Yes, I am writing my blog a week late… keep up with me… I had way too much fun!

Dianne & Antonio had so many places they wanted to take me to… There was a list that Dianne tried to go off of… You know, all the things you HAVE TO see while in New Orleans. Things we talked about were:

1. Tour French Quarter
2. Visit Cafe du Monde
3. See Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral
4. See St. Charles Avenue
5. Experience Bourbon Street
6. See the Mississippi River
7. Visit Muriel’s
8. Visit Katrina devastated areas
9. See famous “Cities of the Dead” cemeteries

One place we really wanted to visit was the famous “Mother’s Restaurant” but we drove there and found the line to get in was clear out of the building and halfway down the street… that meant at least 1 hour wait. Oy!

Since we couldn’t enjoy Mother’s, we went to another restaurant nearby called “Grand Isle.” I had a dish called Shrimp Remoulade & Fried Green Tomatoes. It was sooo yummy!

Shrimp Remoulade & Fried Green Tomatoes

While I was visiting in Louisiana, I received an email from a children’s book author, Denise McConduit. She writes children’s books that are specific to the New Orleans area. It was so convenient that she contacted me when she did… we were able to meet for the first time to discuss her upcoming website. Since we were already in New Orleans, she took me to the well known Community Coffee House where I got to experience Louisiana’s favorite coffee. Their coffee is made with chicory. Apparently, there was coffee shortage during the Civil War, as the story is told. New Orleanians began extending their coffee supply by adding chicory, the root of the endive plant, roasted and ground. The result was a bittersweet, heavy-bodied brew. Coffee and chicory remains a New Orleans favorite today. I was very impressed with the blends of their coffee. I had to have two! Thank you Denise, for introducing me to some mighty special coffee! I even brought some home!

Dianne and Eliana picked me up later and toured me around the Garden District, riding down the historic St. Charles Avenue. We were able to catch some snaps of the street cars that run down that street.

St. Charles Streetcar (photo by Dianne de Las Casas)

I got to have my picture taken in front of a classic “Shotgun House.”

New Orleans Classic Shotgun House

Shotgun houses were built back during the Civil War up until about 1920. They are typically 12 feet wide and have front and back doors aligned. There are no hallways or extra doors to any of the rooms. Its just a straight shot right through the rooms from front to back. One story that I heard was that these houses were built this way because there was a property tax for each room built in a house. So they would build one room at a time and thus continue to build off the back end of the house… It also makes it convenient to open both doors to air out the house when it gets hot.

Later that night, we had dinner at Chez Josie’s again. Cajun was the menu for this night… OH MAN CAN MY AUNT COOK!

Cajun Night at Chez Josie

Here, we were able to check off so many Cajun foods that I never had the chance to taste in the previous days. There was jambalaya, red beans & rice, crawfish & corn bisque, blackened chicken pasta, shrimp pasta, french bread, & bananas foster. I just about ROLLED out of my Aunt’s house! Thank you Aunt Josie!

I think I ate more on this day then any other day during my stay in Louisiana! I gained 5 lbs from my trip. Gotta work it off now!

– More Later

Technorati Tags: Personal Note, Working Vacation

It just so happens that my whole trip to Louisiana was booked over Father’s Day weekend. Sorry Hon! But I do hope our boys made it fun for you!

Sunday morning, Antonio drove up to pick up Dianne and I from our hotel. It was a quiet day for me, even though it was PACKED with all sorts of things to do. I don’t think there was coffee strong enough that day!

Antonio and his kids took Dianne and I out for a wonderful brunch at Carlos Mencia’s Suave restaurant. They offer all sorts of Latino food… so of course, I have to order the American Breakfast. I find the best breakfast after consuming so much alcohol the night before is eggs, bacon, toast or potatoes, coffee, coffee, coffee, and more coffee. Everyone there thought I was out of my mind to have an American Breakfast when there was so much other wonderful cuisine. *Midas shrug* What can I say….

We made our way back to “Hotel de Las Casas” where we prepared for an early dinner at Outback with the whole family.

Eliana & Soleil

Dianne & Antonio

ME, Eliana, & Soleil

Gary, Jasmynn, & Jourdan

Ashlynn, Aunt Josie, & Clay

Camerynn

Later, we went back to New Orleans French Quarter for more sightseeing. The architecture throughout the French Quarter is so beautiful. I loved looking at all the old buildings. I saw a REAL (not Disneyland) steamboat and some very interesting statues.

