Day Two

My next day will start at 8:00 am at the famous Cafe Du Monde, the home of the beignet. Although some might consider it a glorified powdered donut disguised as an acceptable breakfast meal, I am looking forward to having an order of the classic Acadian dish with some coffee.

After enjoying my morning at the cafe, I will walk over to Armstrong Park, while enjoying the unique architecture of the French Quarter. The park was named after Louis Armstrong, and is located around the historic Congo Park, the site where slaves would meet together in the 1800s for open markets and African dance a drumming celebrations, which played a large role in the formation of jazz as we know it today. I plan on bringing my guitar and jamming for a while in the park. I think it will be a unique experience playing music in such a significant place in the history of jazz. It is another step in immersing myself in the jazz culture that Ellison was a part of.

I will then head over to the world famous Mother's for a shrimp po boy. Delicious! By 2:00 pm I'll be back on the road.

After driving for 2. 5 hours, I will stop to tour the USS Alabama. This vaguely relates to the Tuskegee Airmen, if only for the fact that they are both a part of the US military. Regardless, I am looking forward to touring this piece of American history. After the devastation of the attack on Pearl Harbor, our navy was significantly hurt. The USS Alabama, known as the "Mighty A," played a critical role in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, serving for 37 months in WWII, earning 9 battle stars without so much as a scratch from enemy fire. The Mighty A is now permanently stationed in Mobile, AL, where tours are given daily. I will arrive around 4:30 pm, and the tours close at 6:00 pm. All of this information can be found on the official site of the USS Alabama. In learning a different history of WWII through this battleship, I hope to be ready to learn about the Tuskegee Airmen.

After driving for about 2 hours and 45 minutes, I will arrive at my final destination for the night, Montgomery, AL. I will be staying at the Red Bluff Cottage, a nice little bed and breakfast built in 1987. It promises genuine southern hospitality, which will make for a nice night, not to mention a breakfast of biscuits and gravy.

The music of the day will consist of a lot of Louis Armstrong, in order to commemorate his roots in New Orleans. Here is a 1929 recording of "When You're Smiling."

Day One

After about 4.5 hours of driving (unless I get caught up in Houston traffic), this looks like a nice little burger joint to stop for lunch. I checked out some reviews, and while some mentioned the uncleanliness of the place (I don't care), everyone raved about the burger. Melanie L. wrote that it's "everything a good burger SHOULD be. Messy, flavorful and slightly overwhelming." She also mentioned the fried okra. Cheeseburger and fried okra? People get ready.

I'm looking forward to driving on this bridge on I-10 in Louisiana, known as the Atchafalaya Swamp Freeway. It's an 18.2 mile bridge over the Atchafalaya river, making it the 14th longest bridge in the world. It spans the Atchafalaya River Basin, which is the largest swamp in the United States, according to History.com. Something interesting about this swamp is its inhabitants. In the 18th century, a group of French colonists were expelled from Acadie, which is part of present-day Nova Scotia. These people, known as the Acadians, relocated to the Atchafalaya River Basin, and proceeded to create what's known as the Cajun culture of Louisiana, with its distinct food, music, and dialect. This relates to my theme of jazz music that was a large part of Ellison's life and inspiration.

It will only be about 3 hours from Beaumont to Baton Rouge, but I would like to make a stop at LSU's campus, if only to look around. One interesting monument is Memorial Tower, erected in 1923 as a memorial for Louisianans who died in World War I. Inside there is a rotunda covered in bronze plaques bearing the names of the 1,447 soldiers from Louisiana who died in the war. There is also a military museum. This stop doesn't necessarily pertain to Ellison or the Tuskegee Airmen, but it will be interesting to see the campus of LSU, and a piece of southern history in Memorial Tower.


My final destination for my first day will be the great city of New Orleans. Seeing as I am looking to experience Ellison's love for jazz, I would not be justified in stopping in this city for a while. I will be staying at the Ritz Carleton, for the main reason of listening to the musical stylings of Jeremy Davenport, who will be playing with his band. Davenport, like Ellison, is a trumpet player (he also has a smooth jazz voice, making for a relaxing night of soft jazz, with a few drinks of course. Here is a clip of Jeremy Davenport's "I Thought About You."