Day Six – Back Home, Kinda
We slept fairly late this morning, about 9:00. Housekeeping woke me up and I decided to get up then. We left about 9:30 or so and drove about an hour and a half to Tallula, LA and stopped at LouAnn’s Restaurant and Market for lunch. We had buffet with sausage and macaroni and cheese and all kinds of stuff. One of us had a Club Sandwich – can you guess which of us that was? Then we drove a while longer and stopped to get gas and then a short while later, we made a bathroom stop. We made it across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and into Georgia. We did stop in Douglasville at the Williamson Brothers Barbecue place and had dinner. I’m really tired and don’t know where all we stopped. I do know that I drove about two hours, Rachel drove about three hours perhaps and Frank drove the rest. I also know that we started in West Monroe, Louisiana and ended up in Roswell. Then I drove on to Acworth to a Holiday Inn Express since I have a meeting in Atlanta tomorrow – seemed to make sense to me.
We drove almost 2000 miles on the trip, more than 1975 for sure. We had a really good time with lots of laughing and teasing going on. We saw new things, had adventures (Frank’s fall, my glasses, and Rachel purse incidents stand out in my mind) and just enjoyed each other. We did not get to Galveston or to see the bats fly out from under the bridges in Houston or Austin and I’m not sure Frank got the Texas BBQ he wanted so I guess we’ll have to go again to do those things.
It was a good trip. I hope to make a Shutterfly book of the photos and blog. Maybe at some point, I’ll actually figure out how to add photos to this blog and if I do, I’ll let you know. Thanks for sticking with us all through the trip.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Day Five - Escaping Texas
We had a good stay in Texas but it was time to leave. I couldn’t set the hotel clock forward an hour for daylight saving time, so when I woke up and saw that it was 8:00 on the clock, I figured it was really 9:00. I got up and got ready. Then I noticed my cell phone said it was just after 8:00 and the weather channel on television said it was also just after 8:00. I still haven’t figured out how they set that bedside clock forward, but I was ready to go early. I piddled around and we actually left the hotel about 10 or so, I think. The rain was battering the windows in my room but the weather channel showed that ending soon and then another wave of storms coming very soon after. We left sort of in between the storms but it was still raining. The tires were doing something strange in the water puddles – it was like they were sliding the car sideways. It was not pleasant and not reassuring, but it got ago when we got past the biggest puddles.
Rachel found us a great little restaurant in the town of Humble. This is another old timey city, with new additions near the big road, but with neat looking old houses and buildings. The City Café in Humble was quite busy and the food was very good. We were on our way.
We got back in the car and drove a couple more hours in the rain to the Starbucks near Lufkin for a break from driving. Frank and Rachel had coffee and I sat and knitted. I have done a lot of knitting on Frank’s scarf during this trip. We’ve decided I only need three more feet – that’s right, THREE MORE. I think it will be about eight feet when finished.
We started again and drove in the rain a while longer until we got to Mike’s BBQ House in Nacogdoches. I love the name Nacogdoches. We had pretty good BBQ and catfish, rested a while and started for Louisiana. An hour down the road, Rachel realized she did not have her purse, so we called Mike’s and they did not have it, but suggested we leave our phone number in case they found it later. While calling the Starbucks, Mike’s called back and they had found it. Hooray. However, the hour drive back to Nacogdoches and then back to where we had gotten was kinda long and discouraging. But, we got it.
Then we headed into Louisiana. At least during the ride back to Nacogdoches, the stormy weather got ahead of us and we had better weather mostly. We stopped for a restroom/snack stop and then headed on. We finally gave up in West Monroe which is about 2/3 of the way across Louisiana. We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel and are staying in a Quality Inn. I have not been terribly impressed with the quality since neither of my room keys worked and after she fixed them, only one of them worked. My curtains are falling down and kinda close almost all the way. I am very glad I’m here though and not still on the road.
I almost forgot something I found interesting. As Rachel went into the hotel before dinner to arrange our rooms, a drunk man came out the stood under the portico a few minutes. Then he stumbled over to this truck, in the rain. As we drove away to Cracker Barrel, we saw his front door open and him leaning into the front of the truck. When we came back, his door was still open and he was still there. Evidently has passed out!!!! At least he’s not driving in that condition.
Frank drove all day long and he must be tired. Rachel and I kept offering to drive, but Frank would rather drive than ride any day. We have about 8 ½ hours driving tomorrow so it will be another long day but hopefully the weather will be better. Homeward bound.
Rachel found us a great little restaurant in the town of Humble. This is another old timey city, with new additions near the big road, but with neat looking old houses and buildings. The City Café in Humble was quite busy and the food was very good. We were on our way.
We got back in the car and drove a couple more hours in the rain to the Starbucks near Lufkin for a break from driving. Frank and Rachel had coffee and I sat and knitted. I have done a lot of knitting on Frank’s scarf during this trip. We’ve decided I only need three more feet – that’s right, THREE MORE. I think it will be about eight feet when finished.
