Houston TX, Lafayette, and New Orleans LA

 April 23 - May 6, 2026

The Canoga Park krewe!

This is a big one! almost two weeks. In Houston, my high school crew either lived there or flew in for the weekend. We try to get together every so often and hang out for a bit. THe last was in Las Vegas where Andrea lives and since Tom lives in Houston and I was passing through, We decided to check out this city. I rented an AirBnB for the weekend in Montrose which is the groovy area of Houston. 

While we waited for Andrea to arrive, Tom took me an Jeffery to a banh mi place in the Vietnamese area where he lives. It was several miles long. I don't think I have seen a bigger area outside of Santa Ana. The banh mi was good. After picking up Andrea and going to the condo, we had a nice dinner and went to Tom's regular bar where we played pool and had a few drinks. Then back to the condo where we stayed up way too late catching up.

The next day, we went to Meow Wolf. This was my third one and I really dig it. The Santa Fe one is still my favorite but this one is pretty cool. If you haven't heard of Meow Wolf, it is an immersive art experience where there is a story or a mystery that you can try to figure out, or just enjoy the visuals. 

You are supposed to explore the entire environment; pull books off shelves, look at notes on refrigerators, touch stuff and see what happens. I started trying to investigate the mystery but soon just went for the expe rience.

Cowboy Heaven bar inside Meow Wolf.

Auditory room where all the
stuff made sounds when you touched

We had BBQ at a local place and the Brisket sandwich was amazing. I did not take too many pictures here because I was so busy talking and catching up with everyone.

Anyway, I dropped Jeffery and Andrea off at the airport the next morning and packed up Riganante and headed on down the road.

Pookie on the trails.

Lafayette was between Houston and New Orleans and we stayed for a couple of days. We stayed at a city campground that was very nice. Lots of trees and a few miles of raised path walking trails. The only bad part was that the trees made internet a bit spotty so i dropped some zoom calls. I needed to get my work days in here since Once I got to New Orleans, Sue would be coming out and there is too much to do in the Big Easy to waste it working. 

Yum!

First night, we found a well reviewed place for Crawfish boil. It was bare bones but very good. I just eat the tails but my mom sucks the heads. I think Calvin likes the heads as well but I just can't. After that, we drove through downtown (about three blocks) looking for a bar but almost nothing was open by then. This town seems to shut down early.

The days were spent working and on the last night, we went out to find some live music. One place that sounded interesting was a hostel that supposedly had good music but it was closed. We drove through downtown and found the one bar open that had a band setting up. Had a few drinks but the band had not started so we left before we got a chance to hear them. 

Oysters and red beans and rice.

Left on Wednesday for New Orleans. Found a RV park about ten minutes from the quarter. Right next to a train depot so was a bit loud but otherwise nice. Mom and I went into the quarter for oysters and a bit of music at Mahogany Jazz Club. It is a super tiny bar with a big stage. The band was super fun and we started talking with the people next to us. Turned out they were from Anaheim and their daughter who was with them lived in San Diego. 

Mahogany Jazz Club

Sue flew in the next afternoon at 5. After collecting her from the airport, we all went to dinner at Jacques Imos a place recommended by a friend. They don't do reservations so we just showed up and had to wait an hour and a half or so. The place is packed and the tables are right next to each other so the volume gets pretty loud. Had my crawfish etouffee and their excellent corn bread. I wanted to go the the Maple leaf next door and listen to music but the wait and loud dinner made everyone ready to relax back at the RV.

AHS Coven house in Garden District

I got a room with my timeshare on St. Charles just outside of the quarter for Friday and Saturday so Sue and I went there. Dropped off the bags and went for a little stroll through the Garden District. Saw the house that was used in American Horror Story Coven. This is the second AHS house i have visited since my kids made me take them to the murder house in LA.  Super cool old houses here. We then caught the streetcar into the quarter and went to the Hermann-Grima House where they had a very enlightening urban slavery tour. Back to the condo for a quick rest before heading out for the night. It was pouring rain and we were both soaked by the time we got back. We did not bring  too many extra clothes so tried to dry our clothes using the iron. Sue melted her socks. I think they were technical socks that were probably made of recycled six pack holders or something. 

Ummmm Mojito...

We had dinner at Manolito, a small Cuban place. First Mojito I had in forever. I forgot how good they are. Started really coming down right when we left.

Romy Kaye belting out some hot Jazz.

We went to see Burlesque Ballroom featuring Romy Kaye singing. Was a super fun show and it was great to see Romy. The last two times I was in New Orleans she was not performing. It had finally stopped raining so we walked to Cafe Du Monde for some beignets and coffee. I don't know why but I really love beignets!

Rooftop Bar next to the Condo

The next day, Sue and I walked through the Garden district to the quarter and along the waterfront. Went through the French Market and all told, we logged about 20,000 steps! 

Band before the Zydeco band

That night had oysters at a nice place just outside of the quarter and then walked to Frenchman street. There was music coming from every bar along the street. We found a groovy little bar and got some seats. A grammy nominated artist with a zydeco band was playing and he was on fire! super high energy! 

On the river

The next day we did a Jazz River Cruise. Was cool to see up the river a bit. The Natchez is the only Steamboat actually powered by steam and that uses the paddlewheel for propulsion. 

Favorite sculpture

The last day in New Orleans, Sue and I went on the cemetary tour and then to City Park and walked through the sculpture gardens. This is the best sculpture garden i have been in. It is a meandering set of paths around a part of the lake with groovy sculptures scattered throughout. The juxtaposition of the natural beauty and the artwork is a bit surreal. We then went out to a place my Mom remembered that had a great happy hour. Superior Seafood on St. Charles has a dozen oysters for $15 and $5 beer and wine. We split a dozen and a half and had a few sides as well. Oysters were so creamy and delicious. 

Dropped Sue off the next morning and now need to detox for a while. New Orleans is really a one of a kind place. The music, food and general atmosphere is hard to match.

This was a long one but I was busy entertaining so did not have time to write and I did not get as many pictures as usual. Well, as Pookie says, "Smoke em if ya got em." (not sure why)