Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
As you can probably guess, things got a little busy once we got into the whole New Orleans thing. I ended up using my free time to post pictures (a process that took a long time on our ancient laptop getting a spotty Wi-Fi signal,) leaving me with time enough to work on this blog post almost to the point where it was ready to publish, but never quite there. So here's how Monday through Saturday went.
Monday was a nice, if unexciting, day. We went to City Park with M's friend from elementary, middle, and high school and her daughters. PG got along famously with the five year old, and there was much fun and frolic. And near heart attacks for me, as my kid climbed the precarious big kid playground equipment. Also, PG grabbed a statue's naughty bits, a picture of which has been well-received and will someday be featured at her wedding.
We got po'boys at Parkway Bakery for lunch that day. It's the same place President Obama went to, when he was in New Orleans earlier this year. I'd venture to guess he didn't have the same thing I had. Not very presidential to have mayo and grease on your hands.
Tuesday we took the ferry across the Mighty Mississipp and went to the Aquarium. PG's favorite part, among all the fish and frogs, was the playground equipment in Pirate Cove. Her least favorite part was clocking her forehead on a crossbar on the playground equipment while climbing up the ramp. Interestingly, the least scar-inducing accident she had this week is the one for which she received medical attention. It was the first place we've been where first responders were on hand. She checked out A-OK.
Wednesday we went to the cemetery to visit M's parents and then to Liuzza's for lunch. Almost a whole week in New Orleans, and that's the only time I had red beans and rice.
Liuzza's had something that I've seen at several restaurants: A picture of the outside of the restaurant in the immediate aftermath of Katrina, under the water. I also saw a Starbuck's with a line painted along the outside that noted the flood line, and Brocado's (where we had some yummy sweets) had the water line noted in a brass engraving on the inside of their door. It goes to show how much they've recovered.
We also went to the Superdome on Wednesday. We were hoping to get some Saints stuff at the team store there, but the prices were a bit... premium. I guess when one is at a game and feelin' da Who Dat, one feels more motivated to pay through the nose. We also checked out Champions' Square. Yeah... not all that impressive, really.
Wednesday night it finally occurred to me to use the laptop to check for Wi-Fi signals near the house. I had already checked for connections on the iPod (it was, in fact, the very first thing I did the moment I stepped into the house for the first time,) and had failed with that, but I thought the laptop might have a better search range. Sure enough, I found one of the neighbor's unsecured wireless network, so I leeched off of that. It wasn't the greatest signal, but it got the job done.
Thursday, we went to the Audubon Zoo, where, as the song indicates, dey all ask'd for you. Well, the monkeys did, anyway. We didn't see the tigers or the elephant.
The Maryland Zoo is nice, but the Audubon Zoo is better. You get a better vantage point on the animals, by and large, at the Audubon. Especially the large cats. I suppose it's nice for the cheetah in Maryland that it has more room to roam than the jaguars at the Audubon, but good luck seeing much of the cheetah.
We also went to Drew Brees' house, while we were in the neighborhood. We had seen the pictures of the front of his house right after the Superbowl, when the front gate was covered in signs and Abita six-packs, thanking him for what he's done for the city. So we figured that there would be stuff all over, considering that his second son had just been born (front page news on the Times-Picayune,) and the weather was nice enough to leave teddy bears and congratulatory cards out front. But there was nothing. I didn't even bother getting out of the car to take pictures (I did take pictures from the car, of course.) M had written a nice card for Drew and Brittany, so she left that on top of the speakerphone at the gate, and we went on our merry way.
Dinner that night, in our continuing food tour of New Orleans, was Joey K's. I had yet another fried shrimp po'boy. Because they rock.
On Friday, we finally went in among the tourists in the French Quarter. Had beignets and Cafe Au Lait at a very crowded Café Du Monde. PG and a new friend (she made a lot of new friends this week, as a lot of M's friends have kids too) ran around Jackson Square like goofballs. Went into St. Louis Cathedral, where Tiana got married in Princess And The Frog. Squeezed our way through a crowded French Market, where PG blew off some steam in the hay maze, which, it turns out, cost $5 to do but PG did for free because nobody was paying attention for a good long while. The food tour continued at the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen for lunch.
