The Big Easy

On Saturday, March 19, mom, my great friend Amy, and I flew to New Orleans. The initial idea behind flying to New Orleans was to have a Bachelorette Party, but most people were not able to fly to New Orleans, so it turned into a reunion with old friends in NOLA instead! Here is the re-cap!

We got to the Colorado Springs airport with plenty of time to spare, only to find out our flight to Denver had been delayed. We decided to go grab some lunch instead of sitting and waiting at the gate, and then the fun began. Apparently the airlines were giving away cab vouchers to get up to Denver for people with close connections, but we did not receive the memo until it was too late! Our flight was further delayed and at this point we were not going to make our connection in Denver, so I spoke with the gate agent to get re-booked. Every single flight to New Orleans was not only booked, but over sold, and we were told, we would not be able to get to New Orleans until Monday! At this time, we were getting very stressed until we found out our flight from Denver was also delayed!!! Our flight finally left Colorado Springs at 2pm (3 hours late) and we made it to Denver with 15 minutes to get from gate 86 to 31!! I sprinted to the gate and made it in the nick of time (our initial flight from Denver was supposed to leave at 1:34, and because of the delay, did not leave until 2:53)!!!! I am still not sure how we made that flight, but I am so glad we did!!!

We landed in NOLA around 6:30pm (without our bags), took a taxi to the hotel and then hit the town! We walked up and down Bourbon Street for a little while, and then walked over to a very well known burger joint, Port Of Call. When we got there, the wait was 2 hours, so we went to find a different restaurant! We ended up back in the heart of the French Quarter at a restaurant named Felix’s. Mom had a dozen raw oysters, Amy had a burger, and I had the sampler platter (jambalaya, etouffee, and red beans and rice). The food in New Orleans is AMAZING!! We finished the evening off with a visit to the Pat O’Brian’s Piano Bar complete with Hurricane’s! It was a great welcome into the City!!

First drink of the trip - Hand Grenade. Thanks for letting me borough the shirt, Amy!!

This was one of my Dad's favorite stores on Decatur. Like the other guy posing in the picture?

Amy and I drinking Andygator beer at Felix's.

Mom loving her oysters! 

Proof that I tried oysters again!

My sampler platter of red beans and rice, jambalaya, and etouffee. 

We each got flowers from a man in the parade!

Pat O'Brian's Piano Bar!

Having a blast!

Trying to be sophisticated!

On Sunday, we met up with a great friend of mom’s, Alice. We met at Café du Monde, but then went to eat at a different restaurant (can’t remember the name). Alice mentioned that there was a parade later in the day just by her house, so we decided to experience a true New Orleans Parade! It was great!! It was the Irish-Italian Parade complete with beads, cabbage and other veggies, flowers, garters, moon pies, and many other goodies!! I made out like a bandit!! After the parade, Alice grabbed an overnight bag to stay with mom, and then we went to a live music bar named Tipitina’s. We wanted to give Amy the true Cajun dance experience, with music and dancing, but got distracted when we walked in the door and bumped into another great friend of mom’s, Diane! Here is a little background about all of these friends: When I was a baby, my mom went to the Parenting Center at Children’s Hospital. She met Alice and Diane at the classes offered at the parenting center, and they all eventually formed a playgroup with their kids (all three of us were, and still are, only children!). We have maintained contact with them throughout the years. So we changed our plans and went to grab some dinner at Parkway Bakery, known to have the best Po Boys in town!! Alice’s son, Paul and Diane’s daughter, Eva, were also able to join us for dinner and turned into one, huge reunion! It was so incredible to see everyone again!! We ended up back at the hotel around 11pm, and called it an early night!

Alice, Mom and I before the parade started. 

The Irish-Italian Parade. Lots of Green, Red, and White.

Me and my cabbage! 

Me, Mom, Amy, and Alice after the Parade. The streets were a mess!

I told you I made out like a bandit! Most of this got left with Alice to donate to the ARC, but I took a few. 

Friends since birth! Eva, Me, and Paul! So great to be reunited!

The Mom's - Alice, Diane, and Mom

Monday was our last full day in NOLA, so we decided to spend some time shopping! We started the day off with lunch/breakfast at the Camellia Grill – my parents used to take me to this grill when I was a little girl, and I remember they had the BEST grilled cheese sandwiches! My memory served me right…they still do have the BEST grilled cheese sandwiches in the world!! We walked up and down Decatur Street shopping for about 3 hours and then stopped to get some beignets, I mean, what trip to New Orleans is complete without eating beignets!?! They were fabulous! We finished our shopping trip with a stop at Marie Laveau’s Voodoo Museum. This stop was just for mom, so we waited for her in the lobby. Mom and Amy were interested in seeing the Katrina damage, so Alice took us on a trip to see the 9^th Ward. It is still so heartbreaking to see all the damage! Alice also showed us some of the rebuilding, which was great to see…but there is still so much to be done! Once we had enough depression for the day, it was time for dinner. I had my heart set on boiled crawfish, so we went to a local restaurant called Frankie and Jonny’s. We sat down to order, and the first thing the waitress said was, “I’m sorry, we are out of boiled crawfish!” So we got up and started searching for another restaurant! We ended up back in the French Quarter at a restaurant called Deenie’s, and I ate 2 pounds of crawfish!! I was a happy camper! Our last planned adventure for the trip was to see Charmaine Neville perform at Snug Harbor. When I was younger I used to dance on stage with Charmaine, so it was surreal to see her again, especially for mom! Mom decided to go back to the hotel and call it a night and Amy and I spent a little more time bar hopping on Bourbon Street. We went back to the hotel to pack and get some rest.

The best grilled cheese sandwich in the world! 

Jackson Square.

YUM! Beignets!

At the Voodoo museum, I got to hold this 7 month old Pibald Python! His name was Sam. 

A house in the 9th ward that still hasn't been touched. 

This is a neighborhood that Brad Pitt is helping rebuild. The houses are very unique. 

This is the Musician's Villiage, another neighborhood to be rebuilt.

My 2 pounds of crawfish!! 

My mother did teach me not to play with my food, however in this instance, she was encouraging it!

SO HAPPY!

Charmaine Neville and friends - including her son!

Amy and I at Paloozza on Bourbon Street. 

On Tuesday, mom and I flew from New Orleans (The Big Easy) to New York (The Big Apple), and Amy flew back home to Colorado Springs. I am so glad to have shared this experience with mom and Amy! It was such and incredible trip!!