Aunt Josie, ME, Eliana, Soleil, Dianne with Steamboat in background

ME on the bank of the Mississippi River

Statue of Joan of Arc (photo by Dianne de Las Casas)

ME in front of Jackson Square (photo by Dianne de Las Casas)

Dianne got us a tour with a mule drawn carriage ride through the French Quarter. Our guide helped us to learn more of the history of the Quarter as well as the state of Louisiana.

Carriage ride through French Quarter

We visited Cafe du Monde, well known for their dark roasted Coffee and Chicory & Beignets. It was a nice treat after such a lovely day with my family.

Eliana, Me, Antonio, & Dianne relaxing with beignets and coffee

Aunt Josie, Clay, & Soleil enjoying beignets and coffee

Eliana eating beignets at Cafe Du Monde

So much to see and do but just not enough time!

– More Later

Technorati Tags: Personal Note, Working Vacation

As time progressively moves forward, I am realizing that I have begun to forget some of the finer points of my visit to Louisiana… God I wish I could have blogged while there. (I could have, but chose not to because I wanted to experience every minute with everyone.)

The third day of my visit to Louisiana was filled with tours, drinks, food, dancing, and more drinks! I had so much fun!

My host, author and storyteller, Dianne de Las Casas, and her family, decided to take me touring through the 9th Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana. So our day was planned. We would tour, then Dianne would introduce me to the French Quarter. Yea!

Now, I know this sounds bad, but I enjoy having a few drinks with some good music and friends, any time! So this was to be a fun time for me. I know, some of my friends just don’t see me doing the “club” thing… but I had fun! I’ll tell you about it. First though, let me tell you about the start of my day.

I slept in until late morning, which was totally awesome… (sound proof room)… Antonio, (the other half of my host) brewed up the most awesome pot of coffee, which I thoroughly enjoyed! Thanks Antonio… Without coffee, I would have been a mess! You saved me! (Especially waking from that wonderful bottle of Menage a Trois Red Wine the night before!) We ate pizza for brunch and sipped on some awesomely STRONG coffee. (No weak coffee for me!)

Finally, after doing some work for my client, The Story Connection, and getting cleaned up and packed for our stay in New Orleans, we left to “experience” what was left of the Katrina devastation in the 9th Ward. HOWEVER, first… I was able to experience my first “DRIVE-THROUGH” Daiquiri. I had NEVER heard of DRIVE-THROUGH drinking! What a treat! Apparently though, you can’t put the straw in the cup! Go figure!

Antonio & Dianne felt that I should get the full experience, so they got me a 32-ounce 190 Octane mixed with Hypnotic daiquiri. It was excellent! Not too sweet. Of course, this experience is only in Louisiana and, as I said, the law states that as long as you don’t poke that straw through the tape covering the hole in the lid (wink wink), you’re on legal. It’s a foolproof law, since everybody knows that once you remove the tape, it couldn’t possibly be reapplied. Funny thing… there was NO TAPE on my cup!

After my shock and surprise of Drive-through daiquiris, we took a drive through the 9th Ward in New Orleans. I was surprised to see that even 4 years after Katrina ripped through Louisiana, there is still a lot to be done.

Still Devastated -- 4 years after Katrina

Homes that can't be fixed because of either bureaucratic red tape or personal financial need.

Houses were either demolished and lots remained, or left standing as skeletons

This is how residents make houses right now.

Of course, some of us just slept through the drive.

To say the least, I did enjoy my tour through the ward, but still very surprised that there is still too much in ill repair after such a long period of time.

After I finished my 32-ounce daiquiri and my tour, we were taken to our hotel, where Dianne and I would spend the night after enjoying some of the night life in the French Quarter.

We stayed at the St. Ann Marie Antoinette Hotel, a French Quarter Inn. It was a very quaint hotel in and of itself. However, we found our room to be extremely uncomfortable. The air conditioning didn’t work. Finally, we were moved to TWO separate rooms at no extra charge. We both were bumped up to king-sized rooms… I got the suite! It was so nice. However, I think they need to do some upgrades to their A/C in all the rooms. They seem a bit on the week side… But I was still in heaven. All thanks to the Lloyd, staff at the hotel!

We both got changed into our dinner dress-up. Here we are just before our dinner at Muriel’s.

Dianne & Me in the hotel courtyard, ready for dinner at Muriel's.

Dianne booked dinner at Muriel’s back in May. Even though we were booked a month in advance, we still had to wait for 30-45 minutes before we could get to our table. We sat at the bar where we enjoyed wine and lemon drop martini’s. By the time we got to our table, our server made several suggestions for our dinner. Apparently our server had been trained on what meals to suggest that complement the drinks to which you have consumed. They don’t want you getting sick and ruining your night out. I had double cut pork chops… Yum! The whole dinner was beautiful, calm, and delicious!

