Well, we left on a Wednesday about 3:15 and after stopping by Dr. Lamm's office to get a new contact lens and then stopping to gas up we were on the road by 4:00. We spent the night at the Candlewood in Shreveport and didn't see one gator. It was a nice hotel. One of those extended stay places across the street from the airport and although they are pet friendly, it did cost us $25 extra for Paisley. Non-refundable.
We arrived at Lisa's house about 1:00 pm on Thursday afternoon. Pretty soon thereafter we started eating good food and lots of it. After a late lunch of raw oysters, fried shrimp po-boys and frozen cosmos, we spent some time relaxing in the pool. Taylor was still visiting and then Staci came over with Bennett and Grayson. Robert came home from work and Ben made a brief appearance to say hello. Carl and Collin were on a fishing trip as a last hurrah before Collin's shoulder surgery on Monday.
Friday, the girls slept until about 1:00 pm and Joey, Lisa and I just chatted. Then the girls all went to get pedis/manis and Staci provided the daiquiris. On Friday night after a delicious seafood dinner at Dupy's, Lisa and Carl took Joey, Bibianna and I to see "Legends" at the Abbeville playhouse. What a great treat for us to see how another local community theatre looks. The building was beautiful and the play was good.
Saturday, we got up, ate breakfast and headed to NO. We got to Mom and Pops about 1:00 and went to eat lunch at Short Stop where we all had roast beef po-boys. After we got back home from lunch, we went to mass at St. Matthew's where I had a complete giggle fit like I was twelve years old (that may be a topic for another day) and then went back to a Faia Family party that was just fantastic. All of the six remaining Faia children (Joe, Anthony, Geri, Louis, Sal, and Mike) were there with an array of cousins. Staci and her family came in as did Brent and Angela. We had about 5 babies/young children in the house and it reminded me of days not so long ago when it was our children running around in circles.
Sunday we went to the Sal Faia's residence to have brunch with that family. Aunt Kathy had the most delicious brunch prepared, with a French Toast Casserole contributed by Julia that I could have eaten all by myself. Sarah and Sonny have two boys, Jack and Noah, and although we met them on Saturday night, it was so nice to have some good quality time getting to know them on Sunday. We also got to meet Sonny and spend time with Julia and Jonathan. I have decided that we need to get Breton Sound booked at Sealy Flat or Fifi's.
Madison decided to stay the week with us in NO so Sunday afternoon, after we said good-bye to Staci, Steve, Grayson and Taylor (Bennett was at Boy Scout Camp), Joey took us to Hanson's for a snowball. The snowball was good but the 30 minute wait in stifling spa like conditions was horrendous. Hanson's is famous in NO for their snowballs and they do make all of their toppings so they are definitely not your run of the mill snowball. The shop location on Tchoupitoulas was adorned with a plethora of newspaper articles and pictures and awards for their nearly 75 years of snowballs. The tiny shop with no A/C or open windows did have a giant box fan set up on a shelf. The three very nice associates were mopping their faces and their head with their shirt tops and their hands while making snowballs. How they are able to keep the block of ice from melting long enough to make snowballs is beyond me. They also have a $18 snowball that comes in a bucket which appears to be about a half-gallon and I was considering buying that to just dump on my head by the time we go to the counter to place our order. I opted instead for the $3.50 brown pelican (horrible name for a snowball, btw) which was root beer and cream and is quite honestly, my snowball of choice. It was good. The ice was a little crunchier than I like in a snowball. I am not sure if the snowball was really worth the pain, but I did it and I didn't get sick. I would call that a success.
After leaving Hanson's, we toured the uptown area looking at what had changed and what had stayed the same. Then we stopped at Wal-mart and purchased a wireless router so that we could get wifi set up for Mom & Pop so that Mom can move forward with getting a laptop or tablet. After setting that up, we all went to Acme's for dinner. When we got back home, Madison and I got two of Gannie's FB accounts deleted and got the one that she wants to use set up and ready for training.
Monday I worked. Joey took the girls out and they went by Greff motors and got lunch at Come-back-In. Mom made red beans and then she and Madison made homemade ice cream and brownies in the afternoon. Brent and Angela came in for dinner and we really had a great time just enjoying each other's company. Brent had a picture of himself from his childhood that looks like he had been working in the rice fields and so we had some good confrontation time where his questions were answered about why he was forced into child labor as a child. Mom brought down pictures and paraphernalia from cruises that she and Pops took during the 60s and 70s. Although these trips were won by Pops during his time as a salesman, I still think that Brent was forced to work to help pay for these magical and glamorous trips. We were also informed by Brent that people in Picayune have service monkey's that they take to Wal-mart with them. That's something I may have to look into further.
