Dane Ashford

I walked past the building twice before I realized what was inside. From the outside it looks like…

By Dane Ashford · Aug 6

I almost drove past it. The sign out front says world famous, but the building looks like every…

By Dane Ashford · Aug 5

My harness clicked into place and my stomach dropped before I even left the platform. Sixty feet above…

By Dane Ashford · Aug 5

I almost drove past it. The turnoff sits along a stretch of Highway 22 where most people seem…

By Dane Ashford · Aug 4

Louisiana’s oldest cafeteria does not try to impress you, which is exactly why it works. I slid my…

By Dane Ashford · Aug 4

My friend told me about a lake park with disc golf. I nodded politely and expected nothing special.…

By Dane Ashford · Aug 2

My love affair with hidden food spots started years ago. I stumbled into a tiny kitchen that changed…

By Dane Ashford · Aug 1

I am the worst at making breakfast decisions. I stare at menus. I change my mind. I end…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 31

I drove past the sign twice before I trusted my GPS. The road wound through rural Washington Parish…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 31

My kids have dragged me to plenty of weekend events that promised fun and delivered boredom. This one…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 30

I almost drove past it. The sign looked like any other discount store on the highway. Then I…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 30

Some nights in New Orleans call for jazz, cocktails, and questionable decisions. Others end with a warm cookie…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 29

I walked past the door twice before I noticed it. Tucked into a narrow alley off one of…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 29

My shopping list said three things. I walked out with two full bags and zero regrets. That is…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 28

I walked through the doors and my jaw dropped. Aisles stacked floor to ceiling with every color imaginable.…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 28

Every August, a building that once printed Confederate currency opens its doors to something entirely different. The Old…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 27

The landscape changes faster than expected once you leave the highway. A sandy rise smells of pine, a…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 27

Sometimes the loudest sound you hear all day is the dip of a paddle or the call of…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 26

The scent hits you before you even open the door. Warm cinnamon, brown sugar, plus buttery dough swirl…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 26

Twilight changes the mood before the first ball even rolls. The heat begins to lift, lamps flicker on…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 25

Cinnamon rolls have a way of making people strangely loyal. One bakery’s glaze is too sweet, another’s dough…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 25

The bar sits in what used to be the nave, brick walls still holding, ceiling high enough that…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 24

You walk in looking for one terra cotta pot and forty minutes later you are pushing a cart…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 24

There was a time when crossing the causeway felt like leaving the city behind completely. The north shore…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 23

Driving through the small towns along the Bayou Teche, the landmarks that matter most are the ones without…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 23

Nothing quite prepares you for the unexpected sight of a flying saucer parked next to a gas station…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 22

There is something quietly magical about wandering through rows of blueberry bushes on a warm summer morning, the…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 22

Walking through a quiet cemetery in the heart of one of America’s most storied cities, you might just…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 21

Few things reveal the soul of a place quite like a bowl of gumbo simmered with decades of…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 21

Most people drive past the gravel bars without a second glance. Rockhounds do the opposite: they pull over,…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 20

Most aquariums stop at fish tanks. This one hands you a sifting screen and points you toward a…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 19

Long before the beads start flying and the brass bands strike up, the real work of Carnival happens…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 19

Past the front gate, the first thing you notice is the giraffe leaning over the railing with the…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 18

Plates arrive still hissing, the butter and garlic pooling around shells that glow with the blackened edges of…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 18

Nothing prepares you for the moment a giraffe leans its entire head through the window of a converted…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 17

The best food in Louisiana does not always come with a reservation. Sometimes it comes wrapped in wax…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 17

Shelves line the walls from floor to ceiling, each stacked with jars that catch the overhead light and…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 16

A good bookstore or library slows you down in exactly the way a road trip should: unexpected, quiet,…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 16

Something about the way the beads catch the light through the front window makes you slow down before…

By Dane Ashford · Jul 15