We started again and drove in the rain a while longer until we got to Mike’s BBQ House in Nacogdoches. I love the name Nacogdoches. We had pretty good BBQ and catfish, rested a while and started for Louisiana. An hour down the road, Rachel realized she did not have her purse, so we called Mike’s and they did not have it, but suggested we leave our phone number in case they found it later. While calling the Starbucks, Mike’s called back and they had found it. Hooray. However, the hour drive back to Nacogdoches and then back to where we had gotten was kinda long and discouraging. But, we got it.
Then we headed into Louisiana. At least during the ride back to Nacogdoches, the stormy weather got ahead of us and we had better weather mostly. We stopped for a restroom/snack stop and then headed on. We finally gave up in West Monroe which is about 2/3 of the way across Louisiana. We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel and are staying in a Quality Inn. I have not been terribly impressed with the quality since neither of my room keys worked and after she fixed them, only one of them worked. My curtains are falling down and kinda close almost all the way. I am very glad I’m here though and not still on the road.
I almost forgot something I found interesting. As Rachel went into the hotel before dinner to arrange our rooms, a drunk man came out the stood under the portico a few minutes. Then he stumbled over to this truck, in the rain. As we drove away to Cracker Barrel, we saw his front door open and him leaning into the front of the truck. When we came back, his door was still open and he was still there. Evidently has passed out!!!! At least he’s not driving in that condition.
Frank drove all day long and he must be tired. Rachel and I kept offering to drive, but Frank would rather drive than ride any day. We have about 8 ½ hours driving tomorrow so it will be another long day but hopefully the weather will be better. Homeward bound.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Day Four – Glasses and BBQ
We got up and out by 9:45 and made it to the Galleria way before 10. I had to walk and walk to get to the Lenscrafter store – wouldn’t you know we’d park on the far side of the mall?? I was in the doctor’s office before ten. I was the second patient seen and everyone was just very very nice to me. The doctor and I were afraid that I was going to have to add prism to my lenses because I kept seeing two of everything, until I tried tilting my head – that made everything clear. Amazing.
I was really glad to have Frank and Rachel there with me to help me choose which frames to get – I never know which ones are best. My new ones are slightly lavender and they have little pink squares on the side but they are not too distracting. I hope. They said it would take an hour for them to be made, so we went to a BBQ place and had a great lunch. The name of the restaurant is Rudy’s and makes great food. They are certainly set up for crowds and I can see why. It was GOOD!!! They also had ziplock bags half filled with water and the bags were attached to the rafters. Frank looked it up on the internet and found that bags like that help discourage flying critters. Guess it worked – we didn’t see flying critters!!!!
After finishing lunch, we went back and got my glasses. They seem quite different from my old ones and I couldn’t see anything clearly for several hours but that was probably because of the dilation. Now I can see pretty clearly but I am still getting used to the glasses.
After picking up my glasses we went to the Museum of Natural Science and the parks around it. The Japanese Garden was beautiful and we enjoyed walking though it. The weather was overcast and cool but at least it wasn’t raining. We went to the Museum but decided it was too expensive considering we would only have been able to spend a short time before closing. They did have interesting, huge geodes. They were about eight feet or so tall. The price on a foot tall geode was $1400 so I’d hate to see the price of one of the really tall ones, but they sure were beautiful.
We got back in the car and headed back for the hotel, but got sidetracked by the Buffalo Hardware store. Frank and I dragged Rachel in there to look around. It was really just an interesting hardware store combined with a container store and a kitchen utensil store, or at least that’s how I would describe it. We bought only a rabbit cage cleaner tool but the visit was worth it.
Then we did head back to the hotel and to our rooms. However, the room locks would not open with our keys because we had made separate reservations for the two nights so we had to trek back down to the lobby and get new keys. Now, we are resting and watching television (I guess that’s what they are doing) and getting ready for the drive back beginning tomorrow. We plan to go back about halfway tomorrow and then finish the drive on Monday.
The broken eyeglasses debacle really put a crimp in your vacation activities but it’s just part of the way things happen. Still enjoying the trip regardless.
Later in the evening we went out to Barry's Pizza, which was located in a large log cabin building. We had fried mushrooms, bread with mozzarella cheese and Heather’s Firehouse Pizza along with different beers, mostly St. Arnold beer. Our server was only on his second day of serving so he made some mistakes, but overall it was a really good dinner. We spent a lot of time just talking and enjoying each other’s company. Finally we left and I got to drive again since I’d had no alcohol. It was a good ride back and then they came up to my room for a while. Just after we got out of the elevator they told me that strange smell I’d noticed from the other passengers was green marijuana. Oh my!!! We looked at maps and decided to return to Georgia by way of Shreveport, LA so that we can ride different roads and see different sites than on the ride out to Houston. Frank also tutored me again on how to put photos in the blog so perhaps there will be some. He put some photos in some previous days of the blog so be sure to check them out.
It’s about time for bed and time springs forward tonight so I’d better get to sleep. Long drive tomorrow and the next day.
