New Orleans / Gulf Shores Vacation!

Just got back from a great vacation to New Orleans and Gulf Shores, AL with my friend Nora, who came over from Germany! We were a little anxious as the weather kept looking worse and worse and, indeed, Tropical Storm Lee did put a damper on things. It rained almost constantly in New Orleans while we were there but we braved the precipitation and made the best of it! I was most certainly on the fence about New Orleans before we went. I wasn't sure if I would like it or not. And, I will say, it's like no place I have ever seen before.

New Orleans

Shortly after arriving (and before Nora got there), I took a ride on the old St. Charles Streetcar to get my first glimpse of the French Quarter. (It would be my only ride; the rain shut it down for the rest of the trip.) I stood toward the front so I could see how it worked. Very interesting; I imagine it takes some decent training to drive one of those. I found the Quarter is a hodge-podge of everything you can imagine. It's very unique and local; one doesn't see many chains there with the exception of Canal ST. (Just ask Nora if she ever found a Starbucks.) I didn't last long on my solo trip, but we made several other visits during our stay. I would say my favorite spot in the Quarter was Pat O'Brien's Pub. In fact, we went there three times, twice for music and drinks and once to eat lunch. They had a great piano bar, we had fun singing along and even visiting with a few of the locals (one of which took our photo, above). We had to try a Hurricane of course; which I found most delicious. I also had a Rainstorm or two.... it just seemed appropriate to have both. ;-) We had some good food, naturally, including Masperros. And I even tried some Jambalaya. We had beignets at Cafe Du Monde, as everyone told us we MUST do. They were pretty good; reminded me of funnel cake.

We did some things outside of the quarter too. We ventured out and explored the area around our hotel and had some Voodoo BBQ, which I didn't find that much different than regular BBQ, but I'm no expert. We had drinks two nights at a charming old tavern just down from our hotel. We had the friendliest bartender one night; she made the visit even more enjoyable.

Our visit included a trip to the Garden District, which was full of characteristic old homes. I loved the porches (I love a good front porch). Many were double-decker porches. We saw quite a few "famous" homes, owned by actors and sports stars or homes that inspired books and movies. The sidewalks were of note here; the old trees had rooted them up where it was quite an experience in itself to walk on them. You might be walking along and have the sidewalk jump up 2'. We visited an old cemetery in the area. We had heard of NO cemeteries in a tour earlier; they certainty do things differently there. It's something else to walk through one. At the end of our tour we stopped at a book store (which was a favorite of the author Anne Rice) for a rest and snack.

Our last day we rented a car (that we would later drive to Gulf Shores) and visited an old plantation called Oak Alley. The weather was absolutely beautiful; we were soaking up the sunshine. The plantation was beautiful as well; the 300 year old trees were a sight to see, especially from the balcony of the home. It was the perfect end to the first part of our trip, and we had a beach to get to....

Gulf Shores

I had last been to Gulf Shores in 2008 and I was excited to go back. The weather, which at the beginning of our vacation looked to be stormy had cleared up and it looked like it would be quite nice. Then, I get the call.... the building our condo was in had some time of electrical fire or other failure and the Fire Marshall had closed it for two weeks. But, thankfully, with a little help back home, we were successfully moved to another building and it only turned out to be a minor inconvenience. So, off we went!

The weather, it turned out, was marvelous. The sun shined upon us the whole time (in truth, perhaps too much according to my peeling skin). We had a very low-key time. A lot of laying on the beach, playing in the waves and trying out some local places for food and entertainment. Having a room adjacent to the beach is marvelous. We had a balcony facing the beach (where we had breakfast in the mornings) and I left the door to my bedroom open each night and let the sound of the rolling waves put me to sleep. Absolutely amazing. The people in Gulf Shores are the friendliest I have ever encountered. I don't think we passed a single person without one of us saying hello or having someone ask how we were. I guess everyone is in such a good mood because they're in a great place! I finally got a little homesick on our last day there; which was quite good for me considering it was our 10th day of vacation.

So, overall, a great vacation! It's taken me a little bit to transition back to normalcy!

Photos on Facebook

New Orleans: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2146821762522.114157.1605636710&l=618328dffc&type=1

Gulf Shores: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2170986846634.114987.1605636710&l=35369f415c&type=1

Another Broken Bow Trip?