Friday night was Ghosts In The Oaks at City Park, where we debuted our Backyardigan costumes. We weren't expecting anyone to recognize our get-ups, but we ended up getting a pretty good reception from the masses. And, in a sea of ghosts, witches, and Spidermen, we were the only Backyardigans in town.
Saturday was spent packing. I was sent to the grocery to get some milk so we could finish off the cereal we bought on Sunday and proceeded to barely eat. I had no idea where, exactly, the grocery was and planned on just looking around the general area until I found it. But a neighbor happened to be outside, so I asked her. After trying to give directions without being entirely sure the name of the street it was on, she just gave me a ride there. I know you're not supposed to accept rides from strangers, but I figured I could take her on, if need be.
All packed, we left the house for the last time, after six days of cramped showers and four bed collapses. We stopped by Mahoney's for one last stop on the food tour. M and I had the same kind of po'boys we had been having all week (roast beef for her, fried shrimp for me.) PG finally scored herself a grilled cheese. Then we took one more trip to Hansen's for the best snowballs ever. I'm not talking about the gravel-ice snowballs we have in Baltimore. These were nice and slushy. One might say they were quite snow-like.
Then we left on a jet plane, not knowing when we'll be back again.
One final word, regarding PG. We were pretty nervous about how she would conduct herself on this trip. We were expecting some resistance when it came time to do her flower girl thing. She did her job perfectly. The only glitch is that she scratched her face just as I was taking the picture. And the scarring of her nose the day before, of course. We figured all the running around here and there would make her cranky. It kinda did, but she kept the outbursts to much more of a minimum than we would have expected. She was as much of a model citizen as you can expect from a three-year-old.
So that's it. It went well. Now we detox before going back to our weekday routine tomorrow.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Journey Into The Deep South, Part 3
Previously on JITDS: Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2
Sunday was low-key, for the most part. Hung out in downtown Baton Rouge in the morning. Checked out and visited some suburban Baton Rouge friends (and Target) in the afternoon. The Saints won big. Good times.
What turned the day into a noteworthy time was when we got to the rental house we're staying in for the remainder of the week. The description had promised Wi-fi. There had been Wi-Fi at one point, but it "went away," presumably sometime between when M booked the place and when we got there. The box spring on the bed is held up on a series of boards, one of which clings to the frame on the power of hopes and dreams. When it slips off, which happens when one sits on the bed without the utmost care, you're suddenly sleeping along the side of a hill, until you lift the whole works up to get the board back into place. Also, the shower is a bit cramped and without a tub, so we'll see what our shower-hating kid does the first time we need to clean her off.
But it's fine. There's a coffee shop a few blocks away with Wi-Fi, so we'll get brief jaunts into the 21st century in the mornings. We'll figure out the bed. And the kid can just deal with the showers. At least there's a DVD player and local TV, both of which, one would assume, work. We'll be spending a lot of time out and about anyway.
Good times.
Coming up next... I walk in the wake of a President
Sunday was low-key, for the most part. Hung out in downtown Baton Rouge in the morning. Checked out and visited some suburban Baton Rouge friends (and Target) in the afternoon. The Saints won big. Good times.
What turned the day into a noteworthy time was when we got to the rental house we're staying in for the remainder of the week. The description had promised Wi-fi. There had been Wi-Fi at one point, but it "went away," presumably sometime between when M booked the place and when we got there. The box spring on the bed is held up on a series of boards, one of which clings to the frame on the power of hopes and dreams. When it slips off, which happens when one sits on the bed without the utmost care, you're suddenly sleeping along the side of a hill, until you lift the whole works up to get the board back into place. Also, the shower is a bit cramped and without a tub, so we'll see what our shower-hating kid does the first time we need to clean her off.
