Raine and I went for a short vacation in New Orleans, LA. We found a sweet little hotel called Le Richelieu, on the far side of the French Quarter. From there we wandered the streets of the Quarter soaking in the great architecture, food, music, history and culture.
New Orleans has always been my favorite American city (beside Madison) and I've been there 5 times now. I love the gritty and sometimes, smelly city filled with history, nooks and crannies.
One day we did a plantation run along the Mississippi. The Oaks Alley Plantation was, as you can see just stunning. What a dichotomy of people and a way of life. It was a very thought provoking visit to walk through slave quarters and see and feel the way African Americans lived in the South and were treated. As a Northerner and descendant of several Civil War Veterans, I felt a new bond with my great grandfathers who left their little non-plantation Wisconsin farms to fight a war of justice and freedom.
Another day, Raine and I went to the
Voice of the Wetlands music festival in Houma, LA. What a great little small town full of great people. The festival raises awareness and funds to prevent the continued wasting away of Louisiana coast lands due to river management, oil production and farming practices. I think it was like several acres of land go underwater every day. Most of southern Louisiana will be lost by 2050 if nothing is done. All the cajuns will be moving north. Pictured above was the awsome Alligator Piquant Sauce the volunteers were selling at the festival. Raine and I loved it!
Last day in New Orleans was another hot and steamy one with temps in the 90s. It actually felt pretty good knowing that we were leaving for frigid and frosty Wisconsin.
To see more photos from our trip - follow the link below.
It was really nice traveling with my daughter and experiencing New Orleans through her eyes.
Quite a dramatic Wisconsin sunset I photographed a few weeks ago while driving home from Beatons. The sun could be seen in the western horizon and so too could the storm clouds that were breaking apart. 
I love this photo of the barn and silos silhouetted in the forefront. Can you believe I shot these photos with my silly little iPhone? Yep, I did. Then I fixed some color issues in Photoshop and got pretty close to what I actually saw that night.
Flying into Madison the other day, the sky was just beautiful and clear. I shot these photos from my seat in the plane. Not bad considing I used my iphone shooting through the plane windows.
Love this photo as it is my childhood neighborhood. There's my elementary school (kind of center left) and my parents home is just a smidge over. 
New Orleans has always been my favorite American city (beside Madison) and I've been there 5 times now. I love the gritty and sometimes, smelly city filled with history, nooks and crannies.
One day we did a plantation run along the Mississippi. The Oaks Alley Plantation was, as you can see just stunning. What a dichotomy of people and a way of life. It was a very thought provoking visit to walk through slave quarters and see and feel the way African Americans lived in the South and were treated. As a Northerner and descendant of several Civil War Veterans, I felt a new bond with my great grandfathers who left their little non-plantation Wisconsin farms to fight a war of justice and freedom.
Last day in New Orleans was another hot and steamy one with temps in the 90s. It actually felt pretty good knowing that we were leaving for frigid and frosty Wisconsin.
Lots of great work completed these past weekend at Beatons. The doors are now installed and look great. The weather could have been worse. The temps hovered in the 40s during the day but at least the rain held off during the outside work.
