Lunatic Fringe: N'awlins

Let's just pretend this isn't four months late, shall we?

In December Ryan and I stocked up the fridge, put the thermostat on auto-pilot, locked the doors, and flew to New Orleans. Just us. No kids. One suitcase each. No toys, video games, fruit snacks, diapers or Elmo. It was glorious.

The kids survived without us (thanks to Grandma) and we without them. It was quite surreal for me, waking up whenever my internal clock decided it was time, eating when I was hungry (and not having three people asking me for bites of whatever I ordered), and only having to worry about my own trips to the bathroom (Ry pretty much handles himself these days). I guess some people actually live like this. They read during the day, eat sushi on weeknights, and their clothes are still clean by 4 pm. Amazing.

New Orleans is an incredible city full of history, culture, oddities, and copious amounts of fragrant, delectable, indulgent, life-changing food. Oh, the food. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. From shrimp and grits and fried green tomatoes for breakfast, seafood po boys and red beans and rice for lunch, and charbroiled oysters and crawfish etouffee for dinner, every bite of food we ate in this city was absolutely scrumptious.

This trip was more relaxing than regimented. We walked the city, stopping to eat whenever we could fit another bite in our stomachs, looking at gorgeous old homes and bizarre tourist attractions. We took a voodoo tour and walked through an above-ground cemetery, and watched a Saints game in an Irish pub with a bunch of locals. We saw two or three live bands every night, including a jazz quartet, a zydeco band, and an up-and-coming bayou indie rock band from Lafayette. Our favorite attraction, by far, was the World War II museum. We spent an entire day looking at pictures, reading first-hand battle accounts, and learning about battles, heroes, weaponry, and strategy that shaped the nation we call home.

Stripped of all other responsibilities, the camera was obviously too much for me to handle, so all I have as visual record are a few random cell phone pictures. The trip was much more interesting than my photojournalism will lead you to believe, I promise. I'm already looking forward to another vacation with my husband, whenever that may be.