Red Stick Revisited

I don't have much time to post, but there are a few things I want to mention about BR:

1) The coffee down here is so far superior to anywhere else on the planet that it almost makes me want to live here again. I had three strong cups within about 15 minutes this morning - and if I hadn't been afraid that I would crank up my heart rate to unhealthy resting levels, I would still be drinking it right now.
2) Baton Rouge has had quite the building boom since we left...there is a new shopping development about one minute from our old front door, and there are big new developments just about everywhere you look.
3) Our old house looks exactly the same.
4) The food here - oh my lands - it's reason enough for the trip. I experienced more flavor in our one meal last night than I have in a year's worth of restaurant meals in Birmingham.
5) The thing about old friends being the best friends? It's the truth.