Halloween - 2017

Hope you've all had a great Halloween and lots of cute kiddies and costumes to share your treats with!!!

 

We've had a very fun last day here in New Orleans starting with laundry....ugh!    But the little brown building is very close to Daisy and we were up bright 'n early.   Got 2 loads done, fixed sausage and eggs for breakfast and by 9:45, we were on our way downtown to ride the 10:20 "Hop-on, Hop-off" bus taking us to 18 different stops around the city and learning so much about NOLA.    And, today, no issues with the parking meters.    $5 for 10 hours - can't beat that!

 

It was a perfect day to ride on top the double decker bus and just a delightful 1.5 hour trip.    We got off at the Flea Market and walked around, then to the French Market and finally onto the Central Grocery where Mark wanted another muffuletta sandwich like Sunday.    So we shared another delicious sandwich - salami, ham, mortadella, cheeses (provolone and mozzarella) and that good olive spread on their round Sicilian sesame bread.    This sandwich originated right here at Central Grocery in 1906.     Along with the muffuletta, the po boy are the 2 signature sandwiches of

 New Orleans.

 

We walked around the French Quarter and a much more pleasant experience today with fewer crowds and picture-perfect weather.    We walked into St. Louis Cathedral about 1/2 way thru the noon mass.   What a beautiful church and so glad we got to see it.

 

Onto the Hotel Monteleone where we saw the most interesting and beautiful carousel bar that actually turned.    Super neat and glad Jackie told us about this.

 

Beautiful revolving carousel bar

 

Last stop was LaFittes Blacksmith Shop, built in 1711 and operating as a bar since 1772, the oldest continually operating bar in the USA.    It was so packed Sunday, but today we could get a table, enjoy the OLD and Halloween décor and a beer (Mark) and hurricane (me.)

 

Enjoying drinks at oldest bar in the USA

 

Beautiful ferns around lovely cast-iron balconies

(I stand corrected as yesterday I called them wrought iron).

 

Walked back to Daisy - what a fun, interesting, delicious day again in NOLA.     We stopped at Winn Dixie for a few groceries for Mark these next 10 days or so and then rested a bit before off to 4:00 Mass at Our Lady of Divine Providence for tomorrow's feast of All Saints Day.

 

What a fun evening with our New Orleans friends.....Jackie was my Tiger Cruise roommate on the USS Stennis in March, 2012.   She and her friend Darryl met us at New Orleans Food and Spirits for a final yummy dinner and so fun to catch up.     After dinner we went to Brocato's for gelato and little cookies.   What a neat place full of "my favorite things"!

Very enjoyable evening!!!

 

Jackie and Darryl

 

Tomorrow I'm flying from New Orleans to Chicago and Mark will continue on with Daisy heading east to Florida.   We won't be together till the 12th.   UGH!    I'm looking forward to hanging out with Liam and Connor while Anne is away and Patrick is doing his music, visiting family and friends and Sisters' Weekend.

 

So thankful for friends, Claire, Nadine and Kathy, Blue Angel Tyler and native Jackie for giving us so many awesome suggestions of what to do and where to eat while here!!!    It's been a super stay in New Orleans.   Visiting the southwest this past month has been so memorable and fun!!!

 

New Orleans will celebrate its 300th birthday in 2018.    WOW....they are planning a huge celebration.   I can only imagine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday - October 30

We had a really fun and "oink" "oink" day.    We left Daisy around 9:30 and drove to the Garden District.    Oh my....so many lovely huge homes dating way back!    It was a spectacular day and we first walked thru Lafayette Cemetery.    These New Orleans cemeteries are so interesting with all the graves above ground    We strolled around with Mark as my tour guide and giving me the facts on some of the homes that would be on a guided tour 

(several tours going on for both homes and cemetery).

Just a few above ground grave sites in this large Lafayette cemetery

This is actress Sandra Bullock's home and it's a beauty, mostly hidden by high hedges.

There are only 3 of this design built in all of NO cause of the unique architecture and it's not conducive to hot weather.   Sandra's adopted son, Louis was born in New Orleans.    She seldom spends much time here but invites her friends to come and stay....there was a BMW from Beverly Hills parked out front?

I found a darling children's shop "Mignon" and enjoyed a little retail therapy fix.   We also stopped at a cute coffee shop "Still Perkin'".

