots in the country.  Soon after that, the local rice industry was developed along with the commercial port and the suburban development by the philanthropist Captain William Casper Tyrell.

As I walked around downtown, I could see the greatness from the last century.  Beaumont had really established itself then as a leader in America but now, with all the change in technology and demands, has dwindled down to just a small city of basic commerce and need.  How does a city with so much history re-develop into a city of the present?  History isn’t necessarily the base for growth.

I opened up the newspaper though and was able to see some great articles on local programs benefiting the community.  One of them was what the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) is doing to promote the development of women in this predominately male work field. 

There was also a rather new Marathon/5k that was talked about in the paper called the Gusher Marathon.  This just shows that people are still kicking around ideas trying to make a difference in their city. 

This morning though, I just got up to take a few pictures and be nosy.  Unfortunately my batteries died and I only had new ones with my luggage.  This is what we get of downtown Beaumont.  For more check out this website.

Posted on

Austin Architecture

Austin’s uniqueness in its skyline really attracted me to the city. It has a great combination of old southern style with new modern architecture.  The duo of the two really appeal to a mass crowd and allow everyone to fall in love with it.  It goes along with the theme of “Be Yourself Here” and the cities compilation of buildings really foster that growth.  Here are some of my favorite buildings and parts of Austin.  When you are in town, make sure to look up and take in the collage of architecture.

Posted on

Creating Austin

Since I’ve been in Austin, I can’t help to notice the wave the city is making to move forward as a community where the city government and the arts community are working together.  As you venture through downtown, you can see how the different art exhibits, theatre productions and music venues really make you feel as if you’re in the middle of a cultural phenomena.  This can be explained by the support that the citizens and the local government have toward the arts community here in Austin.

One of the organizations working to continue the city in this direction is called The Austin Equation.  This organization has created a model to allow a community to create the experience that in return sets the scene (C+E=S).  In order to get that, the entire community, not just the art community, or the theatre community, or the political community; everyone must get involved.  When this happens, then Austin can grow into what is known as the “Be Yourself City” because all these communities are working together to create that scene.

Another organization here in Austin, The Austin Creative Alliance, is also helping to make Austin a scene to be yourself.  The Austin Creative Alliance is a nonprofit performing arts service organization.  In order to be successful, they have to have the right balance of arts community, audience community and political community which takes a lot of work.   It takes constant due diligence to reach the goals that The Austin Creative Alliance has to help the community continue to thrive as such a culturally rich metropolis and the leadership there definitely has what it takes. 

As an observer of Austin for a little over a week, I saw the signs to what makes Austin so unique and culturally forward.  The largest sign that I saw was all of the street art.  This ventured from graffiti art to sidewalk art; all having its own purpose and acknowledgements.  Some of my favorites are in this article.  What a city does with its outdoor art space says a lot about what it intends to do with its growth as well as what the city is trying to say about itself.  Many cities would not allow such murals or statements but Austin wants all its culture to be seen and keep it out in the open for everyone to appreciate.  I think that is what I loved most about my trip to Austin. That ability in this community reveals the security to show all of itself out in the open while saying, “You can be who you want here!”

Like many of the country, Austin is fighting budget cuts, constant changing regulations and great changes as technology and transportation evolve but the community is moving forward as one.  The rest of the country may want to take notice to this model and make adjustments: Of course it won’t work for every city, but some equation of it is definitely worth a try.  I greatly enjoyed meeting the people in the community of Austin and will from now on think of it as a great small city that is ever growing, ever evolving and ever humming.  As the slogan says “Keep Austin Weird!”  Keeping it weird does not in any way mean not keeping it fresh.  Fresh and innovative can definitely be weird.

Posted on

The Kite Festival

Last Sunday, we spent the afternoon in a huge park overlooking downtown Austin for the annual Kite festival.  It is something the city does every year to get its city’s residence outside and enjoying the pre-spring air.  Being in central Texas, it gets hot and humid fast so the need to celebrate spring in early March is a necessity.

In the very short time I was at the festival (three hours), I got to see that all kinds of people enjoy this festival.  It really shows a great example of what a community festival is suppose to do; Parts of the entire community at one event to display all the faces that make up that city enjoying the time together.  It was really wonderful to take part in, even if I didn’t have a kite.

And if you still haven’t seen the video where I almost die from the kite….. Here you are.

Posted on

My Team at Starbucks

Last week I said good-bye to Starbucks.  I had the opportunity for the last two years to run a Starbucks coffee shop in the basement of the Twin Towers Plaza in Century City.  This was a magnificent experience that I still am shocked I got the chance to do.  Being in the basement of these office buildings, I only had business to those people whom worked in the buildings and because of that, form excellent relationships with them because they were the only people I saw day after day, sometimes two or three times a day.

Even though the customers are a huge focus at Starbucks, and I will repeat that I had the best customers anywhere, I want to take a moment to commend my team.  They are an extremely talented group of hard working individuals that will conquer so many things in their lives.  One of the reasons that I loved working in restaurants and food service is the ability to work alongside people who are still trying to get their goals accomplished.  In the two years I was able to work with some of the greatest of people working to get to the next level of their lives.  Together we created an atmosphere where anyone could come in, get their coffee quickly, and really have the chance to connect with any other person in our store.  They’re constant eagerness to make the day of our customers, while succeeding in our daily goals kept me going.  I am honored to have met all of them and only hope the best for them.

Thank you to my crew.  You were truly and inspiration.

Proudly powered by WordPress