New Orleans Mardi Gras

When Jeff said, hey there is a group trip to New Orleans for some Mardi Gras parades, do you want to go? I said yes immediately. Glad we did because we saw 2 parades right in front of our hotel, had a nice meal, great hop on hop off tour and a pouring rainy day.

Our hotel was downtown near the French quarter so after checking in, we went exploring.

Then we ran into what we think was the Babylon Krewe on their way to their ball.  They were traveling in true Mardi Gras style!  There was a parade of about 6 horse-drawn carriages that took them to a major hotel where they hopped out and were throwing really nice beads and lots of little bouncy balls.  The parade was led by a true New Orleans style jazz band.

From there we explored a little bit, we ended up in a neat little bar located behind a courtyard and had a glass of wine.  We talked with a couple of other patrons who told us about the roasted cauliflower appetizer at the restaurant  we had dinner reservations.  Then we were off to dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. 

Even the restaurant was decorated for Mardi Gras!

While our first parade was scheduled to begin around 6pm, we were told not to expect anything till after 8pm.  The first parade was the Krewe of Druids.  We expected floats and marching bands what we had not expected was all the adult dance teams.  All but one were female groups that had gotten together to walk in the parade, they had a theme and a vehicle following them blasting their music.  

Krewe of Druids floats

 We felt at home when the Clydesdales stopped in front of us.  One of the people on the back of the wagon even had a St Louis Cardinals hat on.  Jeff got him to throw Jeff a bunch of beads when he realized he was yelling "Go Cards" at the top of his lungs.

One of the dance groups

The second parade was the Krewe of Nyx which is a female based group.  The locals in the bar had told me their signature throw was a purse so that was what I should try and get.  Happy to report that I feel like I succeeded. 

I have a couple of beads with "purses" on them and the little pink circle is a round zippered purse with sparkles - it may become my coin purse for our travels this year!

Floats from the Nyx parade

Yes, I really was there!

At dinner, we had asked our waitress for recommendations on where to get the best King Cake nearby. She came back with 2 suggestions, one of which also was a good breakfast sandwich place. So, in light rain the next morning we set out to find it - Breads on Oak.  We ate our muffins/scones and then got our cake and returned to the hotel in heavier rain.

It looks good, yes?  It is.  It is also a "delicious and unique plant-based King Cake from Breads on Oak.  As New Orleans original vegan and organic bakery." We could have gotten a boozy version which in hindsight was the recommendation, but since we were going to share it with others I opted for non-alcoholic.  If/when we go to New Orleans again I think I would try the boozy version too.

Oh important stuff - a pile of our "catch" from the parades

Before heading home we did a hop on hop off tour, we did the hop on part really well and only hopped off when we were done.  It started as a way to hide from the rain and ended up being a really nice tour.  This was one of the few times I have had live tour guides on a hop on hop off bus and even better, they really knew the city and had interesting stories.  Even if it had not been raining it would have been an enjoyable 2 hours!

A fun quick trip to New Orleans Mardi Gras!

Transitions

Where are we?  Good question!

Cierra has now moved into her first apartment in Washington, DC with her roommate.

Jeff went back and forth between our beach condo in Alabama and St. Louis during January.

Carol tried to spend time at the beach, but she has failed at being a snowbird at least in January.  Her longest stay at the beach was 5 continuous days!

Why all this movement?
Well cleaning out a home of 20 years = lots and lots of stuff.  This means it takes a while to find new homes for it all - may be longer then one thinks/hopes.  Moving/cleaning out the house was a decision tree!

Then the real reality sets in when it wouldn't all fit in the cars to go to the beach.  Oh, how I wish I had taken pictures of our cars a couple of times.  When both Jeff and I came down the first time, absolutely nothing else was going in that car and as Jeff said: "seeing out the back window is way overrated." Jeff came down the second time in my convertible alone, as Cierra and I were headed to Greensboro. The car was so full that one of the herbs had to give up its pot or stay in St Louis. #eek  Sad truth, we are planning an early March St Louis run to get the stuff that is currently sitting in Carol's brother's old bedroom.  So do we fit in the already furnished condo?  Well pretty much although we have already started a new Goodwill bag!  Also, we have to find homes for boxes so we can invite people to come to visit us.

