Euro Dresses and Shiny Vintage Things at the Market

Every month, a warehouse in southern Mississippi comes to life with mini fashion boutiques, Etsy-like hand-made goodies, and vintage everything.  The Lucky Rabbit is two stories of independent vendors that open shop Thursday through Sunday.  There are new products and vendors each month, and its popularity with shoppers seems to be growing.  This month, I walked away with some shiny vintage accessories (which I’ll use to store jewelry and makeup when traveling), and a mustard yellow Yumi dress for $15 that somehow made its way from the UK to the Deep South.

The Lucky Rabbit market

 

vintage cigarette case, compact, and coin purse for storing jewelry

The Lucky Rabbit market

 

Crawfish, Soft-Shell Crab, and Strawberry Beer

‘Tis the season for tasty crustaceans and strawberry beer.  Every gathering is an opportunity for a crawfish boil, and seafood companies are selling these boiled guys by the bag.  Soft-shell (i.e. recently molted) blue crabs are plentiful and served-up fried.  And Abita Strawberry is everywhere and tastes just like Spring.

I went to Southside Cafe in Slidell, Louisiana and tasted my first soft-shell crab, which was paired with a frosty mug of Abita Strawberry.  The crab was delicious.  I’m usually not into fried food, but the breading was seasoned and crunchy and perfect.

The next day I needed more, so I went to Harbor Seafood and Oyster Bar in Kenner, Louisiana (by the airport).  This was crustacean heaven, with platters of boiled crawfish and shrimp and all the pairings you could want (I went for the hushpuppies).  There are baskets to dispose of your shells, and rolls of paper towels so you can dig right in.  I shared a pound of crawfish, a platter of soft-shell crab and hushpuppies, and a dozen oysters.  That, plus two frosty mugs of Abita Strawberry, came to under $40 and it was all delicious.  I first checked to make sure they gave us the right bill (and it was), then concluded this must be the best deal for seafood in the city.

soft-shell crab at Southside Cafe

boiled crawfish at Harbor Seafood & Oyster Bar

Louisiana Swamps and Bayous

I was so excited to see an alligator in the wild.  But my favorite part of the Cajun Encounters Swamp Tour was the pigs!

The tour was well-organized, the covered boats are small and had good visibility of the wildlife, and the amount of marshmallows and hot dogs being fed to the animals ensures many critter encounters.

We saw 7 alligators (including a few that jumped out of the water for food), two families of wild pigs, raccoons, snakes (eek!), and several bird species.  The tour guide brings a bag a treats that he used to get the animals right up to the side of the boat.

There were locals and tourists on the tour.  We drove to the swamp, but there is an option when you buy your tickets online ahead of time (which I would recommend) to pay extra for a pick-up service from New Orleans.  I thought this was a relaxing way to enjoy a morning outdoors (they have afternoon tours too) and see some sites outside of the city.  We took Chef Menteur Highway back towards the city afterwards and stopped at Dong Phuong for an amazing banh mi sandwich (try the #4 with the fixings) and Vietnamese iced coffee.

 

A wild sow greeting us on the boat (photo by Benson Chan)

Alligator Encounter on the Cajun Encounters Swamp Tour (photo by Benson Chan)

our ride

Running Through the French Quarter with 26,000 People

Why would I and 25,999 others race through this beautiful historic neighborhood instead of soaking in The Big Easy?  It was for the Crescent City Classic, one of the largest 10k races in the country.

The crowd ranged from world record holders to walkers that made the 6.2 mile trek solely for the free beer at the after party.  The route started in the Central Business District, passed through the French Quarter, then traveled up Esplanade to City Park.

The weather was gorgeous (and not too hot) and the route was flat and wide enough that I didn’t feel like I was going to trip over people when passing.  This was a fabulous way to take a tour by foot around New Orleans, and the funnest run I’ve done to date.

There was a party afterwards in City Park with live music, food trucks, snacks, and of course, unlimited free beer.  The only downside to the race:  thousands of people trying to get back to their parked cars at the start, which was over 3 miles away.  There was a free shuttle service, which was a 2+ hour wait when I checked in on it.  We thought it’d be brilliant to catch a cab, but everyone else seemed to have the same idea.  It became comical to watch medal-adorned runners lining streets of Mid City flagging down cabs that were already full of runners.  We decided to take advantage of the beautiful day, rest our soles, and sip on a delicious iced mocha at The Bean Gallery before heading back to the start.

 

The Starting Line by the Superdome

The Finish Line in City Park