Back in Cali

New Orleans - Thursday, I finally found this store I was looking for in the Quarter. I had walked all around looking for this one store and couldn't find it. Well I found it right before I left town. All for a T-shirt! :)
Had breakfast near Jackson Square and right before I checked out, I got a full muffaletta to take home to my Uncle Johnny.
http://www.nolacuisine.com/2009/05/24/central-grocery/

The drive wasn't so bad. I left about 12:15pm and got to my Uncle's house close to 4:30pm.

Didn't do too much after I got there. My cousin Sally came over for a little bit. I did some laundry and repacked my luggage. We had to get up early to drive to the airport the next day.

Friday - woke up about 4:20am to pack and get ready. Uncle Johnny and I left the house at 5am to drive to the Shreveport Airport. It had started raining sometime throughout the night, so when we left it was pouring rain. He took some back roads before we got on the I-49 North freeway and it was a little sketchy. Just pouring rain, a little foggy and super dark. Big puddles in the road too. Once we got on the freeway it was fine and the rain had simmered down.

Got to the Airport about 6:20am, my plane didn't take off until 7:35am so I had a little time to get some coffee and wait. The flight to Dallas was only about 30-35 minutes and it was in one of those little planes. Once in Dallas, I had about a 3 hour layover - enough time to find my gate and get something to eat. Good thing I had a lot of time, because the gate # changed a couple times, but it was still in Concourse A for American Airlines flights. Flight from Dallas to Fresno was about 3 hours. Not too bad, except for the crying baby the last hour or so of the flight.
Ryan, Whit & Ian picked me up from the airport and I am safe and sound at my parents house. I will probably go back to Aptos Monday. I can't wait to go back to the cool coastal weather even if it is a bit warmer for summertime. I'll have about a week left of vaca before I go back to work.
I think I gained like 5-7 lbs. just being on a road trip and eating/drinking in New Orleans. Ugh!

Here's all our stops.
Visalia, CA
Harrah's Laughlin Hotel and Casino, NV   http://www.harrahslaughlin.com/hotel.html
Grand Canyon, AZ                                     http://www.nps.gov/index.htm
Route 66 Casino Hotel, NM                       http://www.rt66casino.com/#hotel
WinStar Casino, OK                                   http://winstarworldcasino.com/casino
(We didn't stay here because it was booked, but we did go to the casino). We stayed at: Red River Suites: http://www.redriversuites.com/ )
Sugarland, TX                                             
Natchitoches, LA

 Good times! I had a really good time and am really happy that I ventured on this road trip. Thanks Uncle Johnny and family.

:)

xoxo

Cafe du Monde

Finally made it to Cafe du Monde. It was packed. All I can say is Yum!

After that I walked down towards Canal St. and the riverfront to see if the 360 Club was open. You could grab a water/drink and sit on the top of this building and in an hour see the whole city. Talked to someone and they said it was closed down. Called it the World Trade Center of New Orleans. Due to financial strain and the hurricane, it has closed it's doors. Too bad. 

Went to Harrah's to cool off and play a little blackjack. $10 table- I lost $40 quick. 

Next went to the church. Yes I went in and tried not to curse God or anything. Ha ha 

I was just making my rounds, trying to stay in the air conditioned places. Went to the Presbytère - Louisiana State Museum. They had an exhibit on Katrina(in which I cried) then more lively onto Mardi Gras. 

Lots of costumes and the history of Mardi Gras. Here's some views from the upstairs of the museum:

I hung out at my hotel for awhile then decided to go to the Red Fish Grill for dinner. I read great reviews online.  

Oh my gosh I had the best dinner. Wood Griiled Redfish (local to the gulf) and Crab on top with potatoes, and peas and sausage. 

So good! I had some wine too from New Zealand. Whitehaven. Sauvignon Blanc. 

My server was Andrew, originally from Wales. Good looking guy. He said he played hockey for Univ of Michigan and he has all his teeth! Amazing!

Now I'm at Patrick's Bar Vin off Bienville St. Continuing with the wine. Same brand from New Zealand. This one is Oyster Bay by Marlbourough. It's a nice lounge with seating outside & inside. 

That's it, not a big day. Stayed in a lot of air conditioned places and actually the weather today cooled off a bit. It's actually nice tonight. Seriously not too hot. They say this is a cold front- which is only a few degrees cooler. 

http://www.cafedumonde.com/beignets

http://www.redfishgrill.com/_mobile/menu_display.php?id=52

http://patricksbarvin.com/

Uptown - St. Charles Streetcar

I decided this morning I would take the St. Charles streetcar to the Garden District. $3 for 1 day pass or $1.25 one way. The $3 all day pass gets you on/off as many times as you want during the day. It's well worth it. 