We got up and out by 9:45 and made it to the Galleria way before 10. I had to walk and walk to get to the Lenscrafter store – wouldn’t you know we’d park on the far side of the mall?? I was in the doctor’s office before ten. I was the second patient seen and everyone was just very very nice to me. The doctor and I were afraid that I was going to have to add prism to my lenses because I kept seeing two of everything, until I tried tilting my head – that made everything clear. Amazing.
I was really glad to have Frank and Rachel there with me to help me choose which frames to get – I never know which ones are best. My new ones are slightly lavender and they have little pink squares on the side but they are not too distracting. I hope. They said it would take an hour for them to be made, so we went to a BBQ place and had a great lunch. The name of the restaurant is Rudy’s and makes great food. They are certainly set up for crowds and I can see why. It was GOOD!!! They also had ziplock bags half filled with water and the bags were attached to the rafters. Frank looked it up on the internet and found that bags like that help discourage flying critters. Guess it worked – we didn’t see flying critters!!!!
After finishing lunch, we went back and got my glasses. They seem quite different from my old ones and I couldn’t see anything clearly for several hours but that was probably because of the dilation. Now I can see pretty clearly but I am still getting used to the glasses.
After picking up my glasses we went to the Museum of Natural Science and the parks around it. The Japanese Garden was beautiful and we enjoyed walking though it. The weather was overcast and cool but at least it wasn’t raining. We went to the Museum but decided it was too expensive considering we would only have been able to spend a short time before closing. They did have interesting, huge geodes. They were about eight feet or so tall. The price on a foot tall geode was $1400 so I’d hate to see the price of one of the really tall ones, but they sure were beautiful.
We got back in the car and headed back for the hotel, but got sidetracked by the Buffalo Hardware store. Frank and I dragged Rachel in there to look around. It was really just an interesting hardware store combined with a container store and a kitchen utensil store, or at least that’s how I would describe it. We bought only a rabbit cage cleaner tool but the visit was worth it.
Then we did head back to the hotel and to our rooms. However, the room locks would not open with our keys because we had made separate reservations for the two nights so we had to trek back down to the lobby and get new keys. Now, we are resting and watching television (I guess that’s what they are doing) and getting ready for the drive back beginning tomorrow. We plan to go back about halfway tomorrow and then finish the drive on Monday.
The broken eyeglasses debacle really put a crimp in your vacation activities but it’s just part of the way things happen. Still enjoying the trip regardless.
Later in the evening we went out to Barry's Pizza, which was located in a large log cabin building. We had fried mushrooms, bread with mozzarella cheese and Heather’s Firehouse Pizza along with different beers, mostly St. Arnold beer. Our server was only on his second day of serving so he made some mistakes, but overall it was a really good dinner. We spent a lot of time just talking and enjoying each other’s company. Finally we left and I got to drive again since I’d had no alcohol. It was a good ride back and then they came up to my room for a while. Just after we got out of the elevator they told me that strange smell I’d noticed from the other passengers was green marijuana. Oh my!!! We looked at maps and decided to return to Georgia by way of Shreveport, LA so that we can ride different roads and see different sites than on the ride out to Houston. Frank also tutored me again on how to put photos in the blog so perhaps there will be some. He put some photos in some previous days of the blog so be sure to check them out.
It’s about time for bed and time springs forward tonight so I’d better get to sleep. Long drive tomorrow and the next day.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Day Three - All Around Houston
Day Three – All Around Houston
We slept warmly at the bed and breakfast so we were pretty happy to get out into the nice cool air. As Frank carried two suitcases down the front steps, his foot slipped on the top rain slick step and he bounced down all the steps!! He scraped a finger on one hand pretty badly and hit his other hand pretty hard and hit his butt bone pretty hard a few times, but he was able to get and going fairly quickly. He washed the blood off in the sink at the B&B and put a bandaid on his scraped hand. I called the B&B to let them know about in case anything depended upon that later. The lady in charge came out to talk to us and the first thing she said was that the steps were dry!!! I went to the step and rubbed my finger through the water on the top step and said how slippery it was. Frank was not at all happy about her comment and made it very clear that they only reason we said anything was to let them know there is a problem that they need to address. He was quite forceful about it and then all she kept saying was that when anyone panics all she does is panic!!!! We left right after that and went to Tacos A Go Go for breakfast. When we first got there, I got a call from Connie, the lady at the B&B, apologizing again and saying that she hoped she didn’t appear to not care about Frank’s injuries because she does care, but she just panics when anyone falls. So, that’s that. Frank and Rachel had a very good breakfast here but I had eaten brownies at the B&B so I didn’t get anything else.
We left there and headed to the ‘downtown’ part of the Heights – it was like an old fashioned main street from the 50’s or something. We found a coffee shop and it was decorated with paintings like the days of flower power. Frank and Rachel each got coffee and we sat there and had a very nice time. After finishing the coffee, we wandered around the area looking in antique stores and Mexican art stores. One of the workers sold me a stamp from her purse so I could send a postcard!!! That was very nice of her. Rachel found a mailbox and put my postcard in so that is taken care of.