It had been 11 years since we had been to Broken Bow and this was our second trip of the year. But, for a few different reasons, the trip earlier this year was a partial-bust, so we decided to make an impromptu "make-up" family trip to Broken Bow / Hochatown. We relaxed in a great cabin, visited Broken Bow Lake and the park and ate a couple of good meals at the local steakhouse. The weather cooperated this time and turned out to be a pretty nice and relaxing weekend.

Photos over at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157622819603646/

San Antonio

SanAntonio_27Sept2009_Alamo (13)
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Thursday through Sunday found me in San Antonio for a little extended weekend getaway. It was rainy and cool on Thursday, but the weather was beautiful for the rest of the trip. Stops included the Alamo and Riverwalk (of course), the Spanish Missions, SeaWorld, and a few other things.

There are some photos on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157622476607040/

Mini-Vacation to Broken Bow not according to plan...

BrokenBow_15May2009_ (5)
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Just got back from a mini family vacation to Broken Bow. When we rolled into town we stopped at the grocery store to find out the car show at the park, the primary reason for our visit, had been canceled due to flooding. Dandy. Come to find out later, though, it had moved to the high school, rather than being cancelled. Not quite the same picturesque setting, but better than no car show at all. After the groceries, we stop at KFC where I'm almost certain we got some chicken that would give me food poisoning in the coming hours. I almost didn't get anything because they didn't have grilled chicken, and that would have been the smarter move. Our cabin was in Hochatown and, while very nice, not quite as secluded as we would have hoped. A few hours after the chicken, no one was feeling too well, but I got quite sick and stayed that way for the majority of the trip. Fun deal. The car show was fun, we got to see a lot of nice cars, although I think I liked the trucks better. Sunday was a beautiful day and I was feeling better, so we went as far as we could into the park, which was closed due to the high water. We went down a hiking trail to this stream with the clearest water I had ever seen. We shot some photos there and relaxed for a bit before heading back home. It was a nice way to end the trip, even if it didn't all go according to plan.

There are photos on Flickr if you want to take a look.

Back to the District of Columbia Part V

Okay, this is the last post in this series, mainly because I don't really know my roman numerals past this point. Sunday was our last day and we were determined to fit two more things in before we left: the National Archives and the National Portrait Gallery. But we had to go to Union Station first to store our luggage and ended up only having time for the National Archives. We didn't go here on the first trip (another intended to). We went through a few exhibits and got to see original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Very cool. The Declaration was very faded, but still in decent condition considering its age. The Constitution was in much better condition. After lunch at Union Station, we hoped on the Metro for the airport. After a little layover in Chicago (first time I'd been there) we were finally back to good 'ole Oklahoma. It's good to be home.

Photos now on Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157613546211559/

Back to the District of Columbia Part IV

Today we left the convention around noon and headed for our US Capital tour. We intended to do this on the October trip but didn't get around to it. At the bus stop we met a couple from Ohio that was also at the convention. They hadn't been to DC in a while, so we told them some of some of the sights and showed them how to use the Metro rail. I'm somewhat of an expert on that thing after two trips. We went through the new visitor's center, which opened up just a few months ago. We got to go into the Senate Chamber and see them in action which, while a pretty boring issue, was interesting at the same time. We got to see the compass in the floor of the capital, which is the "center" of Washington DC and the four quarters originate from as well as a few other interesting things. Saturday night we ate steak at a hotel restaurant and watched the water, light and music show to end the night.

Photos now on Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157613546211559/

