Have A Little Fun!

It’s been a whirlwind week for us here in Louisiana! From time traveling back to a Renaissance festival to dancing to jazz music played on New Orleans’ streets, we have had quite the entertaining week. The fun never stopped when we got down to business by having our first two sit-down interviews of the trip with The Green Building Shop and Baton Rouge Green! As we move into our last week here in Baton Rouge, LA, we are certainly excited to be making the most of our time!

This past weekend we traveled with our friends Bryan, Julia and Jackson to the Louisiana Renaissance Festival. While it wasn’t quite what I expected (i.e. not the real Renaissance) it was definitely an interesting experience. Between modern-day innuendos set to a pirate tune and comedic jesters juggling fire, there were always entertaining shows to watch.  There were also plenty of challenging games where unsuspecting (and slightly over-confident) visitors could attempt a nearly impossible feat, like climbing a sideways rope ladder, and epically fail (ahem, Daniel and Bryan)! For a more authentic taste of the 15^th century, there were jousting events throughout the day and glass blowing tutorials during which the artist gave an interesting history of glass through the ages. In the end, it was more like a state fair where it’s totally normal to walk around in pirate garb and corsets than an event concerning real history, but it was definitely worth going to at least once!

My friend, Jackson, the coolest (and cutest) knight at the Renaissance Festival!

Having such an entertaining weekend was like pre-gaming for the week to come. On Monday night, Daniel’s dad flew in to Louisiana for a business trip but came a bit early so that we could see him. We had dinner at a great local seafood restaurant where Daniel and I both had alligator for the first time and I had my first taste of crawfish. Both were actually quite tasty! The following day, we headed to New Orleans to do some exploring. We wandered along the “Mighty” Mississippi and admired all of the massive ships docked or floating at its edges. We then moved towards the French Quarter and sat down for some delightful beignets at the famous Café du Monde. Strolling through New Orleans truly requires very little planning because there are just so many sights and sounds to take in. Walking around in and of itself becomes the event! There are musicians stationed at every corner that draw you in with their distinct tunes, be it jazz, country or even folk-rock. We loved it so much we wanted to stake out a corner for our favorite Richmond band, ROMA, and have them fly down and join! After a little bargain and window-shopping at some of the famous boutique shops, Daniel and I headed to the bus stop to catch the last bus back to Baton Rouge. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed our time with Daniel’s dad and with the City of New Orleans.

Daniel's dad, Steve, Angie and Daniel in front of the Mississippi in New Orleans.

 

Even though our “vacation” was over, the remainder of our week was reminiscent of Thomas Edison’s famous quote, “I never did a day of work in my life. It was all fun.” We sat down for two great interviews, the first being with Michael Gatz, owner of The Green Building Shop. He told us about everything from bamboo flooring to recycled glass countertops to authentic wool carpeting! Aside from the pure awesomeness of these products, we discussed reasons why these products have not yet become mainstream and what some possible solutions to these problems could be.

Later in the week, we sat down with Baton Rouge Green’s Executive Director, Diane Losavio and their program director Suzannah DesRoches. It was a beautiful day to discuss green places in Baton Rouge and that is exactly what we did.  We discussed the importance of trees in both economical and environmental ways. We also talked about the importance of city governments in making sure cities stay as hospitable to green spaces as possible. In the end, we left feeling very positive about the community’s desire to have and take care of the green spaces around them.

Coming Soon: In-Depth Articles about the interviews! (Possibly including video clips if we can get the technology right!)   :)