 My new sewing area with a project underway

Guest bed covered in boxes

My dresses in the guest closet.  Got a bit of a problem - no long hanging area in the master closet.

Jeff's new office is the living area - our TV is his new monitor

View from the porch - a windy day

So far the herbs have survived the trauma of moving.  2nd plant from right is the one Jeff transported in a plastic bag.

Our comfy chairs for watching the waves.

US Figure Skating Nationals

Nationals!!  Carol and Cierra made it to the US Figure Skating Nationals (January 24th-27th).  Headed south this year to Greensboro, NC.  Once we got there the weather was warm and the skating was great.  We drove into town on Friday through heavy storms and saw both the men's short and long programs. Additionally, we saw the long programs for dance, pairs and ladies.  Little bummed that couple of our favorites ended  up with a 2nd place silver medal, but still a good weekend.

Being in the South, Saturday morning breakfast was at Biscuitville - Cierra with Chicken and waffles.

Some of Cierra's skating photos.

Mariah Bell in her great long program program

The top 2 free dance couples in their free dance routines.

 Nathan Chen in mid jump - probably one of his quads!

And last but not least 2 of the pairs programs

Like many US skating fans we like Jason Brown and were happy to see him do well

We like to include one nice meal during the week end; this year it was Sunday brunch.  Cierra outside the restaurant and my drink for the morning!

Ending with the skating spectacular which is a fun event to watch

Especially when you have someone who is a real ham like Jean Luk Baker on the ice!  Here he was the black swan to his partner's white.   He has the head of the swan draped over his shoulder.

Thus the end to another fun Nationals!

Week End in Chicago

This year we decided to go to Chicago for a little weekend getaway. We saw a play, took a tour, ate and of course shopped! While we have previously lived in Chicago, our tour took us to places we had never been before, using both the pedway and L-train to get around from place to place. It also didn't hurt that we had great weather and no snow. Below are some the places and sights we saw in Chicago.

Saturday morning we took a small group tour around Chicago, the first stop was the "Bean". The morning started off mildly cold with the sun shining bright. 

Our tour group with Kari our guide [far right] inside The Palmer House hotel.  Kari is a great tour guide!

Part of our tour had us using the "L" to get around, one time we ran into the Christmas train with Santa and the elf team train following.  At the time we were on our way to the Christmas market at Wrigleyville.  The snow boot [picture below] is a mug full of mulled wine.

Had to check out the windows at Macy's too!

After a little shopping we ended the day where we started at the Chicago Athletic Association - they have a great roof top bar, Cindy's!

This is the world's largest Starbucks - the whole thing not just the first floor.  You can't see in this picture but the lines wrapped around the building multiple times with an auxiliary line on Saturday.  We did not stand in line, but I must say even to a non-coffee drinker some floors sounded interesting - alcohol at Starbucks!?

This is the inside of the Holy Name Cathedral which we attended Sunday morning.  The woodwork was quite pretty and they had a great choir.

And of course no Sunday would be complete without Sunday Brunch. 

Welcome

Welcome to our adventure as we explore the UK this summer.

In 2020, we will spend 5 months of the year overseas in the United Kingdom.  We hope to take a leisurely pace, so we learn what its like to live in the communities we visit.  We want to meet the local people, not just visit tourist sites.  

Our journey begins with a transit of the Atlantic on board the Queen Mary 2 arriving in southern England where we will promptly head for western England and then north Wales.  In June we have a packed itinerary in London with plans to attend the Royal Ascot, Wimbleton and the Major League Baseball London series.  (Cards vs Cubs)   In July and August, we will explore northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.  

Our transit back to the states in September will be on a small cruise liner that will take us to France, Ireland, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Maine and NYC.   Upon our return, we will be visiting friends and family.