While you were sleeping

I have always been fascinated with sunrise. In my 20's I would party till after the sun rose and be blinded by the light upon leaving the bar. I can remember watching sunrise from Grand Isle State Park and Cocoa Beach Florida. My daily commute puts me in line with pre-sunrise skies every morning, wishing I had my camera with me.

It's amazing what goes on in the 30 or more minutes between predawn and sunrise.



Recently - well actually Memorial Day - we decided to climb out of our oh-so-comfortable cocoons at 5AM to travel the ten minutes to Goose Point in Lacombe, Louisiana.

For the locals it's known as Lake Road, an extremely narrow piece of land that joins the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain with the lake.


Lake Road taken from the end

Lake Road is not paved and is just wide enough for two vehicles to pass each other. I believe it is part of the Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge. On any given day you can find dozens of people parked along the road crabbing or fishing. In fact when we passed at a little after 5:30 in the morning there were several people already out there going after the early morning catch.



In the few minutes before the sun actually shows itself on the horizon the red wing blackbirds are out playing. This is one of my favorite "common" birds because of its call. There is something about the sound of a red wing blackbird that lets you know you're far away from the sounds and activity of a normal day at work or in the city. They're playful little things, too. I had fun trying to photograph them.





What I never knew until this day was how much energy it takes for this little bird to sing my favorite sound. Check out this guy.



Finally the event that we were waiting for began















The sun rises quickly and so many things are happening during this time. It's difficult to decide what to shoot!




Still singing his little heart out!


I imagine there was once a camp or a pier here




These little plants caught the rays from the sun so well they appeared to be glowing.


I didn't realize until after I looked at this picture that the plants have little purple flowers on them.


I love the texture of the marsh grass in this picture.


A marsh rose and wild morning glory


Crab boat going out on the lake to lay those crab traps to catch the best tasting crabs around!


This little guy scampered back into the bushes when we stopped to get his picture.

It was a wonderful experience and worth getting up early for. By the time we were finished it was already 7 AM and we headed out for breakfast and then more picture taking. A time well spent!

Pay it Forward

“We know what it’s like to be in a situation where you’ve lost everything. And we know the importance of being able to lift spirits,” said Greg Reggio, an owner of Zea’s and Semolina restaurants.

Behind him, a convoy bearing a donated soundstage, a generator, cooking gear and supplies of frozen shrimp, oysters, fish and alligator — with the chefs to prepare it — prepared to leave the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

This New Orleans convoy packed with the ingredients for a South Louisiana food and music festival pushed off Monday for shattered Joplin, Mo., where thousands of beleaguered homeowners are awakening to the full import of rebuilding after the worst tornado in modern American history carved a broad scar across the face of their city.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

D-DAY Anniversary

Today is the 67th anniversary of D-Day. If you know a WWII Veteran, thank him/her for their sacrifice.

Oysters in June

Despite the fact that it's held in June - which, according to local standards, is a month with no "R" in it and therefore not good for oysters - New Orleans Oyster Festival rocks! I enjoyed attending because it doesn't have the crowds that popular New Orleans festivals attract.



This particular festival was born out of tragedy in 2010. The BP Oil spill alienated Louisiana's seafood industry - and still does - due to (in my opinion) consumer ignorance.

Using the same strength that helped this area come back from Katrina, the Louisiana Seafood Board and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries along with a slew of local supporters decided in June of 2010 to show that the Oyster industry was down but not out.

As the following photographs will show, there were plenty of oysters to be enjoyed, prepared in a variety of recipes. My only regret is that the local chefs haven't come up with a good, cold oyster dish aside from shucked oysters.

We arrived at 11 A.M. knowing that the heat was going to continue to rise. The organizers of this festival did very well in providing a number of shady spots for diners and festival goers to get away from the heartless sun. Every table in the tents had linen table cloths and free fans to keep the festival goers cool.



Our first stop was one that got my attention: Redfish Grill's Oyster Shooter with Grey Goose. Yum!!!



Here I am trying to take a picture of my oyster shooter. It was delightful, by the way.


Here is my tiny-chef daughter celebrating her oyster shooter.

Our next stop was the most visible sites of the fest: Drago's with their charbroiled oysters.




They were delectable




Hungry for yet more oysters, we headed over to Luke for the Oyster Poboy with smoked tomato relish.





It did not disappoint us. In fact, there was a slice of bacon in the sandwich which we knew came from hogs raised on the northshore....yum, fresh pork!


I was impressed with the professionalism of the Luke staff.



By this time the Treme Brass Band had taken the stage and got the crowd into their fantastic New Orleans music.







By now it was noon and my daughter and I decided to take shelter under the cooking demo tent to cool off.

Hubby opted to roam the area in search of interesting pictures. Here are his results:






The blue guy really isn't as wacko as he seems in this picture. :)

In this picture you can see me motioning that my beer is empty.


By now we were ready for more oyster dishes, so we headed for the Court of Two Sisters Booth for both Oyster Pie and Crawfish Louise.


I asked if they would divulge the recipe for the Crawfish Louise and they promised that they would when I visited the restaurant. Tiny Chef and I figured it out while eating it.

Our next choice of food was our mistake of the day.




The oysters had the consistency of liver, they were tasteless and the spinach/artichoke "bruschetta" was plain. Don't waste your money.

The oyster shucking contest was next and was fun to watch, chiefly because Joe Cahn was the MC.


Shuckers lining up to shuck


This guys was my favorite, but he didn't make it.







The Shucker Winner was from Desire. A humble man who shucked 20 oysters in 2 minutes.



Joe Cahn enjoyed his role as oyster taster.

What follows next is a series of pictures of people I found "interesting".




A chef from Antoine's






















This picture is blurry, but I needed to show it to show men what NOT TO WEAR in public.







Later we ran into a friend that gave us access to the Acme Oyster House VIP area to watch the Bucktown Allstars. We found this group of derelicts interesting:





Eventually the NOPD ran them off



Our day didn't go without catching a few local "celebrities">


Chef Andrea Apuzzo and Joe Cahn


Monica Pierre, local radio host and award winning woman.

By this time it was 3 pm and we were as fried as the oysters, so we decided to head home. All three of us are sunburned in one way or another, but it was fun. We're looking forward to next week's Vieux To Do featuring three festivals in one.