Tuesday, Marilyn came over and went with us to the French Quarter. We started out in the French Market and I got to see Bibianna and Madison in action dealing with a merchant to purchase iphone covers. They ended up getting two cases for $30, which I think was a very good deal. I also got a pair of water meter earrings and 7 coasters. They are the coolest coasters ever. They are tiles that have napkins, or adds from Gambit, or napkins that have been decoupaged in some manner onto the tiles. They are simply fabulous. We got two from Liuzza's, one from the Montelone, one from F&M's, and one from Venezia's. Then we went to lunch at Napoleon House, which Marilyn had never been too. We had Pimm's cups and shrimp remoulade in avocado halves, Joey had a roast beef po-boy. Then we had Mint Juleps that tasted like bourbon and I knocked my half full glass onto the floor (which was probably a good thing in hind sight). Everybody but me had dessert. Then we went to Lakeside and had beignets and coffee and shopped a little bit more but didn't purchase anything. We went back home, said good-bye to Marilyn and took a nap.
While I was napping, Madison and Bibianna worked on training Grannie on how to FB. After my nap, we got up and got ready to go have dinner a Jacquesimos. However, it was closed so we ended up at K-Paul's. We spent about $300 on drinks, appetizers, dinner and dessert but it was just delightful. I am not sure that I think the food was worth the money we paid, but it was good. The entrees were all about $35 each. I had an eggplant pirogue with seafood atchafalya. Portion sizes were huge so we could have easily had two entrees and split them, but we wanted to try so many things on the menu. I did limit us to two desserts though. Bread pudding and Creme' Brulee. Again, I just didn't think the bread pudding was anything to write home about. We did have a good time though, and I think Madison had a good time too. K-Paul's is one of Steve's favorite restaurants but she had never eaten there. In fact, it was a first for all of us but Joey, so that was really special. I had a Sazerac which I haven't had since I was in college, so that brought back some good memories from the summer that I lived in NO and worked at the lab where there was a man named Woody who claimed to make the best Sazerac in the world. I love those old NO cocktails. So maybe next time we have cocktails, appetizers, one entree and skip dessert? Keep the bill to $150 or less?
Wednesday morning, we got up an packed and left for Lafayette/Abbeville. We got to spend some time with Staci, Steve, and Grayson and then with Lisa and Collin, who was in day 2 of shoulder surgery recovery, and then hit the road. We arrived in Marshall, TX about 7:00 pm where we checked into our La Quinta who is not only pet friendly, but pet inexpensive. It was so odd to get to a hotel while it was still light outside. We had to eat dinner at IHOP because on July 4th in Marshall there isn't much else opened. Then we went back to the hotel, watched a little TV and got a good nights sleep.
We were on the road by 10:00 am on Thursday morning after a quick breakfast at Waffle House. Stopped for lunch at a Sonic somewhere between Dallas and here and pulled up in our driveway about 5:15. House was clean, clean! Pool was sparkling. Dogs were happy to see me but not traumatized by our 8 days absence and we had cupcakes waiting in the refrigerator. It's funny, because for the past few days I have actually been thinking about what all would be involved in moving to LA. I miss the family and the friends that I have there. However, I have such good friends here in San Angelo that I would just miss as dearly if I moved.
The one down side to this vacation is that I was confronted by Carolyn on Tuesday while we were in the French Quarter and she is very angry that we didn't take her to LA with us. While I understand her feelings, she is also having some pretty serious issues with drugs and all the negative lifestyle issues that accompany drugs. She hasn't taken her prescription medications in over a year and after our trip last summer to NYC with her, I really don't think it is fair to us or to any of the kind people who let us stay as house guests to have to be subjected to her skewed perspective on what is normal and what isn't. Even without taking her with us though, there is still a cloud of gray over this vacation because I have just a tinge of guilt about not taking her with us. I know that it was the right decision but I hate how it makes her feel.
So, all in all it was a glorious trip. Paisley traveled very well and we had some very good bonding with many of our family members. If I could just figure out how to get us all closer logistically, I think I would be perfectly content. :)
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