New Orleans and a "thank you" to Ms. enPlace

The kitchen remodel is moving along, more about that later.  The blog obviously hasn't received any attention these days.    Today is Saturday and the carpenters are working away so I'll finish sharing that surprise trip to New Orleans.

I especially want to give Michelle at Ms. enPlace a big THANK YOU for her local insights. I emailed Michelle to see if she could suggest where the locals eat in New Orleans.  You know it's easy to find the touristy places anywhere and there are a LOT of good places to eat, but I wanted to know where the locals would go.  Michelle gave me lots of places to consider and her recommendations didn't disappoint!  

The Bassman had made brunch reservations at a couple of well known local places.  The first day, we made our way by taxi to Commander's Palace (where Emeril got his start in the kitchen) in the garden district.  I found myself looking often at a layout of the city to see which "district" we were in.  

Turtle soup is one of their specialties and it was good along with that crusty french bread.

Visiting the cemeteries wasn't on our to-do list, but since there was one across the street from Commander's Palace we took a few minutes to take a look.  The architecture is interesting just don't get lost in there!

We made our way back via the streetcar.  This is the way to go as a tourist for no stressful driving!   If they're busy, the timing can be an issue so just make sure you allow plenty of time to get where you're going or better yet don't have a set schedule.

Now on to the French Quarter Festival for some music, sightseeing and lots of walking!

 Of course you don't want to miss Cafe Du Monde's famous beignets.  Are they ever not busy?  More beignets, please!

Dragos just happened to be right down the street from our hotel.  Michelle mentioned that this is one of her parent's favorite places.  And yes, have the grilled oysters.  Now we want to make these on the grill at home, only because there's not a Dragos nearby.

I mentioned earlier about not having a schedule but we did have to set the alarm to make our breakfast reservation at Brennan's.  

Bananas Foster was created here.  This was the fanciest breakfast I've ever had and, yes, I had Bananas Foster for dessert!

Now on to more music, sightseeing and walking.....

...on ROYAL street.  I liked the tile street markers.

WHO DAT cat in the window at the Bourbon Street Veterinarian.

Past a historic architect's house.

On to the house that Michelle recommended for their poboys, Napoleon House in the French Quarter.

I enjoyed the muffaletta.

There was plenty of crawfish at the festival.  Here is the Bassman getting some tips on how they prepare them.  He is getting very good at his own crawfish boil at home.  It is becoming an annual tradition!

Music stages everywhere just stop and listen.  It brought a smile to my face to hear praise and worship music in the French Quarter.

Another place Michelle recommended is Mother's Restaurant.  I wasn't clear on whose mother it was, but her Ferdi special poboy (not pictured) was worth the wait.

Michelle mentioned 7 other places in her email so there was plenty to choose from and not enough time to make it to all of them.  The down side is we both came home with 3 or 4 extra pounds that we didn't have when we arrived!   It was kind of like a scavenger hunt to visit as many as we could and definitely a nice connection to have through a blog!

Thanks Michelle!

Amtrak Crescent to New Orleans

The Bassman surprised me with a long weekend trip for our anniversary.   Now this was a surprise and a treat because I usually get the travel planner title around here!  I admit I was a little nervous about it too!  Not that I'm a control freak or anything...maybe a little.

We often talked about taking the train to New Orleans and we finally did it!   We boarded the Amtrak Crescent in Tuscaloosa.  The train station itself is old, yet clean, and has a lot of character.

We had never taken a passenger train before so this was a new and exciting experience.

Shortly out of Tuscaloosa, we passed Moundville, AL

We stopped at several stations, each with their own character, to board more passengers.  If the stop wasn't your final destination, you're not allowed to get off the train.

There is evidence in some cities that business was good at one time around the train stations.  But sadly, many of the buildings along the route are empty.

Entering Louisiana, you get a great view of wetlands.

Whew, we had just missed a storm!  This was the sunset after the storm over Lake Pontchartrain.  It was a very impressive site.

And on the train ride back to Alabama, we ran into a special friend.   You see our area, as well as others, opened their arms and hearts to those who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.  One of those ladies stayed here for a long time until she felt the need to reunite with her family.  She says this is her home away from home and comes back to visit when she can.  Today, she will tell you how God was working in her life through all of this.  You can imagine our surprise to run into her taking the same train back home!

More later on our trip and how a local blogger gave me some great tips!!

Spring Break: Great Smoky Mountains

We took advantage of spring break this year by spending a few days in Gatlinburg, TN and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  

It had just snowed a few days before and the scenary was beautiful!!

The snow was fun....

and dangerous...!

We're all squinty eyed the glare was so bright!

This is our family selfie with the cellphone camera.

Then onto Cades Cove where we explored several of the rustic preserved structures.

I just wonder what stories that these buildings could tell.

And while we're here...get a family photo.

and a silly one or two!

Of course, I had to search out the non-chain local restaurants.  I found this article helpful to find a few local places.  We had a late breakfast a couple of mornings at Log Cabin Pancake House and enjoyed dinner at The Peddler Steakhouse.   We'll just have to go back and try the others!

DIY Word Photo

I like letter art, typography and subway art and have done a couple of projects myself here and here.  

I've snapped lots of photos over the past couple of years of objects that look like letters.  If someone were to look at the picture directory on my computer, they would probably ask "why did you take that picture!"  Because I saw a letter.  Ha ha!

On our trip to the Ozark foothills, we stayed in a very nice cabin here.   It would be a nice honeymoon cabin and although we weren't honeymooning, it was a nice cabin for a couple to just get away.  And there were lots of letters around the cabin just waiting to be photographed.

Like this cabinet used as a TV stand.

And this wrought iron side table on the back deck.

The deck framing itself was "spelling" to me!  Hee hee!

Lots of letters in the fishing lure towel hanger too.

So I chose a few letters and here's my letter photo collage. 

Do you know what it spells?  

The only photo editing needed is cropping and maybe some rotating depending on the angle the photo was taken (ie not necessary to stand on my head to get pictures of letters!! Haha!) and a color change if desired.  

I like it much better than any "made in china" souvenir reminder of a trip!  

Maybe next time, I'll try a word with more than 4 letters.  Has anyone seen a "K" or "Q" or how about an "a" or "h"? 

It becomes a different way to look at the places I go and things I see!

Sharing here:

Meet Me Monday Link Party

Metamorphosis Monday

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style