THE SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY - CHAPTER 1

Intro: Back in the fall of 2021, when Michael & I each had a brush with death (fine now, don't worry), we decided that while we still had the stamina (we'll see) we should do a road trip and visit all the people and places in the US (well mostly Mississippi River & East) that we love and miss. So hang on. We're off on a 2 month interstate (international) voyage to reconnect and see what changes have occurred in the 10 years since we became ex-pats.

Out of Mexico 0 km to 1032 km

We loaded up the Subaru Outback Clampett style ("Michael do we really need the kettle bell?") and hit the road. It is a long and boring slog out of Mexico. Sand, cactus, shanties, cactus. But then we hit the Sierra Madre Orientales. There are 3 Sierra Madre ranges that run like fingers North to South from the border to ... well I don't know... but far. We had driven across the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre del Sur ranges, but never the Occidental range. Magnificent! Awesome! Terrifying! Here's how many Mexican roads work. they consist of a right lane and a left lane and each has a copious breakdown lane. Whenever you see someone in your rearview mirror who wants to pass, you straddle the breakdown lane. As does the car, if there is one, in the opposite lane. Then the 3rd car passes down the middle. If there is an incoming car 4, life gets dicey. This is not so bad on a level, straight road. In the Sierra Madres with steep grades and hairpin turns it becomes one giant panic attack for Deirdre. But, we survived and marvelled at the beauty of the mountains.

After two military checkpoints and two fruit police (really) checkpoints we reached the border. This can be easy ("Y'all have a good trip") or hard ("Y'all pull over and take everything out of the car"). We lucked out and after a cursory check of our cooler ("Any fruit in there?"), we had a lovely conversation with the agent about the joys of Mexican retirement and we were off.

Notes from America: Texas and Louisiana 1032 km to 1838 km

Right off we noticed two things. In Mexico everyone wore masks, Texas no. Gas in Mexico was $3.596 per gallon (after converting from liters to gallons and pesos to dollars) and in the US it was $4.479 per gallon (no conversion necessary). Our first night was spent in McAllen, TX. It is everything a border town should be: strip malls, pawn shops, payday loan outlets and "gentlemen's clubs", oh, and evangelical churches the size of Rhode Island.

We were psyched to sink our teeth into real Texas BBQ and pulled into a promising looking place. We should have been leery when we read the Bible passage on the sign out front. Generally BBQ and religion are not closely linked. We entered, were seated and were treated to Fox (at least it was Fox Business) on multiple TVs. We ordered and I asked for a beer. "Oh, we don't serve spirits." No beer? No beer with BBQ? Good God! Upon leaving the restroom the proprietor asked Michael how he was. "Excellent", Michael answered, "And you?". "Blessed" the owner replied. things sure had changed since we lived in Texas. We headed back out into the Sahara Dust Storm (passing over Texas at this time) and 100 degree + temperatures. Not a good start.

Featured City #1: Galveston

The next day, with visions of Glen Campbell crooning, we drove to Galveston. Despite living in San Antonio for 5 years, we'd never been there. That is because I have a thing (phobia 47) about swimming in brown water. It's not Galveston's fault its water looks like sludge. It's just the silt washed from the Mississippi. Sure, Florida gets the nice crystal, clear water and Texas gets effluvia. Life is not fair. 

However, what Galveston does have is beautiful architecture - despite all the hurricanes. We stayed in a very sweet little house that survived the 1900 Galveston hurricane. I don't know how since the house is wood and only 2-3 blocks from the Gulf.  If you didn't know about the Galveston hurricane of 1900, click this link:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane. It was really something. This post is copy heavy, so I'll ket Michael's photos take you on a tour of Galveston and then we're off to Houston.

These were the stairway leading up to the second floor in the Bishop's Palace.

Originally built between 1887 & 1893 by Walter Gresham for his wife. The house was designed by Nicholas J. Clayton, architect for the cost of $250,000.

Even though the house was built by the Gresham's, this became known as the Bishop's pulpit when the house was acquired by the Catholic Diocese of Galveston in 1923 for Bishop Byrne.

Some of the furnishings kept by the Bishop seemed a little out of place.

The house was ornately designed and would be worth $5.5 million today.

The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Houses.

Another item which appears to be out of place in the Bishop's Palace.

Thankfully air conditioning has been added since it was over 100 degrees while we were in Galveston.

This stained glass was added when the Bishop moved into the house.

Other portions of the house retained the original stained glass.

The Bishop's bed was narrower and more modest than Mrs. Gresham's bed shown below.