But it's fine. There's a coffee shop a few blocks away with Wi-Fi, so we'll get brief jaunts into the 21st century in the mornings. We'll figure out the bed. And the kid can just deal with the showers. At least there's a DVD player and local TV, both of which, one would assume, work. We'll be spending a lot of time out and about anyway.
Good times.
Coming up next... I walk in the wake of a President
Journey Into The Deep South: Part 2
Need to catch up? I've got a Prologue, wherein I give some background about our trip, and a Part 1, wherein my daughter resembles a Bajoran.
Saturday... the day of the wedding. The day that we had faced with some uncertainty for a little over a year, as our three and a half year old daughter was going to be a hopefully non-disruptive part of a fairly big wedding.
There were a few harbingers of doom in the morning. For one thing, PG wasn't being the best listener. For another, she wiped out yet again while running on the sidewalk during a leisurely stroll along the mighty Mississippi River. Both turned out to be false alarms - once she had some chocolate muffin in her tummy, the ears started working better, and, despite being face-down on the sidewalk, only her knees were slightly scuffed by the fall.
PG got her hair done and her Bajoran nose covered up with makeup that helped a little but not entirely. And then it was off to the church! PG brought along her friends Pink Doggie and Uniqua (of Backyardigans fame,) but only Pink Doggie made it as far as the shuttle trolley that had been commissioned for the wedding. So I took the trolley back to the hotel and eventually found Uniqua at the front desk. A friend of the father of the bride had found her in the hotel lobby. I returned to the church triumphantly with Uniqua in hand and felt kinda like Superdad.
Finally, it was showtime, and the kid did great. She waited patiently in the wings and then marched right on out with the flowers with a big smile on her face. The ringbearer, a little boy about a year younger than PG, did pretty good too! A My Little Pony coloring book awaited PG at our seats, and that kept her busy for the rest of the ceremony.
Then it was time to party down, and party down we did. PG was feelin' the boogie!
We lasted about three or four hours at the reception, and then we grabbed the trolley back to the hotel. We would realize the next morning that we had been only about a block and a half from the hotel the whole time (the trolley ride was a bit zig-zagged on the one-way streets.) The way our feet felt, it was probably just as well we took the trolley.
We crashed at the hotel, and that was the last anyone heard from us the rest of the night. Other than the photo posts on Facebook, of course. That kept me up pretty late, thanks to Picasa crashing during the upload and forcing me to do the whole thing over again.
Coming up... Rolling with the punches.
Saturday... the day of the wedding. The day that we had faced with some uncertainty for a little over a year, as our three and a half year old daughter was going to be a hopefully non-disruptive part of a fairly big wedding.
There were a few harbingers of doom in the morning. For one thing, PG wasn't being the best listener. For another, she wiped out yet again while running on the sidewalk during a leisurely stroll along the mighty Mississippi River. Both turned out to be false alarms - once she had some chocolate muffin in her tummy, the ears started working better, and, despite being face-down on the sidewalk, only her knees were slightly scuffed by the fall.
PG got her hair done and her Bajoran nose covered up with makeup that helped a little but not entirely. And then it was off to the church! PG brought along her friends Pink Doggie and Uniqua (of Backyardigans fame,) but only Pink Doggie made it as far as the shuttle trolley that had been commissioned for the wedding. So I took the trolley back to the hotel and eventually found Uniqua at the front desk. A friend of the father of the bride had found her in the hotel lobby. I returned to the church triumphantly with Uniqua in hand and felt kinda like Superdad.
Finally, it was showtime, and the kid did great. She waited patiently in the wings and then marched right on out with the flowers with a big smile on her face. The ringbearer, a little boy about a year younger than PG, did pretty good too! A My Little Pony coloring book awaited PG at our seats, and that kept her busy for the rest of the ceremony.
Then it was time to party down, and party down we did. PG was feelin' the boogie!
