Road Trip Day 9

November 18, 2024

Note: I tried to add photos from the day but blogspot is being hinky about it. I'll give a try later but for now, you're going to have to settle for boring text.

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Today was a quiet day in Birmingham. Mum is feeling much, much better but we didn't want to undo the recovery her by hauling her around museums and such so we packed a picnic and drove to the nearby Oak Mountain State Park. It's a gorgeous state park where we had initially thought to camp before saner brains than mine decided that road tripping by hotel is a much better idea than road tripping by tent.

We drove around the park a bit to explore before finding the perfect picnic spot by the lake and had it all to ourselves for the afternoon. This picnicking in November stuff is weird but satisfying. No worries about finding a spot and you can dine in solitary splendor. 

It was a beautiful and sunny afternoon that we spent having lunch, reading, and playing cribbage. Of course, Mum/Meany Pants completely destroyed Terry and I on the first game of cribbage. We just barely prevented ourselves from getting skunked (for the non-cribbage folks, this means losing by so many points it counts as losing two games. Not good, dear, not good). We played a second game, and Terry was able to squeak out a victory against Mum by measly two points. We won't talk about how many points I lost by. It wasn't pretty and I'm bitter.

Eventually, the sun was replaced by clouds and we decided to head back to the hotel. Dinner will be at Dreamland BBQ which Terry read about in Southern Living  https://www.southernliving.com/dreamland-bbq-7771161  I'm looking forward to some scrumptious Banana Pudding tonight. 

We're continuing our trek home tomorrow so probably won't be a lot to write about but we'll see. 

Road Trip Day 8

November 17, 2024

 

After a quiet evening in the room last night (with Mum getting about 14 hours of desperately needed sleep), we departed New Orleans today and were sad to leave. We’ve had a wonderful time here, learning the history, seeing the sights, sampling the amazing food, and meeting the friendliest people. It’s definitely a city we all want to come back to.

But it’s time for us to head for home, so we loaded our gajillion bags in the car and did our best to avoid the football traffic for the New Orleans Saints game that was starting in a couple of hours and headed off to Birmingham which was about a 5-hour drive. We made it much longer by stopping in Laurel, Mississippi. 

It’s the home town of my favorite home renovation couple on HGTV and they highlight their town a lot on the show. It was exactly the half-way point and it was time for lunch so we spent a couple of hours absorbing the charm of the town.

 

We arrived right at lunch time to find one place open, Wilson’s Commissary, which is where everyone comes after church services.

 

It was similar to Martin's Restaurant that we went to Montgomery, where you choose a meat and sides. The food was excellent and it was fun to experience the after-church lunch crowd - the place was bustling! After lunch, we explored some of the shops that were actually open on a Sunday. Small southern town = lots of closed shops. Fortunately, the Scent Library was open. This is a candle shop created by the wife of the HGTV duo and the scents of the candles she created were wonderful.

 I loved the decor of the shop and could have spent hours but we needed to press on to Birmingham. We arrived around 5:30 after dark and after checking in, Terry and I went off to a grocery store to buy dinner for tonight and lunch for tomorrow. The suite has a full kitchen in it and none of us felt like going out to a restaurant so we microwaved some lo mein and egg rolls, turned on a Christmas Hallmark movie and then popped some popcorn and settled in for the evening. It was exactly what we needed. 

 Road Trip 2024 Day 7

November 16, 2024

 

We set our alarms for 7:30 but we were all wide awake by 6:30 which is just wrong for being on vacation. There are rules that must be abided by when on vacation, doncha know. We had another leisurely breakfast in the room but this time it was left over muffulettas for Terry and Mum and a bakery mélange for me of yogurt and a coconut pastry thingie (no idea what it was).

 

Our plans for a morning guided tour of the Garden District were thrown in disarray when the tour guide texted with a request to move our tour to 1:00 to accommodate something going on in her life -  it was all very non-specific. So, we hastily figured out our alternate morning plans and settled on embracing the New Orleans wacky and went to Mardi Gras World. It definitely fit the bill for wacky!