You take the green streetcar for a bit, then you jump on a bus(air conditioned). I missed going to Magazine Street last time and after talking to someone on the bus, I was going the right way. I got off on Washington Street and walked up a few blocks to Magazine. 

Magazine has a ton of shops, antique stores, boutiques, and restaurants. I walked from the 2800 block to probably around 5000. Oh my gosh it was so HOT! I waited for the bus because I didn't want to walk anymore. They dropped everyone off at Audubon Park. I walked through the Park to St. Charles Street and got back on the green streetcar.

I need to map out how far I walked. I know my feet are tired!

The Garden District has those big trees that are just really cool. The branches are twisting in different directions and they're just really neat looking. I did get off the streetcar again from Louisiana St. and walked until a couple blocks past Jackson St. There's all those really cool houses with porches and big trees in the front. (Those are on my other camera).

Got back on the bus, then streetcar again back to Canal St. Walked 10 more blocks or so back to my hotel. Ugh! Hot & exhausted. This time I did take a cold shower!

Before they closed, went to Central Grocery off Decatur and got their famous muffuletta sandwich! 

So good! Just like I remember having one 10 years ago. 

1/2 sandwich, cut in two. $8.50 + tax

Yum! 

Went to a liquor store next door to the muffuletta place and bought a couple tall boys. Under $5. Nice!

That's it. It's 4:30pm and I'm just chill in'. 

Dinner

Decided to have something non-traditional to New Orleans. I read on Yelp that this place has really good pizza. 

I got a NOLA Hopitoulas IPA which is really good & a Hawaiian pizza. A little thing they add is honey to the crust and shaved coconut on the pizza. It is so good! Hey Mom remember in Colorado they give you honey for your crust? It's kind of the same, but it's already on the pizza!

Yum!!

It's a bar too w/ about 6 tv's for sports and I think they have some video poker games too. Overall good spot for pizza!

The bartender is attentive. Gotta love great customer service!

http://www.nolabrewing.com/home/

http://www.turtlebayneworleans.com/

Nawlins'

I made it to New Orleans today about 3pm. Took me 4 hours from Natchitoches. I'm staying at The Chateau New Orleans on Chartres St. & St. Phillip. I've stayed here before so I know it's centrally located near Jackson Sq and French Quarter. 

The humidity is killing me. It rained on the way here. Thanks to Uncle Johnny, I'm driving his car. 

I checked in. Ate down the street at Cafe Pontalba, had a shrimp po'boy and an Abita Amber beer. Then I just walked around the quarter. 

There was a jazz band playing and people selling art, caricatures & palm/tarot readings. 

Stopped in a bar on Bourbon St. to cool off. $7 for a beer. 

The Natchez Steamboat had a lady on the top playing the horns of the boat. 

This dude caught a catfish right on the Riverfront. A little exciting for everyone around. 

I was looking for a cool place to just sit and relax but decided my hotel room would be the best option. It is HOT outside!!

I feel like taking a cold shower. Not sure what the night brings. My priorities have changed a bit since the last time I was here in 2004. 

I do know that tomorrow I'm going to Cafe du Monde and maybe down to the Garden District. I want to go to Magazine St. too as I missed it last time I was here. 

xo

We made it!

We got to my Uncle's house yesterday around 2pm I think. 

Unloaded the car then went to get lunch at Johnny's favorite BBQ place. Greyson's BBQ. It was so good!! I had sliced pork sandwich on a homemade bun w/ a side of 1/2 beans and 1/2 potato salad. OMGosh! Yum. 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/graysons-barbeque-clarence

We went to a few other places, visiting a friend of Johnny's. Went through the drive-thru liquor store. 

Both girls came over afterwards. Sally & her boyfriend Justin. Stacy came over a bit later. We actually hung out outside. Ethan has a Quad flyer that is remote controlled and can go up really high. It has a viewer that you can see what the flyer sees. (There's a go-pro attached to the bottom).

After dinner, I went out w/ Stacy for the night. We went to a bar called JJ's in Nachez. For those of you who know The Pump House, JJ's came in as a close second. 1 pool table, jukebox, bar and very smoky. 

 

Got home close to 3. Way too long of a day/night. It was fun, but I definitely felt it all day today! I got my day of relaxation but the wrong way. 

We'll see what tomorrow holds. 

Louisiana

Here's some of Amy's house & family. 

Took 59 North to 103 East from Houston- Sugarland then turns into Hwy 6 to Natchitoches. We just got to the Louisiana border. 

It's almost 1pm, 92 degrees but prob high humidity. 

We've passed several lakes. Not swamps, these are actually lakes and part of National forests. 

Map says 42 min till Natchitoches. Johnny drives with that Iskenderian racing in his blood! We might get there in 20 min. ;)