Wildly Crafty

Our trip was very nice, we took a couple of extra days before the wedding so that we could explore the city, and so Dave could show me all the places he remembered from growing up there because we knew once the bride and groom and their families arrived we'd have no time to ourselves. And we were right, the three sets of parents (his are divorced and remarried) spent all their time trying to one up each other by buying the wedding party lavish and expensive meals. Which was amusing and fun for us because we aren't related (although Kim's mom considers me her second daughter), but embarrassing to Kim and JC.

We got so tired of all the millions of photographs being taken that our camera managed to spend most of its time in the hotel room but we did get a picture of us dressed up waiting for the bride's hair to be done so we could squeeze her into her dress (a corset was involved, so I'm not being as cruel as it sounds)

And a photo of the wedding from street level taken by one of the people who wouldn't fit on the tiny, tiny balcony. Unfortunately you can't make out much detail, but its really pretty with all the lights.

We stayed at a little bed and breakfast type place over the weekend, and found it charming and eccentric much like New Orleans itself. Kim and JC put us up at the Marriott for the day before and the day of the wedding, and even though it was five times as expensive we didn't like it anywhere near as much.

I got to meet an internet friend that I met through bookcrossing, which was pretty cool. The three of us spent several hours at a coffee shop chatting away as though we'd known each other for years. Dave discovered that he went to high school with one of her cousins. Imagine that, small world! I'm the one on the right.

We ate and ate and ate. I love cajun and creole cuisine, and it just isn't as good in Dallas where in order to call something cajun, it just needs a sprinkle of red pepper. The seafood was a delight, there's nothing like really, really fresh fish and crustaceans that have never been frozen. We did a little window shopping, but didn't really buy anything. It was more fun to just look.

Parts of the trip made me sad, we drove past an area where the houses were extensively damaged and FEMA trailers dotted the landscape. My heart went out to all the people who lost their homes and belongings and possibly loved ones. It made me cry to see the signs that people had spray painted saying stuff like "Please save my dog, his name is Slim, he's a good dog" and "Two kittys inside".