We left the Heights and headed across the main part of Houston to the Reliant Park complex for the livestock show and rodeo. That area is huge and we had to park a long way from the buildings but we got to ride a shuttle part of the way so that helped. It was quite cool and breezy but it was not raining. We entered and chose to see what all was available in the food tents. They had to most interesting foods there. Sausage on a stick, foot long corn dogs, fried koolaid, alligator, friend bread loaf, fried sauerkraut!!! Just all kinds of things. So we got a foot long corndog, sausage on a stick, and ????? We then went into the livestock building. We saw lots and lots of bunnies, goats, sheep, bees, and cows. There were competitions going on and we watched some of them. There were many exhibits and walked miles (it felt like anyway) and looked at all sorts of things. I felt like my feet would not go any farther, but they kept moving. They hurt though but they kept working. We decided not to spend a few more hours there to wait on the rodeo, so we left. As we began the walk back to the shuttle, the rain started. I put my glasses into my coat pocket to protect them and lo and behold, one of the ear pieces came off!!!!!! Just great!!! As we walked back to the shuttle, the rain increased so that by the time we were on the shuttle, the rain was fairly hard and the wind was bad. We were freezing on the ride toward the car. When we left the shuttle and started walking to the car, the bottom of the rain cloud fell out and it was raining quite hard. My feet hurt, my legs hurt, I couldn’t see anything and I was getting soaked. It was a tough time. We got to the car and Rachel found us a restaurant to head to for dinner – she is a whiz on the computer at finding us what we need and figuring out how to get us there.
We opted not to get on the interstate and that was a wise decision, in my opinion. There was a lot of traffic on a rainy Friday afternoon, but we made it to Chuy’s for dinner. We got even more soaked getting into the restaurant but the meal was worth it. We had steak quesadillas, chips with toppings, margaritas and beer, steak burrito, and a combo. It was all really good. Being the only one not drinking any alcohol, I got to drive to the hotel. It was not a long drive but there was a LOT of traffic. I had to keep adjusting my glasses because since there is only one earpiece, the lens do not stay balanced and I can’t see clearly. That will continue until I get new glasses. I called Lenscrafters at the Galleria near out hotel and they said they would work me in tomorrow if I show up at 10:00, so I plan to be there, for sure.
We got to the Hotel Derek and I passed the entrance so went in the exit – not the first time I’ve done that!!! It’s a large modern hotel and it’s very nice. Frank and Rachel moved from their first room because of the party next door and now they have a quieter room. We have made reservations here for tomorrow night also. I have been using the dry blower on my jacket but it just won’t dry out. I am hurting about all over, but hopefully that will be gone in the morning. I know I have walked too much since my feet hurt so badly. Maybe there won’t be as much walking tomorrow. I’m afraid it’s going to rain all day and limit what we can do, but we’ll see. I just hope I can get new glasses early in the day – it’s a pain to have to keep adjusting these!!
Rachel is really missing her doggies and I think she is ready to head home. It won’t be too much longer now. One more day and night in and around Houston, then we will start the trip back. It’s been a wonderful trip so far and I hate to see it end, but I will be glad to be back home too, in a few days.
We slept warmly at the bed and breakfast so we were pretty happy to get out into the nice cool air. As Frank carried two suitcases down the front steps, his foot slipped on the top rain slick step and he bounced down all the steps!! He scraped a finger on one hand pretty badly and hit his other hand pretty hard and hit his butt bone pretty hard a few times, but he was able to get and going fairly quickly. He washed the blood off in the sink at the B&B and put a bandaid on his scraped hand. I called the B&B to let them know about in case anything depended upon that later. The lady in charge came out to talk to us and the first thing she said was that the steps were dry!!! I went to the step and rubbed my finger through the water on the top step and said how slippery it was. Frank was not at all happy about her comment and made it very clear that they only reason we said anything was to let them know there is a problem that they need to address. He was quite forceful about it and then all she kept saying was that when anyone panics all she does is panic!!!! We left right after that and went to Tacos A Go Go for breakfast. When we first got there, I got a call from Connie, the lady at the B&B, apologizing again and saying that she hoped she didn’t appear to not care about Frank’s injuries because she does care, but she just panics when anyone falls. So, that’s that. Frank and Rachel had a very good breakfast here but I had eaten brownies at the B&B so I didn’t get anything else.
We left there and headed to the ‘downtown’ part of the Heights – it was like an old fashioned main street from the 50’s or something. We found a coffee shop and it was decorated with paintings like the days of flower power. Frank and Rachel each got coffee and we sat there and had a very nice time. After finishing the coffee, we wandered around the area looking in antique stores and Mexican art stores. One of the workers sold me a stamp from her purse so I could send a postcard!!! That was very nice of her. Rachel found a mailbox and put my postcard in so that is taken care of.