It’s a 300,000 square foot working museum of Mardi Gras props that go on the floats. They are actively making the props in this location and they put them all together on the floats for the krewes. There are currently 70 krewes so because there are so many krewes there are multiple parades each night for the two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. Anyone can mount their own parade and krewe with enough money and necessary permits hence the reason there are so many krewes. The krewes work with this company where Mardi Gras World is to create their vision and then the company executes that vision. The forms are usually made from Styrofoam, coated with paper mâché, and then painted for the final step. Sometimes, for very special forms, they use fiberglass but that is mostly for corporate jobs they do such as things you might see in Las Vegas and the cows you see by some Chick-fil-A billboards. 

The machine used to carve the styrofoam

It was a fascinating tour of all the forms and then to see a few of the floats. The tour guide explained that the krewes are on the floats for 5 ½ hours so there are toilets cleverly disguised on every float because you know, there’s a wee bit of adult drinking happening. Each member of the krewe is responsible for buying their way on to the float ($1,000 and up) and paying for their costume (also $1,000 and up), and all swag that they fling out at the crowd. Each person on the float can easily drop $6,000 for participating on the krewe.

It was fun to see the figures up close and personal and of course we had to pose next the joker which is the oldest form they use here.

An early form of Buc-ee the Beaver? Who knows.

After the wacky Mardi Gras world, it was a brief respite back at the hotel for Mum to regroup given that her cold has settled in. She’s still being an absolute trouper though and is always ready for our next adventure…which was the rescheduled guided tour of the Garden District. 

 

We took an Uber to the Garden District and had a quick lunch before gathering for a two-hour tour of the district. We got another review of New Orleans history and learned that this area of New Orleans was settled by the Americans after the Louisiana Purchase because the Creoles in the French Quarter wouldn’t sell any property to them. They thought the newcomers were gross and uncouth. So, the Americans built ostentatious houses in their new section of New Orleans to prove the Creoles were right. According to the tour guide, Creoles showed their wealth only on the interior of their houses while American showed their wealth everywhere.

 

Even though this was an architectural tour it started in front of the cemetery where we got an overview of how people were/are buried. Weird and informative but slightly gross when she started talking about the high temps of the summer disintegrating the bodies in the coffins. Could have lived without that imagery for a few more decades.

She then gave us a tutorial on the architectural styles located in the Garden District and then we started our walkabout to see examples of each. She started with a house that was used in the filming of Benjamin Button. It meant nothing to me since I haven’t seen the movie, but it was a beautiful house. A picture in case you've seen the movie.

The houses were beautiful, and I was interested to learn that when there are shrubs and plants blocking the view of house it usually means that a celebrity has owned it at some point. Sandra Bullock has a house here that you can barely see except for the third floor. The third floor is quite pretty but can’t really speak to the rest of the house.

 

We ended the tour at a house that has been owned by the same family since the 1850s. It’s a beautifully maintained house that their daughter will inherit someday. The fountain you see in the photo is a pan for crystalizing sugar which found on the property when they did a renovation of the house and property. What a neato feature to have in your front yard.

We took another Uber back to the hotel - I’m getting incrementally better at this Uber stuff but am still making mistakes with the pick-up point. I desperately need lessons from my nieces and nephews! Fortunately, the drivers have all been unbelievably kind to us and we have very much enjoyed our Uber experiences, mistakes and all.

 

It’s a quiet evening in the hotel for us tonight with DoorDash delivering our dinner. We’re heading out tomorrow with a drive through Mississippi, and a stop in Laurel which is the location of my favorite HGTV show, Home Town, and then on to Birmingham, Alabama for two days.

 

We’ve loved every moment in New Orleans and have met such friendly people. It’s been a dream visit for all of us – colds and all.

 

 Road Trip 2024 Day 6

November 15, 2024

 

We started the day with room service. Let me now write an ode to room service because it is one of the best concepts ever devised. Delectable food delivered straight to your room that you don’t have to make yourself and can eat while dishabille. I love room service so much. But I have to admit the oatmeal that I ordered for myself was a little lacking in presentation. It was a very tasty banana brulee oatmeal but damn! A cardboard box for oatmeal?! Great googly moogly! What is this world coming to.

 

The reason for the room service was an early reservation for a swamp tour and we didn't want to spend the time searching out a breakfast place. We were picked up outside our hotel this morning to be motored off to Madisonville which is an hour away from New Orleans. It was a really cool drive because it involved a 24 mile bridge called the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and holds the Guinness World Record for longest continuous span over water in the world. It was an interesting experience to drive on a bridge for 25 minutes straight. Of course, my mind went directly to what happens if there is an accident or what if you drive over the side of the bridge. My mind can be a weird place sometimes. I tried to concentrate on all the pelicans gathered on the concrete footings instead. That was a much better focus of my attention for the 25 minutes.