The highlight of our day was having lunch at Commander's Palace.    Oh my.....over the top in ambiance (we were in the Garden Room), service and food + 25 cent martinis which is their specialty (3 flavors to choose from or the usual plain with gin or vodka).    The martinis were flowing all around us.    3 is the limit and they are full size.    I had one and it was excellent especially the price!!!    I had their fish special and Mark had roast pork (all excellent) and then we shared their signature creole bread pudding souffle poked with warm whiskey cream sauce which was

 "to die for" !    Do not miss this place if you're ever in the Big Easy!

Commander's Palace  *****

"melt-in-your-mouth"

bread pudding souffle

The Houmas House

Then we were off on I-10 west towards Baton Rouge and the Houmas Plantation in Darrow, LA.    What a beautiful place and interesting tour by Don, our docent.   The home was built in 3 parts and originally covered 300,000 acres.    Most of the land was sold during the depression to pay off the debts.   There have been 14 owners and the current owner, Kevin Kelly (in his 60's) lives by himself in the house but happy to share it with the public!

It was a gem!!!    Plus the grounds are beautiful with trees hundreds of years old.   In fact this spring, a very huge tree fell during a storm - it was 450 years old!

There are 3 restaurants on the property and one of them "Latil's Landing" is one of the top 20 restaurants in the country (according to Don).

It was a delightful afternoon here at the plantation and would highly recommend this place, too.

So, it's back to NO, but first we have to pick up some po boy sandwiches (another "must eat" when here).    The Parkway Bakery and Tavern has been around since 1911 and according to our friend, Jackie who lives here, "thee best place for a po boy".    We were still stuffed from lunch, but this was our last chance as the Parkway is closed Tuesdays.    So, we got 2 sandwiches to go (shrimp for me and roast beef for Mark) - they have 21 different choices of Po Boys

Back to Daisy and chowed down!!!!   Excellent!

Big pig out day today!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Mark says I need my eyes checked - APPARENTLY!!!!    I missed little Jack in this pic from last night.    Guess I was focused on Maeve!    Here he is down in the corner on the left....

A houseful of cuties 

 And 2 more cuties - my 2 great nieces - Kaylee and Leia all decked out for Halloween

Sunday - October 29

Traveled 216 miles today from Boyce to New Orleans West KOA Campground in River Ridge

 (12 miles from the French Quarter).   Another pretty day but still on the cool side (63).

After we got settled, I talked to the lady in the office about where to go and kind of mapped out the next 2 1/2 days.   And so we were off to the French Quarter...

Coming into downtown....Superdome (Saints were beating the Bears as we drove by) on the right

So our first visit to NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) and what an experience......not the best 1st impression as after finding a parking lot, the meter would not take our credit card(s) or cash???    Finally, after moving to 3rd lot, we were good to go.    Sooo many people out and about this beautiful day and many in costume for Halloween with lots of fall and ghoulish décor.     It was definitely a "younger" crowd and apparently can drink on the streets as many had their alcoholic beverages and smoking on the streets and sidewalks.   Maybe they were celebrating their Saints victory?   Several of the streets were really nasty, too with trash and litter.    Only a very few small children in strollers; otherwise, no kiddies (not a place for them) but plenty of dogs. 
Cannot imagine what Mardi Gras must be like???

 St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square - locked!!!

Interesting house décor just a block from all the crowds

Pretty décor for fall

Love all this architecture and wrought iron

We shared the required Muffaletta sandwich (the original at Central Grocery) - very delicious and 1st time for Mark to have one of these.    Then we walked to Café DuMonde for coffee/hot chocolate and beignets (French donuts covered in powered sugar and nice 'n hot).     Again....all yummy!

Delicious beignets

We walked all around Jackson Square and all the artists were painting away and musicians entertaining the crowds.    We had wanted to go inside St. Louis Cathedral, but all tightly locked up!

Some of the bars....Pat O'Brien's and Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop (oldest bar in New Orleans) had long lines waiting to get in.

We spent almost 3 hours in the French Quarter and then ready to head back to Daisy.  

Tomorrow....more sightseeing and good eating coming up!

Maeve, Luke and Mommy are visiting friends in Georgia for a few days (Daddy is working in FL).    Here they are watching Mr. Jeff carve pumpkins (by drilling??) as Maeve, Luke, Taylor and Maddie watch).    Missing little Jack. 

