a keeper
After roping a dummy steer the night before, everyone went to sleep early so that we could rise before dawn and head to the zoo,
where Karen’s uncle Steve (also known as El Hefe Mucho at the San Antonio Zoo) has created a really special place that feels much more like walking among the animals. These below were skittish as the light began to steal over the trees,
And Karen and I watched a joey emerge from a mother kangaroo,
amazed to watch the little kangaroo stretch its legs and hop about its business.
Then Karen’s uncle joined us and directed our wanderings,
taking us up close to the elephant being fed,
(elephants are hairier than you think! I discovered while petting this one—thanks to Karen for taking this picture so early in the morning,)
and ushering us inside the hippo exhibit with another keeper,
that we later saw from the outside as a visitor usually does. It’s a beautiful space for these very intense animals, and fun to watch the bright fish swim near the windows.
Reluctantly leaving San Antonio, Karen and I headed out of Texas by way of a small diner far off the highway,
where the pancake quest continued,
I ordered biscuits and sausage gravy,
and then we ordered a slice of each type of pie:
coconut with crunchy bits on top of the meringue,
and chocolate silk, acknowledging that pie for breakfast is an excellent thing.
Driving through Houston we found a building of air,
and we watched as the landscape shifted into the blue of the bayou,
arriving at the famous Columns Hotel in New Orleans that Thursday night.
A meandering walk took us past a cluster of pastel buildings,
a workshop with music as loud as the creative energy waves that rolled over us as we paused,
leading us to happen upon good food and great cocktails (we started with Sazeracs, of course, and then discovered the classic French 75) at Coquette.
The next morning, we recalled sitting on the lively porch for a late round of champagne as we took the stairs at the grand old hotel down to breakfast,
before meeting up with my friend Brian, a wonderful ambassador of community and the goodness of local lore, as we continued our tour of the Deep South, full of things and people that are keepers…
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Posted by Kristen Taylor on Friday, August 27th, 2010, 4:52 pm * Filed in Design, light, Travel. * . Follow responses through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 27th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
1. that coconut pie looks delicious!
2. it’s hard to believe that kangaroos exist. and that in australia they’re common like deer. they look so strange!
August 27th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Sigh. Can I do the next road trip with you? How about you come down for sxsw and we can drive from Austin to Oregon or something?
August 27th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Was it “coconut chess pie”? (I’ve heard that thrown around before, but I’m not sure what makes it different from regular coconut pie.) Which pie did you prefer (if you can choose!)?
I’m also glad to see biscuits and gravy on your blog. I unabashedly love that combination. I’d eat it right now even…and I am seriously stuffed full of tapioca pudding.
August 29th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Jessica, the pie was delicious, and I’m not usually into coconut pie. It was a very soft meringue. And I’ve never seen a kanagaroo in real life before—hard to imagine it’s comfortable as the little joey climbs in and out!
Catherine, you’re on. Maybe I’ll drive to TX before SxSW and we’ll skip all that crazy and find some open roads—
Mica, good thought, it could have been a coconut chess pie, as there was local corn syrup and blackstrap molasses sold in the diner. I think I’d go with the coconut :) since I’ve had some astounding chocolate pies. There’s always an excuse to make biscuits and gravy! Especially if I had your admirable running regimen to require the carbs…