Let the mini vacation/book research begin (and nearly end...I'm on this little slice of land off the coast of New Orleans for less than 24 hours). But here we are, and I've already gotten so much information!
For those of you who have never heard of Grand Isle, Louisiana, it's one of the few coastal islands just off of New Orleans that basically acts as a buffer during hurricane season, which is why all of their houses and buildings are on stilts. This island has a long history with pirates, mainly the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte, who you might've heard of in some New Orleans/surrounding area legends. However, some of you English majors might recognize the name of the island from Kate Chopin's classic The Awakening. I can assure you first hand that as an English major who's read The Awakening twice for school, it is nothing like the idyllic, relaxing, upper class island that we've read about. But this is in no way a negative mark on the island's record.
Grand Isle is a charming town filled with local fisherman and laborers all living on houses of stilts. I noticed on the drive in that the majority of the houses have been named with phrases such as "Lit Mama's" and "Weathering Heights," hinting at the locals' fun, playful nature.
We checked into our Sand Dollar Motel room located at the very tip of the island where a fishing rodeo is happening (this is what the island is truly, internationally famous for) and they were hosting live music for some fishermen after a long day. Then we made our way back into the town where all the real action is :)
For those over 21, stop at the Island Daiquiri Drive Through for some excellent mixes to take with you on your walk to the beach, which is just a short pass across the street (the eastern side is the best beaches, apparently host to several parties throughout the year). You'll walk up through the grassy pass and go through an entrance of a bushel of sunflowers (my favorite!). There's several entrances along the island with free parking, but if you park centrally in the town, it's not a bad walk at all! We spent some time on the beach as the sun was beginning to fall, and the weather was absolutely perfect! We had the heat of the sun on our backs with the cool breeze of the ocean on our faces. The beach proved to be a great stop because we got to talk to some locals about their views of the island (pretty much the point of coming to Grand Isle). They're local construction company owners who talked about how all they want is to get out of Grand Isle, and it just amazes them that so many international folks are traveling all across their world to come to the bottom of the real south. "Why in the heck do they want to come here?" It's just a tiny island town with a slow way of life.
The Starfish Diner has an amazing shrimp po-boy with lots of locals filling the tables. If you listen closely, you can hear the waitresses catching up with their tables that they haven't seen in awhile (bonus, you can bring your unfinished daiquiri in from next door as your drink).
We finished up the evening sitting on the dock of the bay outside of our motel, listening to "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding (hehe), where several guys were still fishing out on the dock, and there were even more boats still out on the water. I'm guessing that this is a 24- hour deal. The weather felt so nice with a cool breeze, almost to the point that I was chilly, but at the same time, my skin was sticky with humidity. When in Louisiana, right? I've pretty much forgotten what it's like to be an LA girl.
And that's day one of book research on Grand Isle. Guess I've given away the location of Book 3. Shhhhh don't tell the vampires!
Cheers,
HER
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