We lasted about three or four hours at the reception, and then we grabbed the trolley back to the hotel. We would realize the next morning that we had been only about a block and a half from the hotel the whole time (the trolley ride was a bit zig-zagged on the one-way streets.) The way our feet felt, it was probably just as well we took the trolley.
We crashed at the hotel, and that was the last anyone heard from us the rest of the night. Other than the photo posts on Facebook, of course. That kept me up pretty late, thanks to Picasa crashing during the upload and forcing me to do the whole thing over again.
Coming up... Rolling with the punches.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Journey Into The Deep South: Part 1
There's a Prologue, if you want some background about why we're in The Deep South.
Our journey began with a 3:02 alarm clock (I overshot 3:00 and didn't really feel like going all the way back around.) After a few meetings with my old friend the Snooze Button, I actually got up, and we were out the door by 4:00 or so. That was good enough to get me to the gate right as it was time to board (meeting M and PG there, as they took care of checking in while I parked. If you have the personnel to do that, I highly recommend doing it.)
Fun fact about BWI: Even at 5:00 in the morning, there are still a lot of people flying out. The line at security was long and well into the hallway, but moved delightfully fast. So, good job, BWI security, on running a much more well-oiled machine than I'm used to.
The flight to our connecting in Houston went A-OK. I was a bit worried that I would sleep through the inevitable sunrise at 35,000 feet, but I managed to wake up in time.
After arriving in Houston and getting some breakfast to go, we settled down in the far reaches of the airport where they keep the mini-jets that fly to small airports like the one in Baton Rouge. But we forgot utensils and straws, so I went back to get some and was not a witness to what happened next.
While I was on my utensil mission, PG ran around to blow off some steam that had been pent up during the first flight. Unfortunately, my daughter is a bit of a spaz, being a three year old, and all, and she had insisted on wearing her Tinkerbell sandals, which made her a little bit more of spaz. So she tripped on her own feet and face planted into the metal frame of the seats. I returned to the gate to find a screaming girl, with two cuts on the bridge of her nose, right between the eyes, along with a little bit of swelling. Otherwise, nothing broken and no apparent concussion. Just a sudden resemblance to a Bajoran (that's one of the many alien races in Star Trek that are basically humans with something extra around the nose, for those of you who aren't geeks.)
PG eventually calmed down, though she wasn't nuts about getting on another plane. None of us could argue with the sentiment, but walking from Houston to Baton Rouge would take too long, so we got on the little jet and flew on.
As soon as we got to Baton Rouge, M and PG took off to the luncheon, leaving me and the husband of one of the bridesmaids to get the luggage. I couldn't remember if we had checked two or three pieces of luggage, but they only sent out two for me, so that answered that question. Until I noticed, while waiting for the hotel shuttle, that I had, in fact, three, not two, claim tickets. That's when I remembered that we had checked PG's car seat too. So I left my luggage with the other guy I had known for all of about 10 minutes and went back inside to see about getting the car seat. While waiting forever in line, my new friend came in to let me know that the shuttle had arrived, my bags were loaded into the van, and they had to get going. So I let them go. It all worked out fine. Once the Continental folks finally got around to helping me, they were able to get the car seat right away. There were two Hiltons in the area, but both the other guy and I went to the same one, and I was able to retrieve the rest of my luggage, which, due to some protocol involving the use of luggage carts, ended up in the other guy's room. Despite the shared experience, it would end up being the last time we spoke, despite seeing each other at both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding/reception. Such are my social skills, I guess.
Despite not having slept much since 3 AM, I didn't nap right away, instead opting to get some lunch at the restaurant in the lobby. It was the first time in my almost 40 years that I dined in a non-fast-food restaurant alone. I found it kinda depressing when the hostess asked me if I wanted a table for one.
PG returned from the luncheon with a scratch on her cheek. Nobody knows when or how it got there, but the best theory is that she managed to scratch her face with her fork while eating. Because of the whole spaz thing.
I did eventually nap later that afternoon, causing me to have to miss the rehearsal. I was told later that PG did great in rehearsal.
