Drove out to Slidell for a swamp tour conducted by Pearl River Ecotours. We loved our guide Wade who let us spend plenty of time with the alligators. He explained how the Spanish Moss was harvested back in the day for stuffing mattresses. Didn't know that horsehair was actually moss. At any rate, the moss is still plentiful in the bayou. We also saw an arrowroot plant -- guess what, the leaves are shaped like arrows. Elephant ears were pervasive in the swamp -- they were introduced as cultivated plants many years ago and are now invasive.
Wade showed us a house that was moved in its entirety a mile downstream and then deposited a la Dorothy.
One of the highlights was a mother sow and two wild piglets grazing on the river bank. The piglets had bronze striped fur -- very pretty.
Afterwards we went to a restaurant recommended by Wade - Speckled T. I had a roast beef poboy -- amazing.
Back in the French Quarter, hit Papier Plumier where I spent too much on a fountain pen, seal, and new fangled sealing wax.
We had been anticipating a night of music at the Maple Leaf Bar by the Rebirth Brass Band. According to a guy we met on the day of the Second Line, they have been playing every Tuesday night for 28 years. The show, scheduled for 10 pm, started at 11 We piled into the small music hall and the band -- three trumpets, sax, tuba, trombones, drums, and washboard were impossibly loud and cacaphonus in the tiny space. I tried very hard to take it in, but in the end my sore eardrums gave it up. At the most, we lasted 30 minutes before going home.