We left the Heights and headed across the main part of Houston to the Reliant Park complex for the livestock show and rodeo. That area is huge and we had to park a long way from the buildings but we got to ride a shuttle part of the way so that helped. It was quite cool and breezy but it was not raining. We entered and chose to see what all was available in the food tents. They had to most interesting foods there. Sausage on a stick, foot long corn dogs, fried koolaid, alligator, friend bread loaf, fried sauerkraut!!! Just all kinds of things. So we got a foot long corndog, sausage on a stick, and ????? We then went into the livestock building. We saw lots and lots of bunnies, goats, sheep, bees, and cows. There were competitions going on and we watched some of them. There were many exhibits and walked miles (it felt like anyway) and looked at all sorts of things. I felt like my feet would not go any farther, but they kept moving. They hurt though but they kept working. We decided not to spend a few more hours there to wait on the rodeo, so we left. As we began the walk back to the shuttle, the rain started. I put my glasses into my coat pocket to protect them and lo and behold, one of the ear pieces came off!!!!!! Just great!!! As we walked back to the shuttle, the rain increased so that by the time we were on the shuttle, the rain was fairly hard and the wind was bad. We were freezing on the ride toward the car. When we left the shuttle and started walking to the car, the bottom of the rain cloud fell out and it was raining quite hard. My feet hurt, my legs hurt, I couldn’t see anything and I was getting soaked. It was a tough time. We got to the car and Rachel found us a restaurant to head to for dinner – she is a whiz on the computer at finding us what we need and figuring out how to get us there.
We opted not to get on the interstate and that was a wise decision, in my opinion. There was a lot of traffic on a rainy Friday afternoon, but we made it to Chuy’s for dinner. We got even more soaked getting into the restaurant but the meal was worth it. We had steak quesadillas, chips with toppings, margaritas and beer, steak burrito, and a combo. It was all really good. Being the only one not drinking any alcohol, I got to drive to the hotel. It was not a long drive but there was a LOT of traffic. I had to keep adjusting my glasses because since there is only one earpiece, the lens do not stay balanced and I can’t see clearly. That will continue until I get new glasses. I called Lenscrafters at the Galleria near out hotel and they said they would work me in tomorrow if I show up at 10:00, so I plan to be there, for sure.
We got to the Hotel Derek and I passed the entrance so went in the exit – not the first time I’ve done that!!! It’s a large modern hotel and it’s very nice. Frank and Rachel moved from their first room because of the party next door and now they have a quieter room. We have made reservations here for tomorrow night also. I have been using the dry blower on my jacket but it just won’t dry out. I am hurting about all over, but hopefully that will be gone in the morning. I know I have walked too much since my feet hurt so badly. Maybe there won’t be as much walking tomorrow. I’m afraid it’s going to rain all day and limit what we can do, but we’ll see. I just hope I can get new glasses early in the day – it’s a pain to have to keep adjusting these!!
Rachel is really missing her doggies and I think she is ready to head home. It won’t be too much longer now. One more day and night in and around Houston, then we will start the trip back. It’s been a wonderful trip so far and I hate to see it end, but I will be glad to be back home too, in a few days.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Day Two - On to Texas!!!!
Day Two – On to Texas!!!
I woke up about 8:30 or so and decided to get on up and see what was going on for the day. When I was ready to go, I called the others and they wanted to sleep longer, so I decided to go walking around the French Quarter. I didn’t think I could get in much trouble so early in the morning even though I was by myself and I am glad I went out. I loved walking those streets, they were just so nice. I saw several people out rinsing off their sidewalks – seemed sorta strange, but I guess it makes sense. I walked past Jackson Square and turned to go back to Bourbon Street – felt like I should make a photo of a Bourbon Street sign and I did. On my way back, I bought Mema a postcard and found a neat New Orleans bag so I got that too. I went back to the knit shop but it still wasn’t open. I wandered back to the levee, sat down in the sun with the nice wind blowing off the river, and ate the apple I had gotten at the hotel for breakfast. It was really a neat experience sitting there watching the boats and barges going by.
After a while, I decided to head back to see if the knit shop was open at 10 and they were!!!! They had all kinds of neat yarn. I got some sock yard to make Frank a cap (perhaps) and a purplish yarn to make myself a narrow scarf as a souvenir of NOLA. They sure did a great job of wrapping up the yarn in colorful paper and ribbons. I’ll try to post a photo of it tomorrow, except that photo is on my phone and I may not be able to post it until I get home. Anyway, I walked back to the hotel and met Frank and Rachel. I rode the elevator up to their room and when the elevator door opened, I was surprised to see them standing there with all their luggage, waiting to leave. How about that for good timing? After loading up their stuff, Rachel went to check out and I dropped all my stuff over the balcony to Frank who was standing below. He caught it all, even my computer!!! Thanks, Frank. Then the valet parking attendant came to the car, made Frank get out from behind the wheel, and drove the car to the front gate. Frank was not really very happy about all of that, but went along with it.
