Finally, New Orleans 2015

We left Texas on 9/30 and headed east.  Since we had some extra time before my job would start, we decided to try to get to New Orleans, again!  In the past 5 years we had attempted to visit New Orleans, however, something always prevented us from getting there.  The first time, our coach had a run in with a cement block, so we had to forgo NO and head to Red Bay, AL for repairs.  Our second try occurred when we were leaving Florida, and had to head north to stay away from a killer tornado. We were able to stay ahead of that one, but sadly many people weren't and died.

Our first stop out of Texas on 9/30 was Cushauta Casino RV Park (also known as Red Shoes RV park) in Kinder, LA.  It was only $20/night, and has nice long, paved pads.  They provide a shuttle to/from the casino.  We did go to the casino, ate supper, and did NOT win any money.  There goes $20.    The next morning, 10/1 we drove to Slidell, LA.  We had reservations to stay at the Pine Crest Campground for 3 nights.  This is a 30 minute drive into New Orleans, but we were told that we shouldn't stay in the RV parks in the city.  We usually do what we're told :)  This was a nice park.  The sites were kinda tight, but the people there were extremely friendly and helpful.

On 10/2 we decided to do the Plantation tour first.  There are many plantations, so it was difficult to choose which one to tour.  We drove by several, and decided to tour the Laura Plantation. The San Francisco Plantation (surrounded by oil refineries), The Oak Alley plantation (which is beautiful, but ran out of time), and Houma's House Plantation were ones we had driven by.  Time allowed us to take only one tour.  The Laura plantation is a french creole plantation.  This place has been restored and the history is amazing.  Although, one of the smaller plantations, the history of the family, slaves, and life on the plantation is remarkable.  I highly recommend taking this tour.  After the tour we drove to downtown New Orleans.  On our drive there we saw the "above ground" cemetery, and the Super Dome.  We ate at the Napolean House.  This is a neat little historic place with decent food.  Our seating was an open wall concept with access to the street and passersby.  Had our first Boudin. Not bad.

 Laura Plantation.  Great guide.

 Banana trees on the plantation, and Kirk

 This was Laura's retirement home on the plantation

View of slave housing from deck of the plantation home

Napolean House.  Open wall concept to street.  We love to people watch.

 First time seeing this type of cemetery

 The new Mercedes Benz Super Dome

 The Food Tour stopped to entertain us while we were eating at Napolean House

Street view from our table at Naplean House

On 10/3 we returned to New Orleans.  My brother, Rudy had recommended that we have the beneigts at Cafe de Mundo.  We also had the cafe au lait, which is a must with the beneigts.  We stood in a  very long line, as this is "the place to go", but it went fast, and the people in line were interesting to talk to.  The beineigts were great.   Next, was Jackson Square (everything is walking distance).  Never a dull moment on the streets.  So much to see, so much happening on the streets.  Later in the day we had Charbroiled/grilled oysters at Dragos in the Hilton.  I normally HATE oysters, but these were wonderful, and I want more.  We walked Bourbon Street and saw many interesting sights, took the trolly car just because (and to give our feet a rest), and stopped at Pat O'Brians where Kirk made me drink the original Hurricane.  They even package the Hurrican glass and place it in a bag for you to take home.  Yay, I have a souvenir.  Kirk and I are so glad that we finally made it to New Orleans.  The weather was perfect and we had an awesome time.  We love New Orleans!

 Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (Bascule bridge in Louisiana)

 Jackson Square

 A must go to in New Orleans

 Digging in to our first beignets and cafe au lait

 More of Jackson Square beautiful architecture

 Street artists on Jackson Square

 Some great jazz going on

 I always think of this person when I think of Jackson Square.  Isn't she cute!

 They just set up and play in the middle of Bourbon Street

 A real live guy "frozen" in the middle of Boubon Street.  The dog is fake

 YES, and so much fun!

 I thought this was an interesting sculpture 

 The original Hurricane.  They let you keep the glass.

Love, love, love these oysters.  A first for me.

Texas 2015

Kirk and I left Albia on 9/17 and headed to Texas.  We had made several Dr and Dentist appointments and had 4 days to get there.   Our first night out, we stayed over at Cedar Valley RV Park.  The park is a Passport America Park which is wonderful, because if you are a PA member the rates are 1/2 off.  We drove into town (Guthrie) and ate at a unique BBQ place called Stables.  Good eats!  The next day, 9/18 we arrived at Paradise RV Park in Argyle, TX just down the road from Rudy and Bev's place in Denton.  We stayed at the park one night, and then spent two additional nights in the RV in front of Rudy and Bev's home, which was much more convenient.  While at their place, we kept busy touring their retirement/golf community, shopping at Costco (of course), attending their grandson, Henry's T-ball game (and also seeing Dustin, Courtney, and Owen), ate supper at Christina's Mexican Restaurant (where we received a complimentary shot of coffee liqueur at the end of the meal), golfed at the golf course they live on, had a cookout at their home with Dustin's family attending.  Whew!   We really love and miss my brother and his wife!  They are awesome hosts.

