New Orleans Bonanza

Okay, so Bonanza implies a wild and crazy time. Which it was, just don't think I did anything too wild. My two friends, Emily and Chera, drove in from Houston to have a "wild and crazy" time here in NOLA. Emily is leaving for her mission to Chile in a week or so--she will be missed.

Emily and Chera got in late Friday night. We went to Port of Call on Esplande in the Quarter to get a hamburger. It was delicious, as usual. I'm just waiting for Port of Call to offer french fries instead of a baked potato. By the time we got done eating, it was pretty late. I gave them a quick car tour through the Marigny and showed them were I used to live in the big green house.

The next morning we got up and went to Oak Alley plantation. I had never been to a plantation, and neither had they. My NOLA friend Kip joined us for the day. The plantation was way cool. I can't believe they lived in this weather without air conditioning. Oh, I overheard a conversation in French, un bain pour moin (one bath per month), pretty gross huh? This particular plantation is known for it's big row of 28 oak trees that are almost 600 years old, hence the name, Oak Alley.

We then went to eat at Cheesecake Bistro. Chera doesn't like seafood, but she vowed to give it a try. So, she got a healthy dose of crawfish (the tails, not actually eating them from their shell). It was delicious, as usual; and Chera liked the crawfish. But, I decided never to get anything else there but their crawfish ravioli.

We returned to my house in Algiers Point and rode the ferry across to the French Quarter. Of course, Emily and Chera had to get their picture taken under a Bourbon street sign. And we just walked around, looked at the famous sites and ate beignets (the powdered sugar all over my face). That pretty much took us to the end of the day and we were all pretty pooped. But, we managed to find the energy (and space in our tummies) for a snoball!!

The Smoky Mountains

Some friends and I went camping in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tenneessee and North Carolina. It was so pretty there and I really enjoyed getting out of New Orleans to enjoy a little bit of fresh air. As you can see, it was really green. All the coverage got really annoying for me bacause I knew we were climbing up and down mountains, but you couldn't look out over the ranges. There was finally some relief towards the end of the three day hike.

There was a little bit of everything--waterfalls, streams, greeness. I guess that isn't everything, but what the mountains had to offer was nice. All my hiking experience has been in a desert environment from when I lived in Arizona (and that one time I almost died in Utah), so the change to a cooler, more green eco-system was a nice change of pace, especially in June.


I went with my friend Autumn and her two friends, Ben and Katherine. Sometimes it is very difficult to get along with Texas A&M alumni. These three weren't that bad, it could have been worse. They mainly just wore their A&M apparel, sometimes they would drop an arrogant "why Texas A&M is the best" comment, but I have heard those so much at work, I have stopped acknowledging them. In case you were wondering, Texas A&M isn't the best (I have proof).

Enjoy the photos. I hope to be able to return sometime this fall when all the leaves change color and do another hike!!