As we wear leaving NO, they wanted some of the special chicory coffee that is made here, so Frank found a Community Coffee Shop, Rachel got out at the intersection to go get it, and Frank and I drove around a few blocks. Rachel was just coming out to the street as we arrived back, so again, perfect timing. Then we headed out toward Avery Island.
The GPS on Frank’s phone did a very good job of guiding us and we went straight on out of town and along Lake Pontchartrain. We missed the exit and had to go a LONG way to the next exit but we made it. We went through lots of little towns and saw lots of flat farm lands on the way. We got stopped behind a wreck and had to just sit for at least an hour, but finally got around it. Seems like a police car had been sandwiched in between two other vehicles on a bridge not too far ahead of us. Looked pretty bad to me, but he may have survived it. After that, we found Avery Island and toured the Tabasco factory. It was a very interesting experience and I’m very glad we went there. We also went to the Tabasco Country Store and spent some money. Frank bought a gallon of the sauce and other things and I bought three jars of their chili starter to use for a group dinner sometime in the not-to-distant future.
We left there and went on to LaFayette for lunch at Julien’s where we all had Po Boy sandwiches. Rachel’s was made with alligator sausage (yuck, but she enjoyed it) and Frank’s was made with shrimp. Mine was just plain old ham. We all enjoyed them and we enjoyed listening to the lady talk – every sentence she said to us contained the word “Baby” and she used some other word when addressing Frank – “Bo” I think it was.
Then we got back on Hwy 90 to get back to the interstate. That Hwy 90 was rough and full of traffic. We were really glad to get back on I-10, at least for a while. The traffic there was fairly heavy and then all of a sudden, it stopped. Seems the interstate was blocked, perhaps by a car fire. So we got off and went cross country. Hard as it is to believe, that small road was often smoother than the interstate, which was often quite bumpy. We also got to see lots of rice fields and small communities. We finally got back on I-10 and this time we really made it to Texas.
We were getting quite hungry so we started using our phones to find restaurants in towns ahead of us. We found one that had good reviews, so we got off the interstate to go there. The directions took us to a dead end dirt road with a house on it. Bummer. We headed back to the interstate and saw the restaurant but it appeared to be closed. After we were back on the interstate we decided that we should call each restaurant to make sure it was open, We called lots of BBQ places only to find out they close early, like 8 p.m. Strange. We finally got off in Beaumont to look for one that was open and when we found it, it was not somewhere we would have felt safe, so on we went. It appeared that we were in a ghost town or something – most everything was shut down. After lots more driving, we were almost back on the interstate when we saw a steak house that looked pretty good, so we circled around and went there. Rachel and I shared a pot roast dinner that was really good and Frank had country fried steak. After all the problems we had finding a place, we lucked out and got a good one. Thank goodness.
After that meal, Frank let me drive the last hour and a half into Houston. We went right to Sara’s Bed and Breakfast, found the keys to our rooms in the mailbox and went up to our rooms. The B&B is an old Victorian house and it’s beautiful. I got the Galveston room cause I want to go there sometime. I think my room might be slightly larger and I know my bedroom is larger, but they are both nice rooms. We will have to go else where tomorrow night because they only have one room available then. Therefore, another adventure is waiting for us with our name on it. Frank has shown me how to upload photos, so if there are photos with this entry, I learned and if not, I didn’t. Considering it’s so late now, I’d say there may not be any photos on this post, but I’ll try.
We’ve talked about plans for tomorrow and the Livestock Show (including the pig races) and the rodeo figure heavily in those plans. The weather is probably going to be stormy and cooler but we’ll adjust to whatever.
Great trip so far.
I woke up about 8:30 or so and decided to get on up and see what was going on for the day. When I was ready to go, I called the others and they wanted to sleep longer, so I decided to go walking around the French Quarter. I didn’t think I could get in much trouble so early in the morning even though I was by myself and I am glad I went out. I loved walking those streets, they were just so nice. I saw several people out rinsing off their sidewalks – seemed sorta strange, but I guess it makes sense. I walked past Jackson Square and turned to go back to Bourbon Street – felt like I should make a photo of a Bourbon Street sign and I did. On my way back, I bought Mema a postcard and found a neat New Orleans bag so I got that too. I went back to the knit shop but it still wasn’t open. I wandered back to the levee, sat down in the sun with the nice wind blowing off the river, and ate the apple I had gotten at the hotel for breakfast. It was really a neat experience sitting there watching the boats and barges going by.
After a while, I decided to head back to see if the knit shop was open at 10 and they were!!!! They had all kinds of neat yarn. I got some sock yard to make Frank a cap (perhaps) and a purplish yarn to make myself a narrow scarf as a souvenir of NOLA. They sure did a great job of wrapping up the yarn in colorful paper and ribbons. I’ll try to post a photo of it tomorrow, except that photo is on my phone and I may not be able to post it until I get home. Anyway, I walked back to the hotel and met Frank and Rachel. I rode the elevator up to their room and when the elevator door opened, I was surprised to see them standing there with all their luggage, waiting to leave. How about that for good timing? After loading up their stuff, Rachel went to check out and I dropped all my stuff over the balcony to Frank who was standing below. He caught it all, even my computer!!! Thanks, Frank. Then the valet parking attendant came to the car, made Frank get out from behind the wheel, and drove the car to the front gate. Frank was not really very happy about all of that, but went along with it.
