The Big Easy!
After a three week hiatus from traveling in Coach Addy, we are back on the road! The final leg of our trip will take us east from Texas (where Coach Addy has been for the past few weeks) and we will get a chance to experience some "Southern Hospitality" before heading up the Blue Ridge Parkway as we travel to Pennsylvania where we will visit our nephew and his family.
Our first big stop is New Orleans! We arrived here yesterday and we are heading to the French Quarter as soon as I hit send on this blog post! (Now that is motivation to get my work done early!) We took two days to get here from Boerne, Texas and stayed at two great Harvest Hosts. The first was Crying Eagle Brewing Company in Lake Charles, LA where we discovered Louisiana Boudin Sausage and the second was The Houmas House and Gardens, an old sugar cane plantation form the 1800's in Darrow, LA. The plantation is huge and the grounds are spectacular.
It is located right on the Mississippi and we had a great time riding our bikes along the Levee.
Even Charlie got in on the action...he loves riding in the basket on the bike!
They have a wonderful museum dedicated to the Great River Road (The Road that we traveled down alongside the Mississippi River), a tour of the mansion, three restaurants and one VERY cool bar. Hmmmm…where do you think Peder and I chose to spend our time?
OMG, The Turtle Bar is adorable, small, quaint, filled with history and oh so delicious drinks. I had my first Sazerac Cocktail, a classic New Orleans cocktail. It is a bit like an Old Fashioned, but even better! I can tell you it won’t be my last Sazerac Cocktail while I am in New Orleans! Cheers!
Hot Tip #1 When in New Orleans...
You’ve heard this before, but be sure to experience whatever the local culture is-The bartender recommended The Sazerac Cocktail, and I am so glad that I tried one! We tried Boudin Sausages at the Brewery (so delicious) and we will be sure to have gumbo, jambalaya, po’ boys and of course beignets before we leave New Orleans and head to Alabama!
Time away from Coach Addy
What a fun time we had these past few weeks. It all began with a 9 day cruise out of New Jersey that went to Boston, Maine and Nova Scotia-so beautiful! And because extreme weather has been a theme on this trip…of course we were rerouted and missed our stop in Saint John, New Brunswick due to Hurricane Idalia. Which actually turned out OK, because we got to visit our good friend Tom and his wife in New Jersey. Flexibility is the ticket to happiness when traveling…just go with it!
Had the BEST Lobster Rolls in Bar Harbor, Maine...or as they say "Bah-Hah-Bah!"
After the cruise, I flew back to San Diego and Peder flew back to Texas. One of our agreements was that I knew I could not go more than 2-3 months without seeing my kids, my dad (or my hairdresser), so this was my third and final trip home. It’s always great to be back at Herons’ House and to spend some time with my kids and my dad. This trip also allowed me to see our Rotarian friends at the last BBQ of the season. So fun!! I can't believe that we will be back home in a couple of months.
Thank you dinner with Butch and Betina for watching Charlie while we were gone and for letting us Moochdock on their ranch!
Lesson Learned: When planning your trip, be open to new opportunities. I had two different people reach out to me and ask if we were going to be in their area on this last leg of the trip. We hadn’t planned on staying with them, but they offered and we accepted! One of our hosts, we don’t even know-they are a sibling of one of my friends and colleagues. So grateful for the opportunities to stay with friends-new and old!
Bummer of the Week: I can’t believe that we are on our final leg of this great adventure! We have covered so much of this great country and we are looking forward to this last quadrant. We won’t get to all 50 states (that was never the intention) but we will visit quite a few (maybe around 40??) We’ll see…
Highlight of the Week: The Turtle Bar was awesome! So much history and the people were great: The bartender, the other patrons and the locals!
Next Week: Alabama and Georgia
We are so excited to spend a few days in Savannah, Georgia before heading to The Carolinas! The South is awesome!!
WOW! Again and again! I love the idea of the Crying Eagle Brewery family sitting around the table and dreaming a dream! They made their dream come true while paying it forward as a Harvest Host! I can't wait for you to make us a Sazerac Cocktail - I can hear the good cheer as you share stories from this historic visit!