Fun Trip To So Cal

Last weekend I went to Southern California to visit family and friends. It was a quick trip that was filled to the brim with love laughter and happiness.

My specific reason for going was to spend time with my cousins and to interview my cousin Nona. She is the matriarch of our family and I wanted to interview her on camera about our family history and her recollections of the Depression and World War II. It was amazing; she was amazing. I'm working on putting the movie together. Should be about 30 minutes long. She was fantastic.

Here are some photos of my adventure -

My good friend, Lamarr and me.  We've been friends for 28 years.  Obviously we met while still in diapers!

Had an opportunity to have dinner with my friend Mario and his girlfriend Becky.  Mario and I went to grade school together.  Haven't seen each other in 17 years.  It was a blast!

Here are some of my cousins - Left to Right -

Jasmine, Blakely, Nona, Kim, Mikki, Molly and Me

My cousins Ron, Mikki and Kim

Mikki is holding one of two of her new granddaughters - Pandora

Four Generations Photo -

On the right are Molly and Dicky - They are Mikki's kids  They both made her "Grandma" this summer.  On the left is Ali - she is Dicky's wife.  She's holding their baby Pandora.

Mikki is holding Molly's baby, Lila.  And Nona is in the middle.

Baby cousins meeting each other and saying HI !

Mikki, holding Lila, Nona and Molly.

My good friend Carol and me.  Carol and I have known each other since second grade... you know... just a couple of years ago!

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect trip.  Everything went so smoothly.  It was so fun to see Lamarr and Carol - it's been too long.  And my day with my cousins - well I couldn't have imagined that day to be MORE perfect. 

Thanks for memories everyone!  Love you all!

New Orleans Trip - The End

Our last full day in NOLA was spectacular. The weather was perfect and we had a relaxing and fun filled day planned.

We made reservations for lunch at Commander's Palace. This restaurant is a New Orleans institution. We had never been before - so we were looking forward to a treat!

Our good friends, Tom & Kris, suggested that we make our reservations for the Garden Room. It was really beautiful. Great suggestion! Thanks guys.
The "$.25 Martini Lunch" is supposedly the best kept secret in town. It isn't well advertised - unless you go the website. We had a delicious meal - and a couple of equally delicious martini's. I couldn't believe our bar bill was only $1.00 ! Amazing!

After lunch we took some pictures outside the restaurant - and then headed across the street to the Lafayette Cemetery.

After our visit to the Garden District we headed back into the French Quarter for one last walk and look around the city that we love SO much!

The gorgeous St. Louis Cathedral -

A happy and handsome boy sitting on the steps of Jackson Square.

And a final photo from Pirates Alley.

We have been home for two weeks. We already miss the Crescent City. We're planning our return visit - probably sometime in the summer of 2011. Our hearts are always renewed in the city that we love so much!

New Orleans Adventure - Part Three

We began this day by walking to the Civil War Museum. It was established in 1891 - and Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, had a huge hand in making sure that this memorial was established. This building is the oldest museum in Louisiana.

They don't allow photographs to be taken of the individual exhibits - but they do allow photos from the front door. It's a really beautiful building, filled with wonderful and sentimental memorabilia. I was amazed at how small in stature the men were. Their uniforms looked so small to me. We were able to see Robert E. Lee's mess kit - with his monogrammed silver ware. What a gem.

We made lunch reservations to eat a Muriel's on Jackson Square. It had come highly recommended by three different friends - so we had to try it. Wonderful doesn't come close to describing what a fantastic lunch we had there. We loved the ambiance of the restaurant and the service was impeccable. A real treat - and we highly recommend eating there if you're ever in NOLA.
After lunch we went to the Louisiana State Museum at the Cabildo - on Jackson Square.



What treasure trove this is! Original outfits from the 1800's



A slave collar from the 1840's - this was a very sobering exhibit for me. How sad to think of human beings treated like animals.
The beautiful second floor level where parties were held. The room off this receiving room was where the Louisiana Purchase was transferred.

Quite a bit of memorabilia belonging to Napoleon.

And his death mask. Truly a unique treasure.

And last, but not least, the piano that belonged to Fats Domino. It sat in his home in the Lower Ninth Ward in the flood waters after Hurricane Katrina. I got so sad looking at it. All the feelings of loss washed over me all over again.

One more day to blog. It makes me sad all over again - we love New Orleans so much. There is always such excitement when we are planning and preparing for our trips there. And then the sadness of having to leave sets in. (sad face)

The Crescent City - Part Two

Day four of our trip, to the beautiful city of New Orleans, found us travelling to the Garden District on the historic St. Charles Street Car. It's always an experience to take the street car and enjoy the sights of another section of NOLA.

We walked to a local neighborhood "joint" called Parasol's for their famous roast beef po-boys. Parasol's has been featured on the Food Network as well as several magazines. Their po-boys were fantastic and worth the trip to the Garden District.

We wandered through the "GD" and ooh'd and ahh'd at all of the gorgeous homes. I could SO see myself living in one of these beauty's. I think I would fit right in!

While waiting to catch the streetcar to head back to the condo, we noticed that the trees and a few street lamps still looked like they were celebrating Mardi Gras - we couldn't believe how many beads were draped in the trees! It was really pretty!
Our special dinner at a special restaurant was planned for that night. He doesn't look it in the photo below, but we had one excited 15 year old. We were going to one of Emeril LaGasse's restaurants - Delmonico. We've been to Emeril's two other restaurants in New Orleans - so this trip completed our tour of his establishments. The food was excellent and the restaurant itself was gorgeous, very stately.