 Little Henry's T-ball game (he just happens to be an awesome treasure hunter also)

Dustin, Courtney, Owen, and Henry

Early 9/21, we left Rudy and Bev's and headed to San Antonio, TX.   We arrived at Greentree Village RV Park that day, got settled in, and drove over to the old neighborhood.    After talking to several of the neighbors, we made dinner plans with Dave and Karin, Ava and Dylan, and Dave's mom, Doreen at Aw Dangs in Schertz.  We had a wonderful feast!  These people are our SA family, and even though we don't keep in touch like we would like to, we are always able to pick up where we left off.  

The rest of week we also visited and had dinner with Jan and Bill, our other awesome neighbors.  Kirk also golfed with Bill at the Bandit in New Braufels where Bill works and had a great time.  On Friday night (9/25) we met the Vollbrects for supper at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Chuys, along with some friends of theirs, and Karin's mom and dad, Frank and Peggy.  We had a great time and  "several" margarita's.  

 Aw Dangs give awesome kid treats.  Owner, Dylan, and Ava

 Chuys!  Kirk, Frank, Dylan, Dave, me, Peggy, Ava, and Karin

 After the margaritas!  Outside of Chuys

 Kirk photo bombing sweet picture of Bill and Jan.  Love these two!

Saying goodbye to the Vollbrecht Family! :(

On 9/22 Kirk had his first of several Dr appointments at the dermatologist.  He had several spots nitro'd, and several biopsies done.  Later finding that most were basal cell cancers (follow up would be in Florida).  I had my "yearly" appointment with the gyno that afternoon and everything was great.  Two down, more to go.   The next day 9/23, we both had dentist appointments, and later that afternoon, Kirk saw his Pulmonologist.  We were a little more worried with this appointment as Kirk hadn't been feeling well lately and we were thinking it might be related to his Sarcoidosis.  Dr Syed ordered a pulmonary function test and chest x-ray to be done the next day.  All the results came back negative.  What a blessing!  

The evening of 9/23 we decided it was time to relax, and drove down to the RiverWalk.  One of our favorite places in SA.  We ate at Bourbon Street restaurant and took the taxi boat ride on the RiverWalk.  We had a great time.    The next day I stopped at my old workplace, Northeast Methodist Hospital, to visit with some of my old peeps.  Always great to see them all.  

 Kirk's in Heaven, Bourbon Street Gumbo

 Pic of newer part of RiverWalk taken from Bourbon St restaurant

 RiverWalk from the boat taxi

 Seeing Tower of the Americas from the RiverWalk

 Cool pic from the boat taxi

More of the RiverWalk, just a beautiful place.

On 9/27, Kirk and I took a ride to Wimberly, TX.  Earlier this summer, Wimberly experienced a devastating flood from record breaking rains.  Houses were destroyed, and several people were killed.  Even after a few months, the damage is still unbelievable.  We watched the Super Moon/lunar eclipse/blood moon this night.  Won't appear again till 2033.

 This wasn't even the worst of it.  Floods slanted the trees.

 Click on picture and see the damage close up :(

 More flood damage

This guy was roaming freely around near the road.  Time to call the farmer

Of course, the camera never does it justice...Lunar eclipse/super-blood moon

After staying at the Greentree RV park for a week, we decided to move to Hill Country RV Resort in New Braufels on 9/28.  This was a much nicer park and a lower rate as they accepted Passport America.  I also found out that my next assignment would be in Boynton Beach, FL and would start on 10/13.  So, we had more time to spend in TX, and also to take a few short trips on our way to FL  On 9/29, we said our good-bys to our neighbors/friends, and got our flu shots (work requirement) which I will opt out of from now on.  I forgot to mention, that we also visited with Larry and Carmen.  When we lived in the neighborhood, I could always count on Carmen to make me laugh.  I'm thinking if we ever decide to settle down and live in a stick home again, our old neighborhood may be in the top contention.

More of Summer time in Iowa 2015

Kirk and I had a very busy summer in Albia with family being so close in almost all directions of us. Aside from worrying about Kristy and Robyn getting lost on their hike at Zion National Park (all is well), and Ben and his family enduring a severe thunderstorm while camping in Chippewa Falls, WI that same weekend (again, all is well), I am doing well myself now.  No matter how old our children get, we parents will continue to worry about them, just like we did when they were small.  It never stops.  Of course, praying for them is always my number one go to.  Nothing above that!

Kristy and Robyn at Arches Canyon in Utah before the hike!

Then there is my husband, Kirk.  On 7/30 he started having pains in his abdomen.  It was bad enough, that he thought he should go to the ER.  It has to be bad for him to want to go there.  Being in the small town of Albia, Iowa, we were able to get in right away.  After many, many tests (blood, x-rays, CT, etc), everything was negative.  He does have a history of pancreatitis, so they did give him a shot of pain meds which made him very nauseated (did take the pain away though), and we went home.  We've had a couple of small bouts since that time, but they seem to be manageable, especially when we know there isn't much they can do (so, I get out my essential oils :) ).

