The red badges of Fiesta

San Antonio explodes with colors and flowers every spring for its annual Fiesta, an 11-day celebration unique to Texas that began as a way to honor the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto. Organizers hosted a horse-drawn parade of women in 1891, and said females pelted each other with flowers. Today, there are more than 100 Fiesta events sponsored by local non-profits with money raised pouring back into the community.

This year, the fun takes place April 20-30 with parades, art fairs, exhibits, concerts — you name it, all throughout San Antonio, including on boats traveling up and down the San Antonio River.

And then there are the medals. 

iPhone Pokemon Medal

Official Fiesta 2017 Medal

Almost every event, organization or participant creates a medal that they pin on to sashes, lapels, and coat jackets. Some are simple and neat while others vibrant and extravagant. Some are officials and some are created by sponsors. 

You can tell who’s involved heavily in the annual festival by the number of medals pinned to their chest. They wear them proudly. And it's a sport to see how many you can nab each year.

Tourists can snag a medal or two if they're lucky or purchase them at the Fiesta Store. Easier than a medal are the faux flowers sold on the streets of San Antonio, or the confetti eggs people break to add even more color to the festivities. 

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Doesn't get weirder than this — Abita Mystery House

You would think that a Weird South writer living in South Louisiana would have put the Abita Mystery House at the top of my list. And you would be right. A museum dedicated to all things odd? Sometimes, those amazingly weird attractions in your own backyard are the ones hardest to visit; I could never find the time or be in the right place to visit.

I finally found an opportunity.

And the heavens sang.

The Abita Mystery House is a rambling collection of buildings, centered around one main house, all filled with thousands of collectibles, found objects, unusual memorabilia, weird taxidermy, animated displays and so much more. It's the brainchild of Abita Springs artist John Preble, who assembled these items into a somewhat coherent fashion:

Shard House bathroom wall

• Religious postcards and artwork next to a Reed Organ.
• The Louisiana plantation home display complete with oil and gas industry next door.
• Taxidermy hybrids such as Buford the Bassigator, a combination gator and bass fish, or Darrell the dogigator.
• Push a button and the Mardi Gras diorama parade comes to life.
• The Shard House is literally a house made up of pottery, glass and mirror shards and contains one of the most interesting bathrooms you will ever find. Make sure you hold it until you get there.
• And then there's the endless number of paint-by-number pieces, yard and street signs and collections of everything from combs to old radios. 
• Play the Marble Machine to watch marbles fall down a wooden maze created by Preble.
• An Airstream filled with more craziness.
• And then there's my favorite, the Hot Sauce House, filled with bottles of — you guessed it — hot sauce.

Oh heck, we'll just show you the photos:

Mardi Gras Diorama

Old postcard collection

Diorama of a trailer park hit by a tornado

Leroy the Large-mouthed bass

More weird taxidermy

Hot Sauce House

Be sure and take in the gift shop as well, featuring a wide collection of funny gift items as well as artwork by Preble.

The Abita Mystery House is located on Hwy. 36 East in Abita Springs, Louisiana, one block from the Abita Springs traffic circle and about an hour outside of New Orleans. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except major holidays. Admission is $3 for those over 3 years old.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Bugs that stare back

There’s a new man in town, at the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium of New Orleans. The man-faced stink bugs, otherwise known as Catacanthus incarnates, will have visitors doing a double-take. Their colorful patterns resemble a human face.

"We are excited to have these large and beautiful stink bugs – there’s a phrase you don’t hear every day – to show our guests," said Zack Lemann, Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium’s Curator of Animal Programs. "Only a few zoos or museums in the U.S. have ever imported man-faced bugs up until now."

Man-faced bug nymph "babies" were born from eggs on Dec. 22, 2016, followed by an even larger set on Jan. 3 this year. Man-faced bugs have never been successfully raised in human care, and Audubon is hoping to be the first to do so. 

"It's a huge testament to the expertise of Audubon's entomologists that we could be the first in the world to rear such an incredible insect," said Ron Forman, Audubon Nature Institute president and CEO. "We hope these rare bugs will act as remarkable ambassador animals to educate our visitors about the diversity of wildlife and the importance of protecting it."

Man-faced bugs range from India east into most of southeast Asia. They are akin to large stink bugs and come in four different colors: red, orange, yellow, and cream. Man-faced bugs produce foul odors for defense like other stink bugs. Also, the bold colors are likely a defense mechanism, warning predators that it is bad-tasting or poisonous.

Wanna see more? Check out this cool video.

Note: Most of the information for this post was derived from an Audubon Institute press release.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Ace Hotel New Orleans honors city's queens

New Orleans is arguably the queen of the South and yes, I’m biased, because it’s my home town. But let’s look at the facts:

1.    The city has more tiaras, scepters and royal trains (the kind that follow a dress) than any city in America. Just check out the daily newspapers right now. The pages are filled with debutantes, queens and kings of every Carnival krewe imaginable.

2.    The Mississippi River hugs the city in a giant crescent, which could double as a crown.  

3.    And the city’s full of queens — with titles both bestowed upon and self-inflicted — regardless of Mardi Gras.

Ace Hotel New Orleans honors the latter with a “Queens of New Orleans” calendar to be available in every guest room. The 2017 calendar designed by YEP Design Works  is “a colorful walkabout through the city’s secret royalty, complete with portraits of local queens, unique Louisiana holidays and phases of the moon,” according to the hotel. For instance, February honors Irma Thomas, the “Soul Queen of New Orleans,” and October “Big Freedia, the Queen Diva.”

Wanna bring one home or order online? They cost $30 and a portion of the proceeds going to New Orleans' Youth Empowerment Project.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.