Back to the District of Columbia Part III

This morning I had to get up at 6:30 (yuck) for breakfast and the opening ceremony. I had a few classes then lunch. The food's quite good here, and paid for, so that's a plus especially in expensive DC. We happen to sit down with a couple from Lawton, so that was coincidental. After lunch we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History on the Mall. It was closed when we were here in October, but it had re-opened. It was a fun place, we spent a lot of time there and took a lot of pictures (I'll post those to Flickr later). They had an exhibit on Route 66, and a lot of it had to do with Oklahoma, so that was really interesting. They had a portion of the highway from OK laid down, the OK Route 66 signs, two trucks with Oklahoma licence plates and one of them-- get this-- had an advertisement for a company in Shawnee. When the museum closed we had a couple of hours to kill before our "off-site" event at the Air & Space Museum, so we went up to the Washington Monument. We only got to see if from afar last trip. It's amazing how tall that thing is. Like, really, really tall. As we made our way back down to the mall toward the A&S, we still had a little white to kill and it was really cold, so we ducked into an art museum, which happened to be open even though the museums usually close at 5:30. Turns out they were showing a film that was open to the public. What film you ask? It was a Persian film with subtitles about two men trying to get two cows across the country and the tribulations they encountered. We decided to hang out by the restrooms for a while, but eventually browsed the rest of the museum. We saw some pretty interesting things. They had hieroglyphics and cave carvings from centuries ago. I thought only in DC can you duck in to kill time and see something from 2000 BC. Walking down the Mall in the same area we had just a few months back, I thought for just a second that we were still on that first trip. But I was pretty tired. Finally, it was time to go to dinner at the A&S Museum. They opened up the museum just for us, which may sound good, but I think there was just as many of us Mohawk people as there would normally be in regular visitors for this time of the year. I got to take a picture with Tommy Mohawk, which is our mascot, in case you didn't know. We ate, several times actually, as we had already been through this museum fairly extensively in October. After the event, a tour bus took us on a tour of the city and we got back around 11. So, too tired to post photos tonight, but maybe tomorrow. Until then...

Back to the District of Columbia Part II

Back tracking a little, before arriving at the OKC Airport. We stayed the night at an OKC hotel last night because our flight left so early. We stayed at one of those inexpensive joints on Meridian that has a shuttle to the airport. Here's how checking in worked, and I'll try to be as accurate as possible here:

I walk in to the front desk and hear something like "can I help you" from a back room.
I say "hello?"
"Yeah, what can I do for you"
"I have a reservation."
"Wit who?"
"Uhh, you."
"No, I mean what's the name?"
(And, remember up to this point I am still having this conversation with the other person not in the room. Finally they come up.)
"What's the name?"
I say "Holt" and hand her my confirmation sheet.
"And, uhh, what kind of room is it?"
"A two-bedroom suite."
"How many?"
"Two"
"And, uhh, what did you pay for it?"
"About $65."
"$65 exactly?"
"No, I think it was $65.33."
"And when you checking out?"
"Tomorrow."
"How much you say you pay for it again?"
"$65.33."
(Up to this point, she has never looked at the computer or wrote anything down. Finally she goes to the computer. I was kind of expecting her to ask what room number I was staying in next.)
Okay, yeah, uhh huh here it is.
"You need a receipt?"
"Yes, please." (Business expense here!)
She hands me a receipt saying I paid $0.00 for the room. I didn't even try to get that corrected.

One of the things we went over once I got to the convention was making the most of the face-time one has with his customers. This was a good example of the complete opposite of that.

This place in DC (actually we're in Maryland) is one nice hotel, and it is huge! It's built on the Potomac River (photo above). Everything is brand new, there's a shopping and dining center next door, but most of it's still being worked on. The resort it right on the river and it's very beautiful.

Back to the District of Columbia

In a last minute decision (as in Monday) I decided to go to the Mohawk ColorCenter convention in Washington DC, in a series of post I shall call... Back to the District of Columbia! That's a little throw-back to Back to the Future in case you missed it. Now, I know what you're thinking, what's a Mohawk ColorCenter Convention? Well, it's a flooring convention. Now, I know what you're thinking, flooring stores have conventions? Yeah, if your an all-special Mohawk ColorCenter store! It's pretty big too. We get to see and purchase the new products and displays for 2009 and there are seminars and such. There's a couple of events too, like one night we're going to eat dinner at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and we get the place all to ourselves for three hours. Plus, I'm sure to sneak away and see some of the stuff missed on the October trip. In Oklahoma City now about to board, so until the next post...

DC Vacation Update: Day 4

At the White House!
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Our final full day started with the White House. We went through the visitors center before the tour. I was pretty excited about going inside the White House. It just seemed sureal that one could do that, in this day anyway. What did I think? Well.... small, small, small! I couldn't believe how small the few rooms we got to see where. The blue, red and green rooms were a little startling. They're called those names for a reason. The State Dining Room was very understated though and quite elegant. We didn't get to see the East Room where the painting of George Washington hangs (the only thing saved from the WH before the British burned it) as some event was going on there. That was a little disappointing. At the end of the tour we got to go out the front door (!) and down the drive where we took a few pictures, knowing this is as close as we'll ever be to the WH again.
Quite tired from the WH tour, we blew off the Capital tour and had a long lunch and rest instead. We did an abbreviated tour of the Natural History Museum, mainly to see the dinosaurs, which were just amazing. Which ends our last full day here.
I must say... it was fun but I'm ready to head back home. It's too crowded, too loud and too fast-paced for this Okie!