 Maeve is all bundled up in Georgia near the fire

Saturday - October 28

A cold wake-up to the day but sun was shining and that's always a treat!   MUCH better than yesterday's weather!   After breakfast we were on our way and drove 300 miles.    Stopped in Shreveport along the way and had lunch at Wendy's.    Tonight we are in Boyce, LA  at the very small (9 sites) Alexandria RV Park.   

We went to 5:30 Mass at St. Rita in Alexandria and then to Cajun Landing!    Yeah....we are in bayou country, so bring on the Cajun, creole, etouffee, jambalaya, etc., etc.   We had great dinners and our waitress, Theresa (awesome) gave us some complimentary white chocolate bread pudding for dessert delicious!!!

2017 Blue Angels and us all bundled up in Fort Worth, Texas
10-27-17

Wednesday-Friday - October 25-27

We so enjoyed our whirlwind 3 days away from Daisy and spending time in McKinney and at the air show today.     We returned a short time ago (7ish) and slowly thawing out!    More on that later!

Wednesday - we left Caddo Mills on a warm sunny day around noon.    We arrived in McKinney at Paul and Kathy's at 1:30 and sooo good to see them.    Sat and chatted awhile, went for a walk and then drove downtown and sat outdoors at Landon's Winery sharing a delicious bottle of red wine.    Then we were off to Hutchin's BBQ (one of the top 50 BBQ places in the country).    It was very good (ribs and brisket) with great sides topped off with warm peach cobbler and ice cream.

Kathy and Paul in front of their lovely home

Back home to continue our yakking and play a game of dominoes which Paul won.
  

Thursday - Another pretty day with those deep blue skies and climbed to the upper 80's.    We walked to Starwood, an excellent place for breakfast/lunch.    We had brunch and then a nice leisurely walk around the Adriatic area (beautiful stone/brick homes and businesses built to resemble the architecture of Croatia).   

Lemon tree along our walk

 Back home and just enjoyed a relaxing day catching up on all that's been going since we were last together in February in Fort Myers.

Elizabeth (P and K's daughter) stopped in - good to see her and later, her little ones, Sydney and Jacob came by.    We had drinks and snacks on the patio and Paul grilled filets while Kathy whipped up delicious goodies in her kitchen.    Awesome dinner followed by dominoes (won by Kathy) and then a yummy assortment of desserts and coffee.

And just like that....it's Friday and as the song goes, "What a difference a day makes".    It was very cold and windy and no sun.    Kathy fixed eggs, fruit and muffins and after a leisurely breakfast, we left at 9:45 (God willing.... Fort Myers in February till we meet again).   Soooo enjoyed our time with these dear friends!

 We stopped at the Hilton in north Fort Worth to pick up our tickets for the show.    Then drove to the Alliance Airport for the air show sponsored by Bell Helicopters to scope it all out.   Left for Schlotzky's and delicious lunch of soup/1/2 sandwich or flatbread (hadn't been to one of these in eons and ours back in Bloomington is now closed).    They were founded in Austin, Texas.

Back to the show and lo and behold, it started raining to add to the misery of the cold and wind.    I had 5 layers on, + earmuffs, hood to my jacket and gloves - Mark had 4 layers.    Our Blue Angel clothes were not on display today with all the layers.  Ha.....it did stop raining about 45 minutes before show time.

Met our friends Richard and Linda from McPherson, Kansas and fun to watch the show with them and visit again.    Their son Lance flies #4.    Even though Ryan is not flying, it is still such a thrill watching the Blues perform and they did not disappoint today!   

Late afternoon the sun peaked out just a bit - we had our pictures taken with the pilots (all bundled up in their jackets and we kept hearing this was the coldest show they could remember -
certainly for us).

Despite the cold, so glad we could be here and see some of the Blues, family members and meet some of the new team members. 

Pretty little pansies out in this cold and wind at the airport

Traffic was awful on a Friday night getting out of Fort Worth and then Dallas and finally 2 hours later (63-mile trip) back to Daisy in Caddo Mills.

  

2017 Blue Angels

It is cold across most the country....bundle up and enjoy your weekend!

We are off to New Orleans tomorrow (2-day trip)!