My girls and I had a wonderful opportunity to get away for a long weekend. I don't know how it came to be . . . guess it was a "bee" in someone's bonnet. It worked out so that Erica, Johanna and I flew out of Kansas City and met Kristy in New Orleans. It wasn't as simple as that as our flight left early so three of us drove to KC after work on Wednesday to simplify getting to the airport on time (we had to get up at 5 am, for gosh sakes!) Kristy got to the Urbana airport easily enough but her flight got cancelled for maintenance to the airplane. Kristy's ticket agent had to work her behind off to get Kristy to New Orleans only a couple of hours late instead of 4 or more . . . while Kristy was holding head in hand, moaning "I'm late; I'm late!" But it all worked out. Here are three sisters standing in the New Orleans International Airport, April 7, 2010. And delighted to be here!
We (okay, me)I met Kristy coming off the plane with a piece of paper:
FONTANA
it said. Just like in the movies.
We all met her. I was the one with paper.
A shuttle ride to the car rental, then here we are. Standing in the State of Louisanna. In New Orleans, in fact. Standing in the garden of our condo, Wyndham at Trend West. Or Trend West at Wyndham. I can not keep that straight! But whatever . . . the condo was perfectly located beside the Street Car track that would take us to the French Quarter . . . or west to a residential/small restuarant area. Yes, it would. It would take us there when it was running on schedule. And it did run on schedule sometimes. And sometimes it didn't and then we walked a few blocks and found breakfast and Lottes . . . or hailed a cab to get where we were going! Either way, it worked.
We were on floor Eleven. I walked the stairs once, just to see if I could (I could!), but usually we took the old-fashioned elevator. Most of our experience at this hotel was great! Absolutely the best . . . except upon departure we had occasion to think otherwise . . . but that is story for another day. You can see the Westbound Street Car Tracks in this photo. Natives (and/or fitness conscience visitors) used the Street Car Median for jogging or riding their bicycles. The joggers and bikers yielded to the Street Cars. At least while we were visiting.
One of the things I wished for, before going on vacation.
A 'sure enough', real life, Brass Band, marching down the street in the French Quarter.
Folks were following along, throwing Mardi Gras beads and dancing in the street.
And drinking. Did I mention drinking in the streets.
This is St. Charles Avenue, the Street our lodging was on.
In the French Quarter.
Silverstein and me.
We saw his brother Goldstein, later.
And Whitestein, down the block!
All with a cash box in front of them.
Wanta photo? You pay!
This is where all the sidewalk bars,
ghost tours, street attractions and Music Festival
attendees congregated! The crowd grew so large,
the buggy drivers had to shut down and go home.
Darn!
We waited too long to look for a buggy ride.
At the festival, we saw all kinds of art work.
Nana actually did eat the crawfish; everyone tried them!
From the internet:
Steps to Eating Boiled Crawfish
1. Remove the head - Hold the top of the crawfish with one hand,
and place your other hand above the tail.
Twist so that the tail separates from the head.
2. Pinch the very end of the tail with one hand,
and pull the tail meat out with the other.
3. Enjoy the delicacy!
The Optional Part
Some people actually add another step to eating boiled crawfish.
When you remove the head from the crawfish,
if you want to savor every drop of spice,
you can suck the head before you discard it.
If you are a novice when it comes to eating crawfish,
you probably will want to skip this step.
If you're feeling adventurous, though, give it a try!
Kristy must be an old pro. These are the exact instructions she gave us!
And we did. We ate crawfish and sucked the head. Try it!
The crowds were larger than anticipated.
Meet Dancing Man!
He's a Dancing Machine!
looking back at the Music Festival Crowd on the other side.
More crowd and more art.
This is Laura, the plantation. It is being lovingly restored. It is a creole plantation and (as we learned) we know this because of the original color scheme. The Creole's were brightly painted. The "Americans" painted their big houses white. The Americans were looked down upon for quite a long time.
Laura's lawn and an ancient oak tree.
This is the "mother-in-law's" house.
Fact is tho, she managed the plantation for about 60 years
and then, before turning the reins over to her granddaughter,
built this huge house and demaned $75 grand a year to "consult".
She was a smart, capable woman.
Maybe a "tough cookie" is a good description!
Oak Alley
This blows my mind! The trees were planted 100 years before the house was built!
Maybe there was a smaller home up that lane before they erected this one, fit for a King?
I could write more . . . and should!
but I might not ever get it posted
so here goes! Enjoy.
2 comments:
GREAT POST Mom!! I need to write one up but haven't gotten around to it yet. It was a great time. Within a couple weeks, be on the look out in your mail box for a photo book!!!
Wow--that was awesome! Some pics I had not seen before... I swear I just checked this blog last week and there was nothing new . . . must have been a week or two.
Thanks for posting! I loved laughing til I cried . . . there's no better feeling!
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