.

The Bishop added his own private chapel in the house with stained glass windows of the four authors of the gospels and on either side (not shown in the photo) Peter & Paul.

The bed of Mrs. Gresham with photos of her husband on the left & her photo on the right.

The fireplace in Mrs. Gresham's bedroom.

Sacred Heart Church is located across the street from the Bishop's Palace. The original church designed by Nicholas J. Clayton as well was destroyed in the 1900 hurricane. The current church was rebuilt in 1903 - 1904. 

The church features octagonal towers, flying buttresses, elaborate ornamentation and a variety of arches. The design reflects elements of Moorish, Byzantine, Gothic and Romanesque styles.

The original dome was destroyed in the 1915 hurricane and was subsequently replaced by this one.

This is the entrance to the Moody Mansion, W. L Moody, Jr. built about 1894,...

with views of the right exterior...

and left exterior...

and side of the mansion.

Details of the family crest over the entrance door.

The garage contained three antique cars used by the Moody's, including this Cadillac.

The ceiling of the parlor...

and the fireplace in the parlor.

Looking from the parlor into the library.

The dining room of the mansion...

with its elaborate coffered ceiling.

This was the ballroom, which accounts for its lack of furniture.

This stained glass window was off the stairway leading to the upstairs.

This was the original master bath of W.L. Moody, Jr. The tank on the wall is 129 years old.

These were all clothes worn by Mary Moody Northen (1892-1986) who was groomed to take over the leadership of the family businesses after the 1936 death of her brother.

Mary rescued these doors from the home of Col. William Lewis Moody (her grandfather). The Moody family's financial success dates to the years following the Civil War, when Virginia native Col. William Lewis Moody (1828-1920) established a cotton, wool and mercantile business on Galveston Island.

The interior entrance door to the mansion.

Mary built this serpentine wall which was copied from Thomas Jefferson's serpentine wall. The back and forth serpentine pattern gave the wall more strength and allowed it to be only one brick thick.

This was a sign posted in the diner where we ate lunch, demonstrating that not all of Texas follows the conservative dictates of Governor Greg Abbott.

KM 1838 to km 2055 Featured Guest # 1 - Beverly

Relation: Co-worker and Friend from San Antonio Days

Time Known: 44 years

Anecdote: Beverly & I worked at an Ad & PR firm owned by 2 lecherous brothers well before the #me too movement was a thing. Spent our time promoting crazy Texas politicians, disreputable car dealers and other unpromotable entities while watching each others backs to ward off the relentless advances of the Pitluk boys.

We spent Father's Day/ Juneteenth (It's a National Holiday - who knew!?!) at Weights & Measures restaurant a protracted & highly wonderful lunch with Beverly and then on to Kingswood.

Deirdre & Beverly

Featured Guests # 2: Laura & Daryl & Family

Relations: Ex Au Pair (definitely) & Cousin (sort of)

Time known: Daryl - 45ish years. Laura - 32 years.

Anecdote: Laura was 18 years old when she came to us as our au pair to Justin (2 years old) & Alex (newborn). She came to Michael's family reunion (you will too next month), Daryl & Laura met and the rest is history.

We spent the evening and stayed overnight with them. We met Keith, Natasha's (Daryl & Laura's daughter) fiancee who will soon be thrown to the wolves, --- sorry, introduced to the extended family at the reunion. Fell in love with their pets (one cat & one dog). Missed Cameron - the son. Onward to New Orleans.

From left to right - Michael, Keith, Natasha, Rosie, Laura, Deirdre and Daryl

Riding to the City of New Orleans: 2055 kms to 2597 kms

Once more settled into our car we tuned in NPR and began drifting over the bayous towards New Orleans. We lost NPR mid Bayou and found it replaced by the American Family News network - a broadcast medium designed to inundate us with MAGA based thinking. You can refer to our upcoming Special Edition: Heard & Seen On The Road to fully appreciate the "wisdom" dispensed by AFN.

New Orleans is a filthy, gritty wonder of a city. We set off early to beat the heat (impossible) and started at Jackson Square. Jackson seems to be everywhere in the South. He was a truly terrible person who: 1) initiated the "Trail of Tears" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears), 2) abused his Presidential powers, and 3) was Donald Trump's favorite president. Three strikes and you're out - but not in the South.