DC Photos on Flickr

DC Vacation Update: Day 3

MonumentsNightTour_07Oct2008_ 045
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Yesterday (Tuesday) we started the day by touring the Library of Congress Jefferson Building. We started not to go and just sleep in. You know... library... congress... sounds like a snore-fest waiting to happen anyway. But it was a very beautiful and interesting building. It's one of those that makes you think... they just don't build them like this any more. The building itself, and not necessarily anything in it is the attraction. The ceiling mosaics were amazing. Everything had a story behind it. While we were there we also got to see an original rough draft of the Declaration of Indepedence in Jefferson's handwriting with his notes-- marking this out, adding that, etc. It was pretty faded but still amazing to see.
Our second stop was the National Mall. We stopped briefly at the Smithsonian Castle and then it was on to the Air & Space Museum. We got to see many of the famous air and space craft we've all heard about.... Spirit of St. Louis, the Wright Brother's Plane, the Apollo 11 Spacecraft, the list goes on and on.
After a lot of walking, we went back to the hotel to rest for an hour. We ended up sleeping for four.
We just barely made it to Union Station to catch a twilight tour of the monuments. We stopped at the Jefferson, FDR, Korean, Vietnam, Lincoln and WW II memorials and monuments. We missed the bus after the Lincoln Memorial and had to hoof it to the WW II to try and catch up. It was pretty dark... a little scary. But we made it. After a late-night dinner at McDonalds in Union Station, we ended our latest day thus far... midnight.

DC Photos on Flickr

DC Vacation Update: Day 2

PhiladelphiaPA_06Oct2008_ 004
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Today we took a bus to Philadephia, PA. This was an experience. We took what is called a "China Bus," which is a pretty inexpensive way to get there. We had to go to China Town, which was both weird and a little scary. And I should have seen this coming, half the people on the bus were Chinese. While I don't have a problem with this, I just hate not understanding what a person is saying. And, when it is happening all around you... it can cause some anxiety. I was wishing I had brought my headphones. Of course, there were the mangled-english signs which are always entertaining ("Not response for belonging" for example). The driver apparently could not speak English. I asked when the bus was leaving and he replied with an abrupt "Yes." When we got to Philadelphia, he kept yelling "Philadelphia off! New York stay on!" over and over. Okay... Philadelphia (or at least the part we started in) was a little scary. The people were lound, annoying and rude. That part wasn't enjoyable. But when we made it to "old town" things improved. It was very interesting seeing the Liberty Bell and touring Independence Hall, where the Constitution was approved. Benjamin Franklin's neighborhood was also interesting to see. It's amazing to think how old these buildings are (at least for the US) and all the history that had happened there. Tomorrow is the Smithsonian Museums and downtown. All this time and we have yet to see the White House!
DC Photos on Flickr

DC Vacation Update: Day 1

MtVernon_05Oct2008_ 005
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Sunday was basically all about George Washington, with the exception of a morning trip to Arlington National Cemetery. While, of course, not a "fun" trip, it was very interesting to see the final resting places of people like JFK. I thought the Memorial Amphitheater building was amazing (more on Flickr). The afternoon we spent at Mt. Vernon, George and Martha Washington's estate. The area was very interesting and had a lot to look at. We toured the mansion as well as the many outbuildings and Washington's tomb. So, why else was the day about Washington except for Mt. Vernon? Okay, here we go: Our hotel is called One Washington Circle Hotel. We crossed Washington Circle to get to the metro. There was a statue of Washington on a horse in the circle. We went to Mt. Vernon. And, on our way back... we had dinner at... wait for it... George Washington University Hospital. Yes, we went into a hospital for the sole purpose of eating. It was the only thing open at the end of our day on the way back to the hotel. Hey, it wasn't that bad!


DC Photos on Flickr

I'm off to DC!

