New Orleans

We made it safely to New Orleans and back!!

It was a great time (it would be fantastic if it didn't smell so bad the whole time!!). We arrived Thursday night where we tried to eat dinner at Acme Oyster House and found the longest line out the door that discouraged us.



So we went to Deanie's Seafood and it was WONDERFUL! I had stuffed crab shells (of which I'd never had before, yes... branching out!) and they were delicious. Ben of course ate enough crawfish this weekend for an army, but he loved it.

Friday we made it to Mother's Restaurant for breakfast (thanks to Melissa)


and then walked down to the Riverwalk and to Southern Candy Makers, where I only had one piece of candy! Even though I wanted 12 pounds of fudge, pralines and these little chocolate, caramel things they made. Yum!


Friday night was drinks and deserts with the family and bride and groom, and then up to the balcony to people watch (and throw beads to those who looked deserving and kept their clothes on! - yes, there were a lot of people who wanted beads and wanted to keep their clothes on as well.... and they got beads! From me :)


Saturday we walked down to Jackson's square. We ate at The Corner Bar and Grill and had the worst service and food EVER. Apparently I should have read Urban Spoon before we entered... don't ever eat there.

But it was made up for by stopping by Cafe DuMonde and enjoying a few beignets :) Look at the line for take-out beignets!!!

We were able to walk right in and sit down... which made me think those people above were just insane.

While in Jackson's square we swore we saw a dead person on a street bench, but the fact that the police officer next to him wasn't in much of a panic, we assumed he must just be 'sleeping'.

Then we discovered Royal Street which was just as much fun as Bourbon Street, only it smelled MUCH better and wasn't as trashy! I wish we had known and we would have spent much more time there.

The wedding was great!! We were picked up at the hotel and dropped back off afterwards which was wonderful. The weather could not have been more perfect for the night. It was in the bride's family's home, outside in their backyard.

Grandma and cousin Annie had way too much fun on the dance floor!

This little Lilly was in the wedding too! She was carried by the maid of honor... too cute!

Overall, it was a great trip. New Orleans wasn't as great as Chattanooga, but it was a lot of fun to be down there with family.

The View From Here

I went to the gulf this weekend. Some girls from high school and I drove to see another friend from high school, her husband and their new house about 45 minutes from Gulf Shores, AL. (Remember we were supposed to volunteer??? They never called us back! Apparently we were not needed.... I think BP is paying all of the people who are out of work to help with the effort, so maybe that was why they didn't need us?)

Well, we were scared away from the beach the 1st day, but on the 2nd, I refused to sit inside and watch tv any longer! I was going somewhere no matter what and thankfully my friend's husband offered to be my tour guide. He suggested we just go LOOK at the beach and see how TERRIBLE it was....

Well, let me show you how terrible:


What? You don't see any oil?

Me either!!

So on a whim he and I BOUGHT a bathing suits (since I wasn't originally planning on swimming, I didn't bring mine with me) and I swam in the ocean for hours! (Don't worry, I didn't get sick). I was told that because of the wind and current the oil was far from shore and would be for several days. Who knew?!

And just to let you know what more of a fabulous day it was, this is what I saw when I left:

A BLIMP!