vacation thoughts
Sep. 24th, 2023 11:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
batiferriteI got back from New Orleans a couple days ago, and I am really gonna miss it! Like I said before, this was my first time traveling, so I'm not really sure if this is a normal thing or just because I have no frame of reference whatsoever, but I really feel some sort of connection to New Orleans now... Maybe I was too quick to consider travelbloggers weird...
Before I get into any of that, though, I feel like I should mention something else: me and my family are all fundamentally very different people. If we're all allowed to go at our own pace, everything is basically alright, but my mom was really worried about crime, etc, and wanted us all to stay together at all times. Which is fine, I guess, except my sister has an extremely high amount of energy, while I have an extremely low amount. If we're tethered together, it's just torture for us both!
The biggest example of this is that my mom and sister wanted to go out bar crawling all day everyday, while I cannot even begin to describe just how much a bar that you can literally hear down the street is Sensory Hell for me... Like, at one point, I tried to just sit there in an extremely loud courtyard and "deal with it," but got so overstimulated that I ended up sprinting out and halfway down the block in tears. I feel so incredibly unbelievably uncomfortable in that sort of environment, but also it was "too unsafe" for me to walk back to the hotel alone, or take an Uber, or even just stand outside, so I ended up having panic attacks like every night...
I just really hate the whole alcohol culture, how people seem to think the only way to have fun is to drink until you nearly pass out! I also realized that I really hate the touristy bs and wish we could've done less of that sort of stuff. What's the point of collecting overpriced novelty souvenir cups that you'll never use again?
*sigh* Besides that, I really did have fun, though! There are a lot of little specialty shops like a fancy stationery store with art from local artists where they make their own ink in house, and a playing card store where the guy sells both commercial decks and his and other indie artists' designs, and vampire-themed gift stores and cafés where, once again, the employees work together to put out a weekly zine and sell stickers of their art. It seems like almost every street has several galleries selling local artists works and there are frequent events, like in Pirate's Alley near Jackson Park, where local artists hang their works on the fence behind them to sell and talk to passersby. And that's not even getting into the music -- live jazz in parks, parades coming down the streets... They seem to have so much respect and admiration for their artists! Is that what every city is like, or is this specific to New Orleans??
Hearing about the history of New Orleans also really moved me! Like, after a long night of boozing, me and my mom spent a chill day in Armstrong Park, which was across the street from our hotel. (My sister was out cold for most of the day...) As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed a bunch of people gathering near the gates, many with musical instruments. One man, holding a trumpet, was hanging back, so I asked him what was going on. He started to explain how they were having a parade for a wedding -- there used to be parades going through the French Quarter at all times of the day and night, but that all stopped after Hurricane Katrina, COVID, etc, and it made him sick. So he and a couple buddies were trying to revive the tradition. The only reason he wasn't participating in this round was because someone had literally just stolen the mouthpiece to his trumpet a few minutes before and he didn't know where to get a replacement on such short notice. So he started explaining the history of jazz music to us; how when Louisiana was ruled by the French, slaves were allowed six hours of free time a week and they'd meet up in Congo Square (right where were standing!) and play music and dance; and more about the area and places to visit. Apparently, he used to be a tour guide, but decided he'd rather try to make a difference in the community.
Due to all the stress and excitement, I didn't end up painting as much as I would've liked, but I did get a couple in.
I just really fell in love with live oaks while I was down there. We don't have them where I live, and I'll really miss them, such beautiful trees... The second was done on location, just before meeting the man with the trumpet I mentioned earlier!
Also, while on a swamp tour, our boat's engine malfunctioned so we were stranded there for a little over two hours until a rescue boat came to tow us to safety. It was a surprisingly chill vibe, actually. The tour guide was friendly and tried to preemptively keep us calm, but there was no panic or anything. Though, at one point, a woman took a stick and was trying to hang off the side of the boat and play with the alligators, which was... maybe not the safest thing to do. That's getting a bit too comfortable with the gators and forgetting that, y'know, they are, in fact, deadly apex predators...