Tomorrow morning I leave for DC! I've been wanting to go for about 10 years now, so I hope it's not a big fat letdown! I'm sure it won't be. It's going to be a major state-fest, too. Oklahoma to Georgia to Maryland to DC (not really a state, I know) to Virginia to Pennsylvania and back. On Sunday, we're going to Arlington Cemetery and Mt. Vernon- George Washington's estate. Monday, we're going to Philadelphia to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin's Post Office and a dozen other buildings. Tuesday is the Library of Congress and Museums. Wednesday we get to go INTO the White House (which I'm pretty excited about because it's much harder to get into than it used to be), tour the Capital and visit the monuments. And Thursday we come back home. Depending on my level of tiredness, I may post the days photos in the evening on Flickr, so check it out and you can keep track of what we're doing (like you really care that much!)

Flickr Link

The Bahamas!

Royal Towers, Atlantis, Bahamas
Originally uploaded by slapshots

I just found out I get to go to the Bahamas next year! I'm very excited. It will be the first time I have left the country. Plus... it's the Bahamas! A few fun facts I have already gathered. They accept US money and there's no exchange rate (which is good right now) but they drive on the other side of the road! And, get this, they have left-side vehicles like the US. But drive on the other side of the road. Crazy! It's like everyone's a postman over there! We'll be staying at a new resort called "Atlantis." The picture was taken by another Flickr member, so if you click it you will see more photos of Atlantis, but I didn't take them.

Last of the Gulf Shores Pics

GulfShoresAL Jun-Jul2008 2 255
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

I have posted the last of the Gulf Shores vacation pics (taken by others) over on Flickr. Take a look, if you wish.

Travel Horror Story (coming back from AL)!

All I had heard was bad things about the airlines, so I was not too excited about flying again (this would only be my second time), but we had not problems getting there. Getting back was a little rough, though. This is going to be long and I am going to use "so" a lot.... We were leaving to go back home Sunday and as we walk into the airport I get a text that the plane is delayed, leaving at 11:15 instead of 10:05. Which was not that big of a deal since we had a 2 hour layover in Dallas. So, we get to the ticket counter and it's only going to be a 10 minute delay (good thing we didn't come an hour later). So we get loaded up and start to take off, and about the time we should lift off the engines shut down and the emergency lights come on down the aisles. Not great. The pilot tells us there's a problem with the plane and we have to go back to the gate. So we sit there for about 20 mins and we have to deplane. The next flight out doesn't leave until 5:00 and this is about 10:30. We were supposed to be back in OKC by 4:30, mind you. So, we are pretty much trapped at the Mobile airport (which has nothing in it other than a snack bar) for 6 hours without a vehicle. We mess around for about an hour and decide to go back through security just in case they get the plane fixed. We get through security and hear our names and that we have 1 minute to board. I guess they fixed the plane and we never heard the announcement. So we ran all the way through the airport (we were the last gate, of course) and they go ahead and let us board. Then there is supposedly an extra person on board so they try to figure that out for about 20 minutes. Then it starts lightening and knocks out the airports computers so they can't get the final paperwork to leave. Had we left even within 45 minutes of re-boarding, we had a chance to catch a second connection in Dallas. But when we finally get to Dallas as 3:35, we missed that connection by 5 minutes. The next plane to OKC didn't leave until 11:00! So we rented a car and drove back to OKC (we were with someone who had their car at the airport). So, it was a big mess and we got back about 4 hours later than planned, but I guess we're rather lucky to have got back at all. So, there’s my travel horror story (there always must be one!).

Brad's Beach

This is where I spent a large part of today. I walked about a half- mile down the beach (that's our condo in the background) to this place where there was literally not a person. So, I declared it "Brad's Beach" and hung out in the water for a while, letting the waves knock me around. The seagulls kept me company.

I had my iphone with me in a bag, but didn't want to take it into the water with me but also didn't have anyone to watch it on the beach, so I buried it in the sand (along with some cash and credit card) next to this old log. I put my shirt on the log so I could find it later. I was like--- "don't steal my shirt... don't steal my shirt."

For all the pics, just click the thumbnail at right.

We're here!

We're here!
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

We made it! Actually we got in last night but we went and ate and got in late, so I was so tired. I'm out on the beach this morning. It's right outside the condo- very cool. It's not very crowded either-- I hope it stays this way!

Vacation Update

GulfShoresVacation_02Jul2008_ 004IP
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

We've made it to DFW! We'll be departing here in about 20 minutes
after, hopefully, a short delay. Then it's on to Mobile and finally
Gulf Shores, which is near Pensacola, Fl.

This airport is HUGE, BTW. We're riding on the tram now to our gate. Next update from Alabama!