It was a great fourth day. Stay tuned for the last two days of our trip in part three!

The Crescent City - Part One

Ah, New Orleans! Our favorite vacation destination. We love going to NOLA. It's a fabulous city and one that we repeatedly visit and anticipate traveling to. We just returned from another GREAT trip to the "city that care forgot".

Upon our arrival we headed to two of our favorite destinations - The Crescent City Brewhouse and Cafe du Monde. The Brewhouse has a great food and really excellent beers. Our favorite is the Red Stallion. So yummy. We had a wonderful meal and then strolled around the French Quarter. We watched some very talented street performers and had beignets at Cafe du Monde.

The next day we enjoyed shopping and strolling through the Quarter. Our favorite brunch spot is Court of Two Sisters. The Jazz Brunch is AMAZING. So much food - we were all SO full and decided not have dinner that night. Of course, by 9pm a certain 15 year old was begging for beignet's again. So, we found ourselves headed back to Cafe du Monde. We had beignets EVERY DAY during our trip. Between those and all the wonderful meals - I was quite surprised that I didn't gain any weight on our eating extravaganza. It's certainly due to the amount of walking that we do while in NOLA.

Day three we rented a car to drive to Avery Island. This is the home of Tabasco sauce. We visited the plant and toured the wonderful Jungle Garden grounds and bird sanctuary. The signs warning us of the dangers of the alligators really cracked us up. I guess there are some not so intelligent people out there that may believe these are "tame" alligators. Too funny!

One of our favorite parts of this day trip was breakfast at a Waffle House. Call us crazy - but we LOVE Waffle House. Good food, affordable price and just plain fun. Sure wish we had a Waffle House in Salem. Of course, then it wouldn't be so special to eat there.

When we returned to New Orleans we made reservations for a late supper at K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen. This is Chef Paul Prudhomme's restaurant. It was SO good and our waiter suggested the most fabulous chardonnay to go along with our meal. It was Rombauer Carneros 2008 Chardonnay. Really delicious.

So, stay tuned for a posting on the second half of our trip. We had a really wonderful time - but the week flew by all too quickly. I'm still not sure why the work week doesn't seem to go as quickly as a vacation week. Just doesn't seem fair!

On The Road Again

I hit the road early this morning to travel to Lacey WA to conduct training classes for our employees. I work for a bank and am one of the corporate trainers. I love what I do. It's very rewarding - and I think I'm pretty good at it. I love the little bit of travelling that I get to do, and always enjoy the opportunity to see employees that I don't otherwise get to spend time with.

It's a fun reprieve for me to be on my own for several evenings and just have myself to take care of. And I think Richard and J.J. enjoy playing bachelors for a few evenings. They have all their favorite take-out places lined up for lunches and dinners.

I like travelling occasionally, but I certainly wouldn't want to be gone on a regular basis. I miss my "men" and my kitties, and the comforts of my home.

Adventure to California

Last weekend we had a whirlwind trip through Southern California. We went in order to visit family and friends, and to go to Disneyland for one day.

Disneyland on Thursday. It was a great day. Lots of people, but we never waited longer than 30 minutes for a ride. Perfection!

Our Grand Daughter Megan brought our Great Granddaughter Angela to the park to visit with us. Cindy must be the only 49 year old Great Grandmother in history. Let's explain the family tree to you - just a little bit.

Richard is older than Cindy, and had two children - Brian and Kristi. Kristi married an older man, Bob, who has three children - Megan, Darby and Cameron. Therefore, Bob's kids became our grand kids. Following along so far? So, when Megan and her husband, Andy, gave birth to Angela - she became our Great Granddaughter. Got it?

On Friday we travelled to Redlands to visit Cindy's Cousins. In the photo below: Blakely, Mikki, John, Nona and Cindy. Nona was Cindy's Mom's 1st cousin.

From cousins in Redlands to friends in Carlsbad. We went to visit Tom and Kris. Tom and Cindy went to grade school together. Our friend Carol was there too, with her son Jack. Unfortunately, we didn't take any photo's until just before we left on Saturday - and Carol and Jack had already left.

From Carlsbad to Menifee. On to visit with Kristi and Bob, Megan, Andy and Angela!

We bought Angela some Sandra Boynton board books. They were some of Cindy's favorites to read to John when he was little. She is so adorable. Only 10months old. Look at how attentive she is while Cindy is reading to her.

Some group photos with Megan, Andy, Angela and Bob

Dinnertime with Grandma Kris and Grandpa Bob. (By the way, Kristi is a 38 year old Grandma! She was only 37 when Angie was born!)

Angie needed a little bath after dinner. Grandpa Bob introduced her to Cheetos. She loved them - but had them ALL OVER herself.

Andy suggested taking a Four Generations photo. It was like the paparazzi with Richard, Bob and Andy all taking photos. Kristi, Megan and Cindy weren't quite sure WHERE to look. Four generations... pretty funny. There are only 17 years that separate Cindy from Megan!

Of course, once the cameras were out of the cases, everyone had to get in on the fun.

We had a great time visiting with our family and friends. Going to Disneyland was fun because this is the first time that John could appreciate the things that his Grandfather built at the park.

We feel so blessed for our beautiful family. And truly blessed to have such fabulous friends. Richard and John continued their trip for another week after Cindy returned to Oregon. They will be home this morning. We'll post pictures of their great adventure later this week.