As we wear leaving NO, they wanted some of the special chicory coffee that is made here, so Frank found a Community Coffee Shop, Rachel got out at the intersection to go get it, and Frank and I drove around a few blocks. Rachel was just coming out to the street as we arrived back, so again, perfect timing. Then we headed out toward Avery Island.
The GPS on Frank’s phone did a very good job of guiding us and we went straight on out of town and along Lake Pontchartrain. We missed the exit and had to go a LONG way to the next exit but we made it. We went through lots of little towns and saw lots of flat farm lands on the way. We got stopped behind a wreck and had to just sit for at least an hour, but finally got around it. Seems like a police car had been sandwiched in between two other vehicles on a bridge not too far ahead of us. Looked pretty bad to me, but he may have survived it. After that, we found Avery Island and toured the Tabasco factory. It was a very interesting experience and I’m very glad we went there. We also went to the Tabasco Country Store and spent some money. Frank bought a gallon of the sauce and other things and I bought three jars of their chili starter to use for a group dinner sometime in the not-to-distant future.
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| From March 9, 2012 |
We left there and went on to LaFayette for lunch at Julien’s where we all had Po Boy sandwiches. Rachel’s was made with alligator sausage (yuck, but she enjoyed it) and Frank’s was made with shrimp. Mine was just plain old ham. We all enjoyed them and we enjoyed listening to the lady talk – every sentence she said to us contained the word “Baby” and she used some other word when addressing Frank – “Bo” I think it was.
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| From March 9, 2012 |
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| From March 9, 2012 |
Then we got back on Hwy 90 to get back to the interstate. That Hwy 90 was rough and full of traffic. We were really glad to get back on I-10, at least for a while. The traffic there was fairly heavy and then all of a sudden, it stopped. Seems the interstate was blocked, perhaps by a car fire. So we got off and went cross country. Hard as it is to believe, that small road was often smoother than the interstate, which was often quite bumpy. We also got to see lots of rice fields and small communities. We finally got back on I-10 and this time we really made it to Texas.
We were getting quite hungry so we started using our phones to find restaurants in towns ahead of us. We found one that had good reviews, so we got off the interstate to go there. The directions took us to a dead end dirt road with a house on it. Bummer. We headed back to the interstate and saw the restaurant but it appeared to be closed. After we were back on the interstate we decided that we should call each restaurant to make sure it was open, We called lots of BBQ places only to find out they close early, like 8 p.m. Strange. We finally got off in Beaumont to look for one that was open and when we found it, it was not somewhere we would have felt safe, so on we went. It appeared that we were in a ghost town or something – most everything was shut down. After lots more driving, we were almost back on the interstate when we saw a steak house that looked pretty good, so we circled around and went there. Rachel and I shared a pot roast dinner that was really good and Frank had country fried steak. After all the problems we had finding a place, we lucked out and got a good one. Thank goodness.
After that meal, Frank let me drive the last hour and a half into Houston. We went right to Sara’s Bed and Breakfast, found the keys to our rooms in the mailbox and went up to our rooms. The B&B is an old Victorian house and it’s beautiful. I got the Galveston room cause I want to go there sometime. I think my room might be slightly larger and I know my bedroom is larger, but they are both nice rooms. We will have to go else where tomorrow night because they only have one room available then. Therefore, another adventure is waiting for us with our name on it. Frank has shown me how to upload photos, so if there are photos with this entry, I learned and if not, I didn’t. Considering it’s so late now, I’d say there may not be any photos on this post, but I’ll try.
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| From March 9, 2012 |
We’ve talked about plans for tomorrow and the Livestock Show (including the pig races) and the rodeo figure heavily in those plans. The weather is probably going to be stormy and cooler but we’ll adjust to whatever.
Great trip so far.
Hello Texas!
We made it into Texas. While en route, we tried to find somewhere to eat. I found a popular bbq joint on my gps. I gave the directions and we followed it... to someone's house. 
We eventually did find the real location, and it was closed.
So,I found another place. We went through a ghost town only to find a scary-looking taco joint.
Giving up and on the way back to the highway, Melanie pointed out a steak restaurant... as we were sort of passing it. We had to keep going to make our way back, but we did and I'm sure glad! It was very good.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Day One - Going to New Orleans and sightseeing
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
I got to Roswell just about dark, but we couldn’t leave until Frank got off work at 9. Once he was home and everything was packed, we got underway about 11:30. We made it a couple of miles and had to get gas. Underway again, a couple more miles and we stopped at a bank so I could get money. However, that bank’s ATM could not process my request, so we went to another bank. Same problem!!!! Bummer. So we decided I didn’t really need any money and started on the way. I called the bank and for some reason that they couldn’t identify, there was a block on my card – they removed it but I still don’t know what caused it. Twelve hours later and I still don’t have any money.
