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

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!

Leaving OKC for Vacation

GulfShoresVacation_02Jul2008_ 003IP
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

In the spirit of live casting, I am going to keep my all my blog visitors (count: 2) updated on my Gulf Shores vacation. We're high above OKC headed for DFW. This plane is so cramped. I have to admit-- it's been a while since I have flown and I (quietly) freaked out a little when I looked out the window. Scared of heights and all. But I adjusted.