I think the swamp was one of my favorite parts of the week, honestly -- listening to the other passenger's conversations, watching all the beasties go by... Very calming.
Again, overall, an amazing experience! It makes me want to make some drastic life changes...
Before I get into any of that, though, I feel like I should mention something else: me and my family are all fundamentally very different people. If we're all allowed to go at our own pace, everything is basically alright, but my mom was really worried about crime, etc, and wanted us all to stay together at all times. Which is fine, I guess, except my sister has an extremely high amount of energy, while I have an extremely low amount. If we're tethered together, it's just torture for us both!
The biggest example of this is that my mom and sister wanted to go out bar crawling all day everyday, while I cannot even begin to describe just how much a bar that you can literally hear down the street is Sensory Hell for me... Like, at one point, I tried to just sit there in an extremely loud courtyard and "deal with it," but got so overstimulated that I ended up sprinting out and halfway down the block in tears. I feel so incredibly unbelievably uncomfortable in that sort of environment, but also it was "too unsafe" for me to walk back to the hotel alone, or take an Uber, or even just stand outside, so I ended up having panic attacks like every night...
I just really hate the whole alcohol culture, how people seem to think the only way to have fun is to drink until you nearly pass out! I also realized that I really hate the touristy bs and wish we could've done less of that sort of stuff. What's the point of collecting overpriced novelty souvenir cups that you'll never use again?
*sigh* Besides that, I really did have fun, though! There are a lot of little specialty shops like a fancy stationery store with art from local artists where they make their own ink in house, and a playing card store where the guy sells both commercial decks and his and other indie artists' designs, and vampire-themed gift stores and cafés where, once again, the employees work together to put out a weekly zine and sell stickers of their art. It seems like almost every street has several galleries selling local artists works and there are frequent events, like in Pirate's Alley near Jackson Park, where local artists hang their works on the fence behind them to sell and talk to passersby. And that's not even getting into the music -- live jazz in parks, parades coming down the streets... They seem to have so much respect and admiration for their artists! Is that what every city is like, or is this specific to New Orleans??
Hearing about the history of New Orleans also really moved me! Like, after a long night of boozing, me and my mom spent a chill day in Armstrong Park, which was across the street from our hotel. (My sister was out cold for most of the day...) As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed a bunch of people gathering near the gates, many with musical instruments. One man, holding a trumpet, was hanging back, so I asked him what was going on. He started to explain how they were having a parade for a wedding -- there used to be parades going through the French Quarter at all times of the day and night, but that all stopped after Hurricane Katrina, COVID, etc, and it made him sick. So he and a couple buddies were trying to revive the tradition. The only reason he wasn't participating in this round was because someone had literally just stolen the mouthpiece to his trumpet a few minutes before and he didn't know where to get a replacement on such short notice. So he started explaining the history of jazz music to us; how when Louisiana was ruled by the French, slaves were allowed six hours of free time a week and they'd meet up in Congo Square (right where were standing!) and play music and dance; and more about the area and places to visit. Apparently, he used to be a tour guide, but decided he'd rather try to make a difference in the community.
Due to all the stress and excitement, I didn't end up painting as much as I would've liked, but I did get a couple in.
I just really fell in love with live oaks while I was down there. We don't have them where I live, and I'll really miss them, such beautiful trees... The second was done on location, just before meeting the man with the trumpet I mentioned earlier!
Also, while on a swamp tour, our boat's engine malfunctioned so we were stranded there for a little over two hours until a rescue boat came to tow us to safety. It was a surprisingly chill vibe, actually. The tour guide was friendly and tried to preemptively keep us calm, but there was no panic or anything. Though, at one point, a woman took a stick and was trying to hang off the side of the boat and play with the alligators, which was... maybe not the safest thing to do. That's getting a bit too comfortable with the gators and forgetting that, y'know, they are, in fact, deadly apex predators...
I think the swamp was one of my favorite parts of the week, honestly -- listening to the other passenger's conversations, watching all the beasties go by... Very calming.
Again, overall, an amazing experience! It makes me want to make some drastic life changes...