The rehearsal dinner was very nice, but it took forever for them to let us into the dining area, and then the five courses were, like, a half-hour apart. PG got her dinner right away, scarfed down the mac and cheese, and then proceeded to fall asleep in her chair. She continued to sleep on M's lap during appetizer and soup. She was then relocated to a couch in the bar area, well within our line of sight, and spent the salad, main course, and dessert portions of the evening fast asleep there. She also slept in M's arms during the entire walk back to the hotel.
And so ended our first, very long, day in Baton Rouge.
Next up: The Wedding
Our journey began with a 3:02 alarm clock (I overshot 3:00 and didn't really feel like going all the way back around.) After a few meetings with my old friend the Snooze Button, I actually got up, and we were out the door by 4:00 or so. That was good enough to get me to the gate right as it was time to board (meeting M and PG there, as they took care of checking in while I parked. If you have the personnel to do that, I highly recommend doing it.)
Fun fact about BWI: Even at 5:00 in the morning, there are still a lot of people flying out. The line at security was long and well into the hallway, but moved delightfully fast. So, good job, BWI security, on running a much more well-oiled machine than I'm used to.
The flight to our connecting in Houston went A-OK. I was a bit worried that I would sleep through the inevitable sunrise at 35,000 feet, but I managed to wake up in time.
After arriving in Houston and getting some breakfast to go, we settled down in the far reaches of the airport where they keep the mini-jets that fly to small airports like the one in Baton Rouge. But we forgot utensils and straws, so I went back to get some and was not a witness to what happened next.
While I was on my utensil mission, PG ran around to blow off some steam that had been pent up during the first flight. Unfortunately, my daughter is a bit of a spaz, being a three year old, and all, and she had insisted on wearing her Tinkerbell sandals, which made her a little bit more of spaz. So she tripped on her own feet and face planted into the metal frame of the seats. I returned to the gate to find a screaming girl, with two cuts on the bridge of her nose, right between the eyes, along with a little bit of swelling. Otherwise, nothing broken and no apparent concussion. Just a sudden resemblance to a Bajoran (that's one of the many alien races in Star Trek that are basically humans with something extra around the nose, for those of you who aren't geeks.)
PG eventually calmed down, though she wasn't nuts about getting on another plane. None of us could argue with the sentiment, but walking from Houston to Baton Rouge would take too long, so we got on the little jet and flew on.
As soon as we got to Baton Rouge, M and PG took off to the luncheon, leaving me and the husband of one of the bridesmaids to get the luggage. I couldn't remember if we had checked two or three pieces of luggage, but they only sent out two for me, so that answered that question. Until I noticed, while waiting for the hotel shuttle, that I had, in fact, three, not two, claim tickets. That's when I remembered that we had checked PG's car seat too. So I left my luggage with the other guy I had known for all of about 10 minutes and went back inside to see about getting the car seat. While waiting forever in line, my new friend came in to let me know that the shuttle had arrived, my bags were loaded into the van, and they had to get going. So I let them go. It all worked out fine. Once the Continental folks finally got around to helping me, they were able to get the car seat right away. There were two Hiltons in the area, but both the other guy and I went to the same one, and I was able to retrieve the rest of my luggage, which, due to some protocol involving the use of luggage carts, ended up in the other guy's room. Despite the shared experience, it would end up being the last time we spoke, despite seeing each other at both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding/reception. Such are my social skills, I guess.
Despite not having slept much since 3 AM, I didn't nap right away, instead opting to get some lunch at the restaurant in the lobby. It was the first time in my almost 40 years that I dined in a non-fast-food restaurant alone. I found it kinda depressing when the hostess asked me if I wanted a table for one.
PG returned from the luncheon with a scratch on her cheek. Nobody knows when or how it got there, but the best theory is that she managed to scratch her face with her fork while eating. Because of the whole spaz thing.
I did eventually nap later that afternoon, causing me to have to miss the rehearsal. I was told later that PG did great in rehearsal.
