N'Awlins

all the ladies on the turner side of my family

have started taking little annual trips together.

last year they went to nashville, but since reid 

wasn't even a year old yet and still nursing, i passed.

this year, since the girls were a little bit older,

i decided that they could survive a weekend with 

ronnie while i traveled down to new orleans.

(here is the photographic evidence that this is not 

necessarily true.)

muddy four-wheeler rides in their dress clothes and 

smores around a little bonfire at 9pm.

i guess while mom's away, daddy will play.

and although i was definitely ready to see my kids

by sunday night, the quick trip down south was totally worth it.

let's be clear about one thing:

this trip was about food.

beignets, etoufee, gumbo, shrimp, grits, pralines, bananas foster, crawfish,

fried green tomatoes, fried oysters, po boys, a chocolate truffle to die for, 

then more beignets and more shrimp.  

i'm refusing to weigh myself, but i'm pretty sure i 

gained back the five lbs. i lost before i went.

and that's not even adding in the "to-go" cups.

new orleans doesn't have an open container law,

therefor all drinks are to go.

we literally walked around town drinking frozen hurricanes.

and yes, it's definitely the best way to take a tour.

we stayed in the french quarter on the corner of

canal and bourbon street - the perfect location.

we walked miles and miles everyday.

the french quarter is full of little shops, restaurants and bars.

you could go out everyday and not go to the same place twice.

we made our way to jackson square, down bourbon street,

all through the garden district and through lafayette cemetery.

our trip happen to coincide with the french quarter festival. 

basically this means that there is live music everywhere you go.

bands are posted up all down the streets and there were big 

stages along the riverfront constantly performing jazz and blues.

our tour through the garden district gave us some basic american history

and while staring at the houses that literally take up a quarter of a block.

we saw where the Manning family lives, Sandra Bullock, Jefferson Davis,

Nicholas Cage, where Django Unchained was filmed, the Real World house...

lots and lots of beautiful old homes. 

 (this was one of my favorites)

we also took a cooking class while we were there.

it made me try foods i probably would never have ordered, but

i'm glad i got to try everything because i actually really like it.

and now i know the difference between creole and cajun.

and before we flew out on sunday mom and i went to mass

at the Catbedral-Basillica of Saint Louis.

so pretty and big and it made my mother really happy.

the trip was a lot of fun. 

i'm glad i got to spend some time with

family that i don't get to see that often and

explore a new city.

we decided its best summed up as:

a lot of walking, light drinking and dessert after every meal.

and in a nutshell, that's what it means to be a turner.