We used Frank’s phone as a GPS and it worked great. He drove from Roswell all the way past Mobile. Rachel slept some but was awake most of the time. I stretched out in the back seat, with my seat belt on, and slept more of the time except when we hit a rough stretch of road. It seemed like I didn’t sleep much, but I think I did. When we needed more gas, Frank let me drive so he could sleep a while. I drove for about two hours while the sun came up and we made it to our hotel in New Orleans. The traffic got heavy at one point and the roads got quite rough, especially just after the bridge over the Pontchartrain Lake when Rachel was actually bouncing in the back seat because of the wavy road. The GPS led us right to our hotel in the French Quarter and I was very glad to have its guidance. The Hotel Provincial is located in a maze of one way streets that would have been very confusing.
We arrived at about 6 a.m. Central time and there is not much open at that time. Since we could not yet get into our rooms until later, we walked to the river and discussed what to do. There was a very cool wind coming off the Mississippi so we didn’t sit there too long. There were a lot of people out running along the river but we decided to leave the riverside. We wandered around the streets of the French Quarter and saw all kinds of shops and site. We almost got wet by the street shampooer machine and the trash trucks were very busy. We saw several catering trucks setting up for breakfast for something. None of the shops or cafes were open, but we got a good idea of their locations. We saw Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral from all sides. There were few tourists around and that was nice. We saw lots and lots of dogs, most being walked by their owners. One dog was on a balcony facing Jackson Square and kept running into the house through a very tall window and them coming back out to bark at people.
After lots of looking around the French Quarter we made reservations for a Gray Line Super City Tour and had about a half hour to get breakfast. We went to the French Market and had ham and toast or bacon and biscuits. The gravy looked really strange – lots of ‘stuff’ floating in it, but Frank and Rachel said it tasted good. We got to the Gray Line bus with a little time to spare and decided we may be the youngest people there for the 9:00 tour. We took the front seats and began the tour with Mike the Driver. He spent two hours driving and talking, telling us all about the current and historical aspects of New Orleans. I learned a lot and enjoyed the tour very much. I even got in a couple of short naps until Frank would wake me up!! I enjoyed the City of the Dead, a cemetery, and it really looked like a city with all the buildings. Mike the Driver gave us so many facts that I don’t remember anything – info overload for sure. It was a good way to see the city.
After the bus tour was over, we called the hotel and found that one of the rooms was available so we went back there. We actually sort of know our way around this area now. There sure were LOTS more tourists out and about at 11:00 but we made it back to the hotel fairly quickly. They upgraded the second room since it was ready and we got our luggage out of the car and went to our rooms. I got the suite with a living room and a bedroom but I had to walk up a flight of steps. Frank and Rachel got the smaller room, but they have an elevator. It’s a pretty even trade off.
Phase 2
I went over to their room to discuss what we were going to do and found out that they have a built in jazz band next to their room!! They are not totally thrilled with it and I expect it will continue playing into late tonight. The cold natured person, ME, has a really cold room and they, the hot natured people, have a really warm room. Strange how that worked out!!
After considering lots of options, we went to Central Supermarket and got a muffaleto, which they supposedly developed, and then went to Café duMonde and got café au lait and Beignets to go. We went to the top of some steps where we could see the river (and get ‘slightly’ windblown and ate the muffaleto and then went to more steps that did not have the wind to eat the Beignets. They were delicious, delicious, delicious. The muffaleto was a pretty good sandwich but not the best I’ve ever had, but the Beignets were wonderful.
Then we walked up the river and I decided I just had to ride a street car, so I got on it going the wrong way and got an extra long ride out of it. The driver was really funny and he knew it, but it was full of information and had a definite Nahlins’ accent. I finally got to the French Market, met up with Frank and Rachel, who had walked there and we headed back to the hotel, again. Now we are resting again and considering where to go for supper. There is a possibility that I will skip supper and just go for sleep. Then again, I’d hate to miss anything.
I have come to a conclusion about me and New Orleans. I’ve always wanted to come here and I am very glad I did. However, I feel like I have experienced about all I want to of New Orleans. I’ve really enjoyed it, but I think I’ve seen about all I want to see. I think we may leave NOLA after breakfast in the morning and head to the Tabasco factory where Frank plans to buy two GALLONS of the stuff. I hope the car does not self-destruct from containing all that combustible liquid!!! That’s the plan for now, but it could certainly change. Then we'll head for Houston, Texas.
Phase 3
It’s been several hours since we returned to our rooms and we’ve decided to stay in the rest of the evening. We haven’t spoken but I know they must be as tired as I am and I kept falling asleep watching television. I’m going to bed. It’s been a great day but I think 36 hours is a long enough day for me.
We Made It To New Orleans
We here we are. Finally, after what seems like a never ending drive, we are here. 
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Start of a much needed trip
Well tonight is the night. We are on our way to Texas. On the way we will stop in New Orleans. We will hopefully be updating this pretty regularly throughout the trip. Check back often.
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