 

Once there, five of us loaded on to a dinky little boat at a dilapidated dock – recent rains had rendered their usual docks unusable due to high waters. 

 

Albert grew up in the area and motored us off to the swamp which sounds a bit sketchy but actually wasn’t. Albert was a very nice guy who grew up in the area and knew tons about the marshlands and swamp. It was a nice combination of going slow and appreciating the wildlife and hearing about the cypress trees, Spanish moss, and everything else in the area. And then once he had explained what we were looking at, he would take off like a bat out of hell zipping around corners and scaring the turtles. It was great! Made me feel like I was in an episode of Miami Vice merged with Animal Kingdom.

 

It was all so very beautiful and unspoiled. It was very different from the landscapes that I’m used to, so it was a pleasure to experience it. The ride lasted 2 hours and we returned to the dock with wind swept hair a la Farrah Fawcett. We then faced another hour back to New Orleans over the 24-mile bridge of doom/pelicans.

 

Back at the hotel for a couple of hours of down time. Mum came down with a cold today and is not feeling her best, but she is being an absolute trooper and not slowing down at all. But it was nice for all of us to have a few moments to contemplate the inside of our eyelids for a bit or read a book.

 

We decided on an early dinner to Napolean House which has been around since 1914. It’s known for their muffulettas, which according to their website is a “quintessential New Orleans sandwich”. Basically, it’s a celebration of olives which is a big ol’ HELL NO for me. Mum and Terry love olives (it’s a mystery how I could possibly be related to them) and they loved their sandwiches along with a side of jambalaya. New Orleans food is their happy place. It was a fascinating restaurant with lots of decorations on the wall including way too many framed pictures that were hung crooked. What is wrong with these people that they can allow such a travesty?! It made my eyes twitch.

This is a photo of some of the pictures with relatively straight frames and does not even begin to convey how crooked the frames were on another wall. Harrumph.

After dinner, we were quite close to Jackson Square and decided to take a nighttime stroll in the area. The park is locked after dark, so we were unable to explore but went across the street to take a gander at the Mississippi River. We stopped to admire the Christmas tree

And the full moon over the Mississippi. It’s a Beaver Moon tonight and the last super moon of 2024. Interesting factoid – according to the Farmer’s Almanac, the name was chosen because this is the time of year when beavers start sheltering in their lodges after having prepared food stores for the winter. Now go forth and share your wisdom with your family and friends.

It was fun to walk back to the hotel tonight with all the noise and revelry surrounding us. New Orleans is a fascinating city to visit and we are loving every moment of it.

Road Trip 2024 Day 5

November 14, 2024

 

Note: I’m writing this on November 15 given that I was having so much fun and didn’t have time to blog at the end of the day. Apologies for the delay.

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It was quite a day! We left Montgomery and its creepy non-existent traffic early as we had a 4 ½ hour drive to New Orleans in front of us. It was also going to be a momentous day as Terry and I were checking off our respective 50^th states and Mum her 49^th. The first few hours were just your basic highway and then all of a sudden the sign for Mississippi went whizzing by. Didn’t even have a chance to grab my phone for a shot of it. Fortunately, there was a welcome center a mile later and we pulled in and they had the best sign for taking pictures. So, we all posed underneath this momentous sign to mark the occasion of my 50^th state that I’ve visited.

 

 

#50 for me, #49 for Terry, #48 for Mum!

 

The woman who took our picture shook my hand when Terry told her it was my 50^th state. It was adorable. 

 

We also stopped for another solitary picnic while at the rest stop and continued our picnic tradition eating in the company of absolutely no one else.  

 

Back on the road for another hour and shazam! We’re in Louisiana. And another welcome center to commemorate another 50^th state.

 

#50 for Terry and #49 for Mum

Now we just need to figure out when to go to Hawaii to check off Mum’s 50^th state! Anyone want to join us?

 

We reached New Orleans around 2:30 and easily found our hotel thanks to Terry’s driving skills. Unfortunately, our room wasn’t ready and we had to leave at 3:30 because I had made a reservation for a guided tour of the French Quarter. We left our worldly possession in safe keeping with Ross the valet (who is the best valet in the history of valets) and Ubered off to Jackson Square where we met Yvonne, a native New Orleanian whose father worked on a steamboat for years. Very knowledgeable and passionate about New Orleans.

