Fall Color

As much as I love New Orleans' fall, I think I have to say that Charleston's is better.  While you get the perfect, crisp, zero-humidity days with the bluest blue cloudless skies and perfect autumn light in New Orleans, the rain trees are about the only changing color we get.  This has made me appreciate the color here in Charleston more than I ever did living here.  Here are just a few pictures from the country that I love.  I just can't get over how the leaves on certain trees stay green close to the trunk but start changing to yellow and orange at the tips of the branches, slowly changing inward.  It's such a beautiful color spectrum.  

Going Up the Country

After spending all day in airports Friday, I was ready for the crisp fall weather that awaited me in Charleston, and even more so for the delicious dinner at Evo, and the trip up to the country over the weekend.  It was so perfectly fall.  On the drive up to the country we stopped at Bee City (you really gotta love Americana - you turn off down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, and voila! there you are at Bee City Cafe and Petting Zoo, and might I add that there was quite a crowd there for being so off the beaten track) and bought some delicious Tupelo Honey (perfect for collards) and some candles for our Thanksgiving table.  

Taking the back roads and driving through the low lying swampy areas dotted with saw tooth palmettos, and over those slow moving, tea colored rivers framed by the most beautiful splash of turning leaves was the best homecoming I could have asked for.  And getting to the country where we had nothing to do except take walks and play cards was amazing.  

While it now seems like just another tree in the woods, this house has a beautiful, ancient sycamore in the yard that truly stood apart from the surrounding trees due to the pale beauty of its bark, the brilliant flame-colored leaves and its sheer size.  

Rain Trees

Earlier I had posted a picture of this beautiful, brilliantly yellow tree, which I have since learned is a rain tree.  Ever since I saw that first one, I've seen them everywhere in the city.  And as fall closes in on the city, the blossoms on those trees are like our fall foliage - they turn from bright yellow to a mauve, and then to a red.  Here's the same tree about two weeks after the first picture.  

Halloween Festivities

In the last week I, unfortunately, haven't taken very many photos, but I've had a whole lot of Halloween fun!  Wednesday evening I carved pumpkins with my friends (and we subsequently have 4 pumpkins worth of roasted pumpkin seeds.)  Friday and Sunday I went to Voodoo Music Festival, which was so much fun.  Friday I hung out by the more local tents of WWOZ and Preservation Hall.  I saw a great young cajun band, Feufollet, and a zydeco band whose washboard player was over 80 years old.  It's so inspirational to see people at that age still livin' the dream, especially in a band where the other members were well under 40.

Sunday at Voodoo was so much fun too.  I saw Zydepunks for the first time, and they were great, and the crowd was a lively one.  You know how when Pigpen from Charlie Brown dances there's just this huge cloud of dust that engulfs him and anyone else unfortunate enough to get close?  Well, that's what happened in front of the stage.  Everyone was dancing so much that they were kicking up a huge cloud of dust.  Everyone was a little confused when MGMT took the stage to the Scooby Doo theme song, until we realized that they were dressed as the whole gang.  It was great!  Props to them for being true to the Halloween spirit (although the lead singer was a scarily convincing Daphne).  Macy Gray was an awesome throwback, Trombone Shorty was amazing (he did that elusive circular breathing technique and held a note on the trumpet for well over a minute, I'd guess close to two), and listening to My Morning Jacket while watching the stars was the perfect ending to a great festival.

After that we headed on down to Frenchmen St, to see the real Halloween freaks.  In true New Orleans style there were some amazing costumes.  There was an Angel of Death who was walking on stilts and had enormous black and red wings with a wing span of about 8-10 feet, there were some awesome papier mâché aliens, and a python named Kiki.

Then on Monday in celebration of All Saints Day, there was a second line that was a tribute to Jazz Funerals.  I'd never been to a second line before, so it was really amazing to experience.  I think the best part was when the motorcade had stopped traffic at an intersection and this guy just got out of his car and started breaking it down.  He was still painted slightly silver and his hair had more than a hint of green from last night's costume, and he was just loving life.

Photo Credits: Pig Pen, MGMT