New Orleans: There's Nothing Easy

The Big Easy. The City that Care Forgot. NOLA. Arguably the best city in the whole wide world. This is where we spent the better part of a week this month...and when I say there is nothing easy, I speak of leaving it. Franco and I might have smiles on our faces thinking of our delicious impending breakfast at The Camellia Grill, but our hearts were breaking at the thought of driving away.

I have been to New Orleans twice before this trip, and on each visit I certainly fell more in love than the last. This time, seeing the city in such gorgeous weather with the best little 2-year-old at my side, I came away totally, irrationally smitten. I am kind of like a stalker now. In a good way.

Ol Scotty P. spent some time in dental implant classes - the entire reason for our trip, actually, was to accompany him and his Implantology class as they were inducted into the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. It took him a long time to earn this distinction, and we certainly celebrated all over the city in his honor!

We rode streetcars. We took a bus tour of the city and cemeteries. (This was a good compromise, as my continued, unnatural obsession with Hurricane Katrina was in full force and a 3-hour Katrina tour may have been exactly the wrong thing for my hopeful recovery.) We walked miles and miles through the Garden District and French Quarter. We watched the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. We visited the French Market and took photos in Jackson Square. We strolled down Bourbon Street with a stylish little guy in love with the stimuli and music and sights to be seen. (THAT was a highlight you should try. In the daytime.) We took a cab. We rode the Steamboat Natchez, where Franco could barely contain the excitement of being on a boat while seeing more boats in the water.

                                                                       "Seriously!?"

And we ate and ate and ate. Like you do in a city so filled with tasty treats. We returned to our old favorite, The Red Fish Grill, and sampled a new one, Commander's Palace. All the wonderful culture and cuisine was as good or better than the last, pre-Katrina time I visited, and it makes me yearn to return as soon as possible. When we asked Franco about his favorite parts, he talked about a few things and then listed off the foods he ate -- "shrimpies and fries, grits, ice cream and cake on a plate, french toast, gumbo, garlic bread and butter, soup." Afterward, he definitively stated, "That was real good." Yep.

It is always hard for me to leave anyplace I visit. This time, it was especially so. I think seeing Franco come alive in such a wonderful, special city -- much the way I myself do -- really showed me the beauty in being able to give ourselves such wondrous experiences. It surely hits the pocketbook. Hard. But it is worth the subsequent sacrifices to be able to spend those days together in such a marvelous, magical place.

          Can you get a helium balloon at one of Brennan's restaurants and come home to clean towels folded into the shape of a dog at home? Nope! You will need a bigger canvas for all that!

And in the end, it is pretty clear: Franco and I enjoy the things a city can offer. We will need to fill this part of our souls as often as possible. Whether it be NOLA (which it will be, for sure, again) or da "Burgh (a perennial favorite for reasons I don't need to explain) we will continue on our merry way, from city to city to city.

And that, too, will be "real good."

Happy New Year 2014

Last last year, on the eve of 2013, I was going to write a whole blog post about my insightful, surprising discovery that I am Sammi and Scott is Ron from "Jersey Shore" - minus the spray tans, furniture-throwing, and fake hair. (And, in Scott's case, real hair.) That never actually happened because of my perfectionism and lack of time to get it perfect. But, at least now you know that I did indeed discover this and it helped me in my realistic expectation of my relationship during all of 2013.

Whew. I am glad I got that off my chest. Finally. It has been eating at me all last year. For 2014, we already have a few non-"Jersey Shore" things planned:

**We are taking a trip to New Orleans in a week. It is time for Franco to experience one of our favorite places in the country. He is an expert at tailgating in the WVU Blue Lot and so Bourbon Street will be no big deal. It will be fun to see the city post-Katrina, with a 2-year-old in tow. And by fun, I mean both fun and entirely different from the times I have been there in the past.

**We are planning on celebrating both the Steelers and the Mountaineers in their winning seasons. And this plan had better come to fruition or things are going to be seriously depressing around here in 9 months or so. I know we need some outside help over which we have zero control, but whatever. This is going to happen.

**We are going to make real, for true grown-up plans about our money and our futures. Over this we have a lot of control, which makes it scarier and less fun than the last plan. But, sometimes these things happen.

**I am going to turn 40. I sincerely can't wait. I have been so excited for this birthday for the last 5 years or so. I had big plans to visit Las Vegas for the celebration, but I think I might scale it down a bit. (See the previous plan about growing up and money.) I have loved being in my 30's, but it's exciting to think about the possibilities of a brand new decade, wide open ahead of me. I hope it does not let me down.

Until the next time I can steal a few minutes away to organize thoughts…I am done. For now. If you miss me at all, just go find some reruns of "Jersey Shore" and see if you can see what I meant last year!