BEHIND THE SCENES: KPEL Live From Times Square

We were up early to bring you a live edition of Acadiana's Morning News on the road in New York City. Alex Labat, who leads the social media efforts of Lafayette Travel, was my right hand man as we connected with the KPEL studio in Lafayette. We're an hour later in the eastern time zone, so the show ran from 7:00 am to 10:00 am. There I stood with the Hudson River to my right and the bright lights of Times Square to my left. The view itself is worth staying at this hotel, the Doubletree Times Square.

We have the technology to broadcast live from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Shout out to the Townsquare Media engineering department for making sure there were no wrinkles in our plans to broadcast from the 35th floor of a hotel. It was cold, but we were in and out of the warm confines of a closed rooftop lounge. There were no drinks, but it was about as VIP as you can get.

As our listeners know, we play the national anthem and today happened to be Whitney Houston. Into the second verse of the song, I felt a rush of patriotism, because I realized I was standing on a rooftop deck looking at One World Trade and the Statue of Liberty. These are two symbols of freedom that men and women have fought to protect for generations. It may have been one of the most unique experiences of my career.

Tonight is the big Culinary Trails 2017 event and we will have full coverage of it and the Louisiana chefs who are taking part. Travel consideration provided by Ardco Equipment and James Farms Rice. Updates on-air and online at kpel965.com.