hey yall. so since i kinda left off on my blogging i thought id just sort of add in wat i remember of the trip. so i think i left off somewhere around where we had a bbq dinner at the BnB we were stayin at. it was a truely delicious meal of artichoke hearts n cheese on french bread and pulled pork bbq pastries for appetizers. after that we can some great beef i think it was that had marinated in apricot sauce which could be made into sandwiches using the mango mayo and rolls provided. it went well with the absolut new orleans vodka tonic. so after we were done feasting, we went to a bowling alley that had a zydeco band playing which was great. so that was a great show/bar/bowling game of boys vs girls, which the boys won but thru math errors randy thought the girls won. so after that we passed out and woke up to find Ann had arrived for our last day with gloria. on our last day with her her whole outside her house sure turned around seeing that the back yard was now leveled and ready for sod, the brick patio was complete along with gardens and boarders and chairs tables and umbrellas soon to be fully assembled. so after saying bye to her and watching randy wring out his sweat drenched shirt, honestly ive not seen anyone else sweat enough to make such a puddle, we then went to a nice place for lunch. it wass a simple place that everything tased much more home cooked and everything was devoured. it was a cafe/diner that was put together by an organization that is gettin people jobs as well as opportuities to be off the street and get started with their lives. so not only was it an extremely beneficial place for the employees, but dang could they cooked a home style meal. when we were finished with lunch we then went to a place that gave air boat tours which are metal boats with them hueg fans on them so they can go fast and in shallow waters. it was quite the experience seeing as how we got to see so much of the cannals as well as parts of the bayou and swamp in the area. it was great fun and we got to see more gators then weve ever seen in person. also the super redneck guide kept on feeding them marshmallows, bc theyre creatures of the marsh he said......tee hee....but seriously its because white is the only color they can see, this would be a great time to mention how incredibly white my family is, with our powers combined we have the ability to block the suns harmful rays thus slowing global warming were all that white. at least until we turn into lobsters that is. oh ya and we also got to hold a baby gator that was a foot long. ya so after that we went back to clean up and we then got to go wander the streets of NO. bear took bonz an me to a local music shop that specializes in local bands which was cool bc they had actual music as opposed to all that is brain melting and pop. we sure made it in good time also because we had about 5 minutes in there while they were trying to lock us in and almost didnt let us out. oh well i got a lot of good music. so when we all finally reconveined on some corner, we walked a couple blocks to the river where we got onto the paddle boat that had our long awaited dinner. oh ya before i forget there was a movie being shot where we were walking around shopping, we were gonna try to accidently walk into a couple of shots but were too hungry to care. ok so something about a paddle boat with my dinner on board. ya so we got there and the dinner wasnt amazing but it sure jumped into my tummy quickly. oh and there was this weird chubby asian dude that just sort of stared at our table the entire time which was weird seeing as how he was close enough to be sitting on the corner of the table. ok ya so the bartender was cool atleast. i dunno how much he said was for real but if so this is one funny talkative character who claims to not only know 4+ languages but also every place that we all claimed to be from, EVEN DES MOINES NM!!!! i dunno, maybe this person has a lot of time on their hands, anyways that bartender was good at talking to you while you waited forever for a drink. so anyways the boat was fun as we just sat on the main upper deck hanging out an watching the scenery of the southern mississippi go by. i think we just went to bed after that bc when we woke up we had donuts an then went to the airport which along the way bear handed out more beads than i have seen on one person at a time. ya but anyways the travels back were nice and smooth for pat and i at least, not for spags tho who had her flight cancelled and went on a lter one, but she mighta blogged that. i dont remember if there was anything else to mention, if so i shall add it later, right now i am just taking a break from my never ending online summer school work which i do not think i will sign up for again...stupid stubborn teachers. ok so ya geuss i jus wanted to say that even tho i think we could always use more time for work and fun on our trips i definitly enjoyed it and was glad everyone could make it, even if they decided they dont then do wanna show up. but this is a ....special?....group of people and we sure know how to have a ....special?.....time.... id also like to thank my sponsers at this time, airtran, rustic pathways, absolut, abita, the bands of NO, our BnB, ford, that redneck airboat guy, the actual city of NO, and finally united, well mostly airtran a 2nd time for makin our united flight seem so smooth. if i forgot you its either bc you should have been or becuase i just type and forget to reread these things. anyways peace out and see yall next summer
BEER

Gloria and her house

TGIF

I think that I am going to get an "F" in blogging this year. I think the kids have done a great job though of keeping you up to date!

Today is Friday and this week has just flown by. I believe that I have gained 10 pounds this week. Chiquie is the greatest cook ever and every where we have been to eat in this town has been fabulous. I think I eaten more this week then my all inclusive week in Jamaica! Last night was fantastic. We had dinner here. We started with spicy artichoke toasts and pulled port embanidas (sp?). Then we had cajun potato salad, grilled veggies (eggplant, portabello mushrooms and red onions) with apricot glazed pork loan cooked on the grill. For desert it was brownie sundeas.

After we ate, we headed to a place called the Rock n Bowl to listen to some Zydeco music. It was awesome. Like Jamaica music only faster. Lisa, Cat and I all danced with a rather crazy old man and he gave us all a gold medal in Zydeco dancing. He included a business card so we looked him up on line hoping that he wasn't some kind of pervert. We determined he was just a nice old lonely man looking for some fun. Although all the mushroom pictures on his website were a little strange!

Today we are going back to Gloria's to finish up her yard and then we are going to be tourists. We are going on a swamp tour in an air boat and then shopping in the French quarter and then on a riverboat dinner cruse for more jazz music.

Ann got in last night and Randy and the girls and I were her welcoming committee. I didn't get to sleep until 1 and still woke up at 6:30. I am a little tired today.

Oh, yesterday I was in KITTY HEAVEN! We worked at an animal shelter. Patrick and I got to work with the cats. I believe there were about 55 of them. We had to clean out all the cages and then feed and water them. I am in love with a little girl named Minnie. She looks a lot like my Stanley. Randy is thinking of adopting a dog, so if he does I may have Minnie shipped home to me. I am sure that Rusty will be more then happy about that.

Well, it is time for yet another delicious breakfast from Anna, so I am off to start my day.

Love,
Jean