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and changed clothes and went visiting clubs throughout the French Quarter. We visited several clubs with live bands. Of course, it was so busy, bright, loud, and packed I can’t remember the names of every establishment we visited. But we had a wonderful time experiencing the nightlife in the Quarter.

Dianne called it a night a little early (1 am) whereas, I stayed and chatted up the clerk in our hotel, Lloyd. He not only helped us get new and better rooms, but he also told me a lot about the area there in New Orleans and all the sites to see. Later, I took off on my own to stroll the area and found Bourbon Street. The street was packed with people dancing in the street because there was no more room in the clubs. I finally found my way back to my hotel about an hour later, went to my room and enjoyed a bit of my book.

Here is a daylight picture of Bourbon Street. I didn’t take very many pictures while we visited the clubs… Too much to do…

Tropical Isle on Bourbon Street

There was so much to see and do… And yes, I did remember the whole night. I had a great time and want to visit again!

Oh — My total drink count for the experience:

1 32-ounce Daiquiri
3 Lemon Drop Martinis
2 12-ounce Daiquiris
1 Jaguar Meister shot (not my choice… but learned real quick about shot servers in clubs. They give you a test tube full of some kind of alcohol. Mine was Jaguar Meister…They DO NOT take NO for an answer.)

– More Later.

Technorati Tags: Personal Note, Working Vacation

Ok, ok… I know hearing about someone’s trip to the airport is that much fun… especially without pictures!

Well, let’s see how Day Two goes!

At Hotel de Las Casas no one wakes you. Everyone is quiet as a mouse. I slept until 10 in the morning or so. I know, this comes as a surprise but I NORMALLY sleep that late. Anyway, I dragged my butt into the dining room, Eliana was baking some wonderful blueberry muffins and Dianne was cooking up some potatoes and sausage all for breakfast. Earlier, Antonio started a tasty pot of coffee too. Nothing like starting the morning off right! Yum! Nothing like relaxing.

I had a lunch date with author & musician, Johnette Downing. She had just come back from a tour and hadn’t even taken time to unpack… She came right over and gave me the most wonderful greeting. You know, its one thing to email a client, speak to them on the phone, or even use Skype to video call… but meeting Johnette for the very first time… I have to admit, I was a bit nervous.

Dianne and Johnette plotted to introduce me to every Cajun food they could during my visit. Johnette has a book she wrote called, “Today is Monday in Louisiana“ where she introduces a different food to eat on each day of the week. Of course, we didn’t follow her dietary plan in her book, but she started me with a Shrimp Po-boy and Chicken Gumbo for lunch. To top it off, I got a Diet PEPSI (Yeah!!!) We ate at Brothers’ Restaurant in Harvey, LA… It was a very nice lunch. Only thing missing… Wi-Fi. I found Johnette to be the most easy going, easy to talk to person. I think I told her more of my life then I really planned on! Your WONDERFUL Johnette! Thank you!

Johnette Downing & ME after our lunch.

Johnette Downing, ME, & Dianne de Las Casas

After lunch, I did some work. This was a WORKING VACATION after all! I worked for a bit updating images for The Story Connection. I loaded better quality photos for my client’s media kit and a new image of her flyer. Later, I added a new picture of her newest book, “Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach.”

Later that night, we had dinner at Chez Josie! My Aunt Josie is known for her cooking. When I was a kid, she’d cook all Filipino food for us when we came to visit. I have fond memories of her Lumpia, Pancit, and Adobo dishes. So, we had a “Filipino Night” where all the food was Filipino and they were ALL my favorites! How cool is that!?!

Look at that Filipino Fiesta!

The Most Unbelieveable Layout1

And then to top it all off, we had a wonderful Carrot Cake for dessert.

Carrot Cake

I was seated in front of my most favorite dish of all…

Lumpia

I had a wonderful time with my family! Thank you!

– More Later

Technorati Tags: person, Personal Note, Working Vacation

This last week, I took a trip to Louisiana. I spent so much time “doing” so much stuff with my cousin and clients during that week, I wasn’t really able to sit and write my blog. So, I want to look back and share my experiences with you. I thought I’d just do one entry on the whole trip, but I think I might miss something interesting. Therefore, I will try to break it up a bit.

Thursday, June 18th was my travel day. My husband took me to the airport and dropped me curbside. Saying good-bye was kind of difficult, but we managed. He gave me all kinds of words of caution… trying to make sure I stay safe. Since I don’t travel a lot and I don’t usually travel alone, these words were well heeded.