We then went to the St. Louis Cathedral (the oldest operating Catholic Cathedral in the United States), named after King Louis IX (the crusading King who was canonized by the Catholic Church). After this we went to the two museums abutting the Cathedral on the Square. The best part was the museum dedicated to Mardi Gras. Michael's photos will do the work here. However, I would note that almost no mention was made of Black Mardi Gras. Anyone who watched Treme would know that this was a BIG mistake because their costumes were very, very cool. Michael will include some self explanatory photos on an exhibit of New Orleans culture. There was some brief mention of The Battle of New Orleans (Jackson again & an annoyingly memorable song - "In 1814 we took a little trip ..."). Enough. The 1850 House and the Carousel Bar rounded out the six hours we could withstand the heat and humidity.

Back to our VRBO rental where we met our hosts who were really interesting. Jeanne (female) had lived with her first husband and kids on a converted barge (it ended up about 2,000 sq. ft.) in a bayou for twenty years. She said it was marvelous while admitting she had to keep a close eye on her kids and dogs since the gators were very hungry most times. Interestingly, the hubby had tagged (I believe this means killed) over 900 gators. We always meet interesting folk when we rent VRBO.

Mike, our other host, graciously offered to take us to the World War II museum on his pass. That place is huge and truly fascinating. Michael's Dad fought in the Pacific, so following "The Route to Tokyo" exhibit was particularly interesting for him.  (His mother also served in the WAVES during the war.)

The iconic St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square behind the flowering crape myrtle trees...

and a full view of the front facade. The cathedral was completed in 1851 and is the oldest active cathedral in the US.

On the left side of the cathedral is the Cabildo, which is now a Louisiana State Museum...

and on the right side bookending the cathedral is the Presbytere (now also a Louisiana State Museum).

These interior photos of the cathedral will give you some idea of the opulent, ornateness of the cathedral.

The Presbytere contained a history of Mardi Gras in New Orleans which was started in 1872 by some civic minded citizens. This is the Rex krewe (the oldest and original krewe from the founding) with its moto "Pro Bono Publico" ("For the Public Good" for you non-Latin scholars). The three primary colors of purple (for Justice), green (for Faith) and gold (for Power) chosen to represent the official colors of Mardi Gras are all present here.

Many of the original Mardi Gras costumes for Rex...

his court...

and his queen are on display at the museum. There have been 143 kings with the youngest at 31 and the oldest at 75.

The first unmarried queen was chosen in 1874 and all queens since have been unmarried.

This is a costume of the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club which was formed in 1909 and incorporated in 1916. It wasn't until 1969 that the club was allowed to parade on Canal Street. This was on display in the Cabildo and was not on display in the Mardi Gras museum.

This painting in the Cabildo museum was commissioned to celebrate the tricentennial of New Orleans.

The Cabildo museum contained costumes recognizing the contribution of New Orleans to the musical world.

The Cabildo museum also contained this headpiece worn by Leroy "Whistle Monsta" which contained a whistle generating 23 decibels. This was signed by all of the New Orleans Saints players after winnign Super Bowl XLIV.

This poster explains the three main styles of houses found in New Orleans.

Only in New Orleans would you find the death mask of Napoleon Bonaparte...

and one of the portraits commissioned by Napoleon of himself.

Another colorful costume from the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club.

The quintessential French Quarter building with the balcony & iron railing.

Our son Justin insisted we should check out the Carousel Bar at the Monteleone Hotel...

and since we needed to escape from the heat we headed there for some liquid refreshment. The bar slowly rotates, so you better not have too many libations while seated at the bar.

New Orleans, like Mexico, is not afraid to put on a colorful display, whether at Mardi Gras, or on its buildings.



The Commander's Palace Restaurant in the Garden District of New Orleans is a notable spot for refined Creole fare --- just make sure to make your reservation months in advance. We found as we progressed on our journey, the most popular restaurants are "sold out". 

We did a tour of the Garden District looking at some of the magnificent houses. You might recognize this house from the movie, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", which was filmed here.

This was Colonel Short's Villa, built in 1859 for Colonel Robert H. Short of Kentucky.

The Sully Mansion was built in 1891 in the Queen Anne style with Colonial Revival details.

This house caught our eye initially because of the two characters on the porch...

which upon closer inspection were just two mannequins.

This same house had this whimsical sculpture in the yard as well.

This Greek Revival was built in 1859 by William A. Freret, architect. It was donated in 1965 to the Women's Guild of New Orleans Opera.

This statue designed to "celebrate women of the opera on stage and in the guild".

Sometimes it is nature that demonstrates the most magnificent design.

Time to move on to Diamondhead, MS; Mobile, AL; Tallahassee, FL and Savannah, GA and then head up the Eastern seaboard. More soon.