Back from the bayou! So much fun and adventure in Louisiana, but to start, here’s a shot of my medal! More on the race in a bit. But first, here’s a day-by-day rundown of my vacation.

Flew in on Thursday afternoon, and Diane (aka DH), her friend Amy, and I headed down the bayou to our home away from home, Camp Dularge on Bayou Dularge. Despite the crazy-cold wind, Captain Wendy took us out through Falgout Canal to Lake Decade on her pontoon boat. We sailed (drove? rode?) past some amazing marsh fires on our way up Liner Canal to the Mauvais Bois, which is full of cyprus trees. We tied up at what Diane and Wendy call The Swamp Dwellers’, where I was thankfully not attacked by anything creepy (human, animal, or otherwise). We saw pelicans, great egrets, snowy egrets, snake birds, and great and little blue herons. After the even-colder trip back to Dularge, we warmed up with some delicious dinner at Schmoopys in Dulac, and then drove into Houma for some grocery shopping at Rouses. (The picture above is from the Swamp Dwellers’.)

On Friday, we stopped to check out some pelicans sunning themselves on the Houma Navigational Canal between Dularge and Dulac, and then drove to Cocodrie, where we climbed the tower of LUMCON (the Louisiana University Marine Consortium), which looks out over the swamp marshes at the end of Bayou Petit Caillou. A trip into Chauvin (DH’s home base) included a stop by Bayou Grace to meet DH’s boss Courtney and a visit with DH’s friend Kevin. Lunch (for me) was a shrimp po boy at Boo’s Bayou Magasin, where the waitress gave us each two Hershey’s kisses – because “it’s Boo’s rule: everyone gets two kisses.” Next, we drove down Bayou Pointe-aux-Chenes to Isle de Jean-Charles and back, where we met DH’s friend Chris and were nearly attacked by hungry ducks. Back in Chauvin, we visited a crazy sculpture garden before heading back to Camp Dularge for homemade jambalaya with Captain Wendy. (Above is my favorite pelican shot.)

Saturday we drove to New Orleans and hit the expo for the race, and then checked into our hotel, the Prytania Park in the Garden District. DH then took me on a driving tour of the Lower Ninth Ward, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. We saw the funky houses being built by Make It Right, including one that is designed to float. There are many signs of rebuilding there, but still so many overgrown lots and houses marked with spray paint in the aftermath of the hurricane. Amy said of the bayou, and I think it’s true of this part of New Orleans as well, “it’s bittersweet.” (Above is a sign on a telephone pole in the Lower Ninth Ward.)

Changing gears, we headed to the French Market for lots of pasta at the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen, and then back to the hotel to rest up for race day.

The weather on Sunday was absolutely perfect. Chilly at the start, bright and sunny, breezy. The course was blissfully and completely flat. I loved it! I saw all sorts of craziness – including a woman doing the half with a cast on her leg, and people lining up in the corral wearing blue jeans. DH finished her first half marathon in a blazing 3:07:47, while I clocked in at 3:25:50. I have never felt so good before, during, and after a race. Just think how well I would have done if I had been able to do more than 5% of my training outside!

We got our medals, and then trekked over to the shuttles to get back to the hotel. Even though we were exhausted, we spent a few hours wandering around the French Quarter, munching beignets at Cafe du Monde, and people watching in Jackson Square. (We calculated that, with the walk to the start, the walk to the shuttle bus, the walk to our hotel, and our wandering through the Quarter, we clocked about seven miles – in addition to the 13.1 from the race!) We ate our post-race dinner at the Corner Oyster Bar & Grill, where I went full-on NOLA with a meal of gumbo, red beans, jambalaya, shrimp creole, and fried pickles. With full bellies, we headed back to the hotel, where we collapsed in front of the Olympics closing ceremony. (The photo above is of our delicious post-race beignets at Cafe du Monde; below is my favorite photo from NOLA, taken in the Quarter.)

Flights home today were uneventful, except for the fact that sitting still for hours at a time is not recommended the day after a race! All in all, it was a fantastic time on the bayou and in NOLA. My favorite quote of the weekend is from DH, who said on Sunday afternoon after the race, “My toenails hurt!” Exactly.

Check out the bazillion pictures from the trip here (five pages worth!).