I found my gate easily enough and of course I didn’t use my camera to share any of that ‘fun.’ Sorry about that. The waiting area at my gate was packed. (Of course, I was 90 minutes early, so all these people were for an earlier flight.) I sat down to read my book but found it difficult to stay in my story because of all the people. It’s interesting to see how people just have to talk to you even though they can see you’re busy… frustrating! However, I met some really nice people. One woman who sat next to me was an Army Reserve commander. She and I hit it off well. She told me of all her tours that either she or her husband or daughter have done in the service. It was very interesting hearing her stories. Then she asked me what I do. So we got into my life a bit. I told her that I home school my boys and am a web designer. Both those topics always get conversation going. So finally, as she began to leave for her plane, she asked me for my business card. She wants to hook up with me when she comes back to Tucson. I hope she does!

My plane was PACKED! There was no extra seats for me to change to so I had to sit right over the wing. I really don’t like the wing. I know, some would say that the wing is the safest place on a plane. I don’t buy it. First thing, the wing is where all the fuel goes… very explosive. Second, when you hit turbulence, NEVER watch the wing! All I could do while flying over Arizona & Texas was white-knuckle it. It wasn’t pleasant seeing the wing flopping up and down in the turbulence. I did learn something from a passenger in my row… We saw a lot of puffy clouds in the sky. He explained that the heated air from down below and the cool air from 33,000 feet up create the turbulence and the clouds. So every time we ‘hit’ a puffy cloud, the wing would flutter and we would feel the ‘bumps.’

The passenger next to me saw that I was attempting to read my book…. She saw the title and got all excited because she thought I was reading Stephenie Meyer’s series, “Twilight.” I wasn’t. I was reading Laurell K. Hamiliton’s Merry Gentry series. I was reading her second book, “A Caress of Twilight.” However, that spun us into conversations about Stephenie Meyer and her books… Needless to say, the passengers next to me and the $6 beer that I consumed all helped take my mind off the ‘bumps’ in the air.

Dallas Fort Worth airport was not an unpleasant experience. I found the gate number that I was to be at, got to their tram and went around the airport only to hear my gate number had changed. Thank goodness I didn’t have to get on the tram again. I got a quick lunch and was off again in the air.

Landing in New Orleans airport seemed uneventful for the most part… I figured, I’d get off the plane, find my baggage, and then look for my ride. Little did I know that my host, Dianne de Las Casas, Author & Storyteller, along with her daughter Eliana (Eliana Cooks) were waiting for me at the end of my terminal. They donned me with 3-strands of Mardi Gras beads and had a huge poster welcoming me to New Orleans. (Anyone who really knows me, knows that I don’t like to draw attention to myself. So, I could feel myself blushing when I received all this attention.) I had TSA guards smiling and waving at me when they saw the welcome.

After getting my baggage, we walked out the door to go to the car. It was at that point that I realized what humidity really was! Yes, gasped! I had to relearn how to breath. OMG where are my gills… or my snorkel! It was 95 degrees and about 50% humidity! It was just as hot in New Orleans as it was in Tucson, but in Tucson, its a dry heat! Everyone laughed at me…

Once we arrived at Dianne’s home, we took just a little time to “breath” (haha) and take pictures of her beautiful home before dinner. They took me to Zea Rotisserie & Grill where I enjoyed an excellent dinner of St. Louis Style Spare Ribs, Roasted Corn Grits, Thai Snap Beans, and a diet COKE (NO PEPSI PRODUCTS). Obviously, the only fault of the meal was the drink… but what can I say, I wasn’t there for the drink!

After dinner, I was way too full, but everyone else wanted dessert. So we went to a yogurt bar called CherryBerry. We met up with the rest of Dianne’s family and visited the rest of the night. It was so much fun to be with my family. I hadn’t seen them for over 30 years!

Left to Right: Eliana, Camrynn, ME, Jasmynn, Ashlynn

I haven’t seen my Aunt Josie in over 30 years… It was so exciting to see her again! I loved our time together Aunt Josie!!

Dianne's mom and my Aunt Josie

Dianne's daughter Soleil, her husband Antonio, & ME

Dianne's daughter Eliana

Now, once everyone left, I found my way to my room at Hotel de Las Casas!

My room in my "Hotel" -- Isn't it gorgeous?

The service at Hotel de Las Casas was incredible. The room service was excellent… Every morning my bed just appeared made and the room organized… Every night there was turn down service and a chocolate on my pillow! How cool is that!!!

– More Later!

Technorati Tags: Personal Note, Working Vacation