 

Yvonne led us on a historical and architectural tour of the French Quarter and did a great job. She was a wonderful storyteller and had done a great deal of research on little known facts that really added to the story. It was a fascinating history of the city and its people.

 

We ended the tour on the back side of the Basilica where a statue of Jesus was lit up by a flood light. Yvonne shared with us that the shadow of Jesus on the Basilica is known locally as Touch Down Jesus so of course this is the picture I had to share. 

 

After the tour, we went to the NOLA Poboy restaurant that Yvonne recommended and got ourselves some authentic poboys. Mum and Terry shared a fried shrimp, and I got a roast beef poboy. They were HUGE! Jeeze Louise! Fortunately, they were also really good, and we checked another New Orleans must have off of our list. Note in the photos that Terry and Mum are delicately biting into their poboy while I am attacking mine. Warning: Don't get between me and my food!

 

We then had plans to go to the Toulouse Theater, home of Preservation Hall music. Our seats were phenomenal – right in the front of the stage. 

 

The musicians were amazing and had a wonderful connection with each other. Being so close to them, it was fascinating to see how the leader sent subtle non-verbal messages to the others on the stage about what they were going to do and when to come back in as a band after the individual solos. 

I’m so glad we had a chance to experience this. We’ve only been in New Orleans for 8 hours and we’ve already fully immersed ourselves some of the most wonderful New Orleans experiences. Life is freaking good.

 Road Trip Day 5

November 14, 2024

We're in New Orleans! It's been a busy and eventful day that we've enjoyed to the hilt! So much so that I've run out of time to blog tonight. I promise a full accounting of our adventure tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a tantalizing picture of one of our fun activities tonight. Good night.

 Road Trip Day 4

 November 13, 2024

 

It was a wild and wooly night in the tent last night. A windstorm started about 2:00 am and didn’t stop until after we left. We were snug in the tent but the sound of the canvas being whipped by the wind was LOUD! Jeezum Crow! We were some sleep starved puppies this morning. Needless to say, we got a really early start to our day since sleeping in wasn’t an option with the noise of the tent. We made our way Montgomery which was only 3 ½ hours from Lake Guntersville. 

 

We made a pitiful attempt to embrace the wacky along the way to Montgomery when we saw a sign for Peach Park and decided to give it a try. There was a random horse (unfortunately fake because a real horse would definitely have qualified as wacky) standing amongst some picnic tables and a giant peach next to a gas station. We get points for spontaneity but not much else. We’ll try again tomorrow.

 

We arrived way too early to check into the hotel, and since it was lunch time we located a place in the city that Terry had read about called Martins Restaurant known for its Meat & Three, which is a choice of protein and three sides from the daily offerings. It was freaking amazing! 

 

We all got the fried chicken, and Terry was more adventurous than me and got a corn and okra side dish which she deemed good (I was dubious but didn’t try it to confirm). Mum and I got the classics of mashed potato with gravy, cole slaw and dressing with gravy. Our poor arteries. It was all scrumptious though and we don’t need to eat for another three days.

 

Afterward, we drove around the city of Montgomery to see a few sights and it was really odd because there was virtually no traffic despite it being mid-day during the week. Was there a recent zombie apocalypse in Montgomery that we are unaware of? I’ve never seen so few cars in a city like this. But it did make it easy to stop our car in the middle of the street to take tourist photos so that’s a win.

The Alabama state capital

Martin Luther King’s church

And a statue of Rosa Parks where she stood to catch the infamous bus

And then we completed our exploration of Montgomery at the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park which just opened this year.  It told the story of enslaved people through original artwork. It was stunning! It was an incredibly beautiful way to tell an unbelievably ugly part of U.S. history. Photos were not allowed through the majority of the park but at the end of the experience, was a large wall with the last names of 122,000 newly freed people and the names they chose for their first census survey.

 

It was a very moving experience and I’m so glad we visited this park. 

 

We finally checked into our suite at the hotel which had three large beds, two bathrooms (thank you baby jesus!), and a kitchen. And we’re 99% positive the wind won’t be waking us up tonight. Which is good because we are on our way to New Orleans tomorrow and have lots of plans that will keep us busy.