Haiti

As most of you have heard by now, Haiti was struck by a very powerful earthquake Tuesday and the death tolls are over 50,000. The Haitian government is crippled, the presidential palace and numerous other landmarks destroyed, and resources scarce. Therefore aid groups are vital for saving those still trapped in the rubble, treating injured victims, and helping Haiti rebuild. Right now they desperately need money for purchasing supplies and medicines, setting up clinics, etc. If you can, please give to the organization below or any reputable group.

Partners in Health

Home for the Holidays

Already growing tired of below freezing temperatures and the slushy mud left over from early snows, Dan and I were excited about going down South for Christmas. Unfortunately, the wintry weather caused our flight out to be canceled twice. The first time we found out the night before, but our second cancellation was not as lucky as we hauled all our luggage through the snow to the airport before being told it was a no go.

Here is Dan waiting for the T (subway/trolley) at 6:00 AM on the day of the ill-fated trip.

Finally, four days late, we arrived in Louisiana and picked up our rental car which was a lovely shade of bright gold that the picture doesn't quite due justice.

We had to rearrange our plans a bit so instead of going to Alabama first, we went directly to Baton Rouge to spend Christmas with my mom and family. The plan was to then leave the day after Christmas so we could see our niece in Alabama before she headed off to Bible Camp.

 The Christmas tree with all the presents.

Grandma Toy and her dog Mimi. (Mimi's diabetes gives her piddle problems so she wears baby diapers.)

Mimi examining the gifts.

My Uncle Tom, mom, and Gracie Ann the tiger dog.

Uncle Tom, Mom and Gracie Ann, and Grandma Toy and Mimi.

Caroline, Mom, and Me

Us again

Poor Gracie was both excited and distraught by all the commotion in the house. She alternated from jumping and talking to sad reflections on the couch.

On the 26th we drove to Alabama and spent the next few days with Dan's family. We got to see Laura Jane and Christa briefly before the Bible Camp trip but we saw lots of the other kids and family while we were there. Unfortunately, my camera was acting up and I only got one halfway decent picture while I was there.

Thomas smiling while Campbell ducks for cover.

On the 29th we hopped back in the car to spend the afternoon and night with my mom in Baton Rouge. The next day we headed down to New Orleans to hang out with my sister and her boyfriend Michael. We took a tour of the Old New Orleans Rum distillery and thankfully I managed to beat my camera into submission (literally, I hit it) and it was working by then.

Outside the distillery which is off Elysian Fields in New Orleans. When you walk in there is a lobby and gift area as well as a bar. As we waiting for the tour to begin they handed out hot buttered rums which were absolutely delicious.

Well lubricated we headed into the distillery for the tour. The place is pretty small scale and everything is local. The molasses that is the base of rum comes from Gonzales, LA, all the distilling occurs in New Orleans, and the distributors are a Louisiana company.

Here are the basic steps that the rum goes through. On the left is pure molasses, in the middle is straight alcohol with no aging, and on the right is their basic rum.

A bit grainy, but you can see that they store their barrels above ground which was a good thing after Katrina flooded their distillery at least 8 feet. But they managed to salvage the facility, found some great ten year old rum, and after having previously gone through a few different names and design styles, they rebranded themselves as the Old New Orleans Louisiana Rum.

Our tour guide discussing one of the vats where the rum goes through its many distillation processes.

Our tour guide showing us the molasses stage.

The company really encourages experiments and innovation so employees have all these jars of rum concoctions. Right now they're trying to develop a coconut rum that doesn't use a bunch of artificial flavors like most of the ones on the market (*cough Malibu *cough).

I snuck off to take this photo of one of their old logos that had been painted on the wall outside their loading dock.

 

The bottling process. They can only fill 6 at a time!

Our tour guide explained that quite a lot of the processes that are automated in large factories such as making caramel and bottling are done mostly by hand.

Gingeroo is their alcoholic ginger beer that isn't on the market yet. Unfortunately, we didn't get to try it.

At the end of the tour we got to taste four of their rums. They were all really rather good, and apart from the Crystal which is just for mixing, they made good sipping rums. We took two bottles home with us: one for ourselves and one for our friends in Boston who so nicely fed our cats while we were gone.

That night we went to this great BBQ place called the Joint and met up with Zack and Jen. We gorged on pork and caught up with each other's lives. But we had to get to bed a decent hour so we could wake up at the crack of dawn and fly home. We had a great trip but I wish Boston wasn't so far away (or such an expensive flight away.)