First Road Trip of 2012

We went to New Orleans! It was a short trip, but we had such a great time. Ok, here's the back story: I got a Cool Daddy deep fryer for Christmas (I was so excited.) The first thing I made with this new kitchen gadget was a batch of beignets using the Cafe Du Monde mix available in our grocery stores in the South. The boys were impressed, but Hobbie thought they needed to experience the real thing to make a fair comparison. So, Hobbie suggested that we go to New Orleans for the day since he had Monday off from work. So, we did.

We walked around the French Quarter and had the beignets (Yummy!!!). Then we decided to walk down Royal Street on our way to the WWII museum.

I love to look at art galleries. I am semi-artistic but too impatient. I appreciate the time and effort that artists invest in their work. I was lucky enough to work at a frame shop when I was younger and framed lots of work of our local artists in Hattiesburg. It was alway so much fun to see what these people created. So, we are walking along, admiring the different artists' work, when we came upon Alex Beard's Studio. I was awestruck. I usually just look at the displayed pictures in the windows, but I had to go into this studio. I was so excited. I LOVE his work. His work features animals and since I am a biologist, I was especially drawn to his work. I mentioned to Hobbie that I really liked the work and wanted one for my birthday in February. He asked which one I liked the most and I showed him the Avery Island Egrets print. HE BOUGHT IT FOR ME!!! He said that he knew if we left the studio with the intention to come back later, I would never go back and get the piece. (I can be a bit of a tight wad). I have to wait a few weeks though because the piece will have a customized mat completed by Alex. I can not tell you how excited I am. Isn't Hobbie the best?

So we made our way to the WWII Museum. Patrick has been to the museum twice with different class trips, but he was excited that we were all going to go and thought that Nicholas would especially enjoy it. We saw the featured film Beyond All Boundaries. It was amazing and very touching. I think it was a great way to start off the year with the realization of just how much has been sacrificed so that we can just decide to run down to New Orleans for the day. I very touching and humbling experience. Nicholas was impressed and wants to go back to visit the museum again. We were not able to go through all of the exhibits.

While we were there, the boys were hungry (teenage boys, ya know). We decided to eat at the restaurant in the museum. I was reading the description to the guys when I realized that this was a John Besh restaurant. I really think I blushed when I read his name. I have a huge chef crush on John Besh. It all started when he challenged Mario Batali in Iron Chef America. Then when I really got to know him on Next Iron Chef, I was too far gone. He seems to be such a genuine individual (and it doesn't hurt that he served in the USMC, I have a thing for Marines). We had a wonderful meal to end the day.

What a great time! And, we made it home early enough that I had some stitching time before bed.