No rain today, miraculously. It was 75 and sunny. Too hot for my tastes; I suppose I can’t be pleased. I stopped for breakfast at a local chain, Mr. Ronnie’s Donuts, which is perhaps the best name for a donut shop in existence. Good, cheap food, especially the buttermilk special. On southward, to where the land is slowly sinking into the sea.
The Mississippi Delta is experiencing the fastest-rising sea levels in the world. It’s currently clocking in at about 1cm of rise per year. That doesn’t sound very dramatic; the visual of losing a football field every hour to the Gulf of Mexico is more striking. It’s so quick here because the land is primarily sediment from the Mississippi, which is much looser and more prone to erosion than your run-of-the-mill coastline. The end result is a region that has, seemingly, been let go by humans. Nobody wants to build here, and the few structures that remain are junked or on stilts. Marshes surround Louisiana Route 1 on both sides, and by my estimate will overtake it within my lifetime.
Egrets were out in full force, with their strange kinked necks, and so were commercial trucks and sportsmen towing fishing boats. I was the only sedan. I thought the area would be quieter, but the vehicles that do pass through were pure noise pollution, belching and squealing as they passed. I drove to the toll bridge and saw the road rise into the sky, renovated fifty feet into the air. Treat the symptoms, not the disease, I guess (although the Delta would still be sinking without the effects of climate change). I drove back to solid ground feeling less inspired than I’d hoped.
A quick forty-minute jog brought me to the New Orleans suburbs. I stopped at Waffle House, because I had to. The hash browns there were more like spaghetti, which was not an unpleasant sensation. I sat in the parking lot, marveling at my trip so far. It took me three and a half months to get to that Waffle House. I earned those potatoes.
Lastly, a programming note. Livi is once again flying down to join me for a Vacation-ception, so I’ll be off the grid for the next few days. I’ll probably be back on Thursday. Until then, I will be thoroughly ignoring my diet.
Isn’t putting on weight and drinking too much part of the attraction of New Orleans in the first place?
Man — the birthplace of jazz! The land of Buddy Bolden, King Oliver, Bunk Johnson, Sidney Bechet and LOUIS ARMSTRONG! Home of voodoo priestess Marie Laveau (who, legend has it, was reincarnated over 3 generations) Paul Morphy (the FIRST International Chess Champion), Storeyville and all the legendary figures associated with it!
Have fun, Jake (tell Livi I said “Hi!”)!
Oh… and piano players, too! Like Jelly Roll Morton, Clarence Williams (the first!), Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, Screaming Jay Hawkins (“I Put a Spell On You!”), to say nothing of Doctor John!
I think I read something about Route 1 sinking into the water more sooner than later. Or maybe it was in the FL keys where some roads are also about to go underwater. Strange to have it happen so soon. Seventy five degrees sounds just about right to me from my 38 degree perspective. And sunny. But my iPad weather tells me Tuesday there will be rainy but clearing off by noon on Wednesday. Nice today, nice Thursday. Good flying weather for Livi. Have a good time exploring New Orleans, you two. And take those restaurants you are dreaming of slowly so that you can really enjoy them. Looking forward to when you pick up on your blog. Also looking forward to seeing you in NC for Zack’s graduation! Love, Grandma