Adyson's birthday party was the weekend of 8/7-8/9 in Minneapolis.   She had a wonderful, fun party at Kristy's place with lots of friends and family present.  Then we (Kirk and I, Kristy, Robyn, Ady, Ben and Nicki, Bella, and Isaac) went to the St Paul East RV Park in ST Paul and stayed in a cabin, with Ben and Nicki also having their camper there.  What a fun birthday weekend.  Oh yeah, Ady is now 12 years old.

 Adyson and her mommy, Robyn at Ady's 12 year old birthday party.

 Camping in ST Paul with these crazies!

End of an awesome birthday weekend.  Happy Birthday Ady!

On 8/11 Kirk's mother (Mavis) had a slight, yet scary mishap while downtown Gladbrook.  Kirk hopped on his motorcycle the next morning and rode there to check on her.  Again, all was well with Mavis.  Another reason it was nice to be this close to family.   The next day, Kirk got a call from Lindsey (Nate's wife) to say that Nate was in the hospital due to some ongoing numbness in his left foot.  I don't believe they ever did find any reason for it, but it sure was a scare and he seems to be doing fine.

On 8/15 we attended the Iowa State Fair.  I had gone many years ago with my son Ben.  We went to see the Moody Blues play in concert.  Afterwards there was a fantastic fireworks display.  However, at that time, I didn't really get to see all the fair stuff (or at least I don't recall).  Aside from that, Kirk and I had a great time there.  I had my first ever Iowa famous Guinnea Grinder, which has now been changed to the Jennie Grinder (due to being politically correct ).  It was pretty good.  We also visited the cows, pigs, butter cow, rode the sky tram, did a lot of walking (it was extremely hot), had fried oreos, turkey legs, and probably other stuff I'm not mentioning.  We also met Nate and Mason there and spent a little time with them.  Mason loved the oreo.   This particular Saturday just happened to be when all the republican candidates (or at least most of them) were there to speak on the Soapbox Stage.  Trump flew over the fair in his helicopter and walked through the streets.   All in all we had a great time.    The fair lasts for 10 days, and on 8/21 while I was at work, Kirk rode his motorcycle back to the fair to see Nate and his band (Nate Nelson and the State Street Band) play on the Bud Light stage early afternoon.  Earlier in the day, the band had an interview on the television morning show in Des Moines.  Kirk said they did a great job.  They were allowed to play for 45 minutes which is typical of the bands playing at the fair and had a good amount of people attending.

 Riding over the Iowa St Fair; kinda nervous on this ride

 Selfie at the State fair

 Yummy fried oreos

 Mason enjoying his first fried oreo

 Look for the red hat....Trump!

 Three generations of Nelsons.

What's a fair without a butter cow.

 Kirk and grandson, Damon enjoying Nate and band playing at the fair.

Nate and the State Street Band at the Iowa State Fair.

That same evening after I got off work and Kirk was home we ate out in downtown Albia at the Albia Brewing Co.  I had my very first "flight".  It contained 6 samples of the beers made there.  There was only one of the six that I really could have done without.  Sure glad Kirk is my designated driver.

My first "flight", and that would be because I'm not a big beer drinker.

On 8/25 Nate met Kirk in Pella, Iowa where they spent the day golfing.  Kirk says they had a really good father/son day.

Bos Landen Golf Course in Pella

On 8/28 Kirk and I drove to Wonewoc for the weekend to Chapparal Campground.  Dennis and Diane (owners of the campground) have been good friends of ours since we first stayed there 5 years ago.  We were able to visits with Kurt and Laurie, Tracy and Michelle, and several other seasonals.  We also made it a point to visit with Ron and Arlene at their home.   Ron took us to his garden and gave us some of his homegrown tomatoes, and jalepeno peppers.   We stayed in one of the cabins as we didn't take the RV this trip.  Also that weekend, Ben and Nicki were DJ'ing at her cousins wedding, so we took Bella and Isaac and had them spend the night with us in the cabin.  We had a great time.  Those kiddos love to camp.   On our way home to Albia, we stopped at the Costco in Coralville, Iowa.  This was a neat Costco as ALL their customer parking was in a single floor garage. Great concept.  Especially since they get lots of snow in the winter.  Costco treats their customers right.

 Breakfast with our good friends from Chapparal Campground.  Sure do miss those guys!

 Got our cheese fix.  Nothing like Wisconsin cheese, especially with these ladies!

 One of two favorite things these kiddos love to do at Chapparal.  The other is having blue moon ice cream.

My first batch of pickled jalepenos.  Thanks Ron and Arlene.

Our last weekend in Albia (9/12) we drove to Monmouth for the day to see Robyn and Ady.  They were staying with their grandma/great grandma for a couple of months.  It just happened to be the weekend of the Prime Beef Festival.  When I was growing up in Monmouth, the PBF was a huge event, starting with the parade on Wednesday.  We did have a good day.  I ran into a couple of old school friends, had ribeye sandwiches, and enjoyed a ride or two.  I was really looking forward to the Industrial tent, however, it was a huge disappointment.  Anyway, this day was about Robyn and Ady which we ended with dinner at Petey's.  As always, it was hard saying good-bye.  We would be heading to Texas in a few days.

 Stopped at the church tent for pie...ate it all up!

 Ady trying to win at bumper cars

Robyn having fun at the PBF.