The rehearsal dinner was very nice, but it took forever for them to let us into the dining area, and then the five courses were, like, a half-hour apart. PG got her dinner right away, scarfed down the mac and cheese, and then proceeded to fall asleep in her chair. She continued to sleep on M's lap during appetizer and soup. She was then relocated to a couch in the bar area, well within our line of sight, and spent the salad, main course, and dessert portions of the evening fast asleep there. She also slept in M's arms during the entire walk back to the hotel.
And so ended our first, very long, day in Baton Rouge.
Next up: The Wedding
Journey Into The Deep South: Prologue
Thought I'd whip up a little travelogue of our trip to Louisiana. I promise to do my best to include just the interesting stuff.
So, here's what's going on: M's cousin is getting married in Baton Rouge, and PG is the flower girl in the wedding. Since it's been four and a half years since M has been back home (before PG was even born,) we're sticking around down in New Orleans for another week to see whatever, and whoever, we can fit in. And get lots of Saints stuff, since pretty much all you can get around our place is Ravens stuff (not that there's anything wrong with that.)
Because of a Friday morning luncheon for the bridal party, we had to get an early flight out of BWI. A 5:45 AM flight. Which meant a 3:00 awake time to make sure we got to the airport on time. That's a bit early. It didn't help that PG was sick earlier in the week with a head cold (and, it turns out, an ear infection,) so she kept us up a lot Tuesday night. I got caught up on sleep a little Wednesday night, but squandered that away with an 11:00 bedtime the night of our departure (because when you have to get up at OMG-Are-You-Kidding-Me o'clock, you don't refer to it as "the night before departure.")
So that's the scene. Actual travelogue to follow soon!
So, here's what's going on: M's cousin is getting married in Baton Rouge, and PG is the flower girl in the wedding. Since it's been four and a half years since M has been back home (before PG was even born,) we're sticking around down in New Orleans for another week to see whatever, and whoever, we can fit in. And get lots of Saints stuff, since pretty much all you can get around our place is Ravens stuff (not that there's anything wrong with that.)
Because of a Friday morning luncheon for the bridal party, we had to get an early flight out of BWI. A 5:45 AM flight. Which meant a 3:00 awake time to make sure we got to the airport on time. That's a bit early. It didn't help that PG was sick earlier in the week with a head cold (and, it turns out, an ear infection,) so she kept us up a lot Tuesday night. I got caught up on sleep a little Wednesday night, but squandered that away with an 11:00 bedtime the night of our departure (because when you have to get up at OMG-Are-You-Kidding-Me o'clock, you don't refer to it as "the night before departure.")
So that's the scene. Actual travelogue to follow soon!
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Twin Pines Mall, We Never Knew Ye
It's interesting that the 25th anniversary of Back To The Future is being celebrated not during the 25th anniversary of the movie's July 1985 release, but the 25th anniversary of when the movie takes place (the 1985 part of the movie, of course.)
Also interesting is that the DVD industry is so beholden to releasing DVDs on Tuesdays that they're releasing the Blu-rays on the 26th, even though the movie takes place on the 25th. (Edit: It has been pointed out - by me, to myself - that the movie ends on October 26. So there you go.)
Not that it's a huge deal or anything. Just figured that if they were going to coincide with the movie date, they may as well have gone all the way with it.
At least the digital re-release in theaters happens on the 25th (and the 23rd. Just those two times, apparently.) In my town, anyway.
Also interesting is that the DVD industry is so beholden to releasing DVDs on Tuesdays that they're releasing the Blu-rays on the 26th, even though the movie takes place on the 25th. (Edit: It has been pointed out - by me, to myself - that the movie ends on October 26. So there you go.)
Not that it's a huge deal or anything. Just figured that if they were going to coincide with the movie date, they may as well have gone all the way with it.
At least the digital re-release in theaters happens on the 25th (and the 23rd. Just those two times, apparently.) In my town, anyway.
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