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A Quick Trip to New Orleans!

May 30, 2017 /

 

You ever want to pack a weekend worth of clothes, go to the airport, and hop on a flight a few states away for no reason at all. lol Maybe its just me, but that’s exactly how I was feeling like when I bought my plane ticket to go to New Orleans. I needed this trip to take my mind off of work and get inspired. As you can see I haven’t sewn anything lately and that’s because I’ve been really uninspired lol. My fabrics haven’t been speaking to me and I overall was in a very “blah” mood. lol

So a quick getaway was just what I needed and I squeezed in a lot of sightseeing in my 4 days here. I went to a huge art studio (Studio Be), Whitney Plantation, restaurants, farmers/flea markets, crystal shopping, bar hopping, music listening, yoga and aerial classes, and even some other cool places that only a local would know about. lol

It was kind of hard to be in New Orleans and not think about Hurricane Katrina. I was only 14 when Hurricane Katrina happened so I didn’t really understand all the logistics, time, money, resources, people, and support that goes into rebuilding peoples lives from scratch. A local had mentioned that time in New Orleans is measured in BK or AK. Before Katrina or After Katrina. Another one questioned if there was even life before Katrina because they lost every single thing. Every childhood picture, article of clothing, even childhood friends were never seen again after Katrina. So I had several humbling moments being there and listening to their stories. Keeping right on with the humbleness and gratitude was visiting the Whitney Plantation. Another eye-opening experience. I’ve read books and seen pictures about plantation life, but to be there, standing on plantation grounds, and imagining for one second I could have been someone’s property, I could have been a slave, it was almost unthinkable.

I was putting myself in other peoples shoes a lot while I was there, which is ok and can be great to help you sympathize or empathize with someone, but through yoga I am reminded (and I remind you) not dwell in other peoples shoes. It is normal that sometimes, it is just too hard to see the suffering, and that we just want to give up. (Like I did with meat) Some things are so cruel, so inconceivable for the empathic and sensitive ones, that it can become hell just to think about it. It can even ruin a person’s life and make him/her lose her willingness to continue to live. During this trip I was also reminded to stay strong during the suffering. All the anger, sadness, and grief I experience when I visit places like Whitney Plantation or the African American Museum, I have to let it go at some point because it serves me no purpose to hold on to those thoughts or that energy. Once we know certain things, it’s our whole life that changes, even the whole meaning of Life that can change. That is why studying, growing, reading, evolving, using your knowledge is so important and powerful. Don’t live in an ignorant bliss, I would rather know and be aware of everything.

 

The wall that broke during Hurricane Katrina.
The Tree of Life in Audubon Park. A historic oak tree estimated to be about 500 years old!

 

The riverboat.
Another art studio we briefly visited named Frenchy.
A memorial to the slaves that were beheaded in The Slave Revolt of 1811. About 500 slaves marching in protest, ended in a blood bath as they were captured and sent back to their respective plantations, where they were then shot at gun point and had their heads hung on spikes along the Mississippi River. All slaves were made to view this sight as a reminder and warning to never revolt.
The Big House. The slave owner would live here. An interesting fact about houses back then they had no hallways, stairs, or closets. This was done to keep the house as cool as possible.
Whitney Plantation.
The Blacksmith house. A couple scenes from Django were shot here.
Oak trees on the plantation.

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