It's Still a Simple Life

Chris and Dracco with Nixon

July 4th beauty

Candy making at home

June finds us still immersed in a covid19 dictated kinda lifestyle. The virus seems to be the all encompassing excuse for general mediocrity in all things relating to business as usual. It's important to stick to a positive routine: exercise, diet, recreation and social distancing; otherwise one could easily go NUTS. Cooking, baking, biking, golf and pool time continue to dominate my agenda. With June being such an important family birthday and occasion month, I've taken to a powerful little app called Procreate to make some fun greeting card designs on the iPad.

Fun visit with Jill

We did have visitors to lift our spirits, too. Jill and Doug popped over to Marco in their new RV. Collier-Seminole State Park provided a close respite for their maiden voyage. It was great to hang out, golf and even go to a restaurant. Perhaps we'll see them in PEI someday soon.

Slowly, but surely, we are putting some dates on the distant calendar in hopes of resuming some normalcy soon.

Cool head Ally

 














And by the way, Black Lives Matter will continue to be a meaningless movement until we can have a truthful and meaningful discussion on race.

September in the Deep South

Getting there is half the fun, as they say. We enjoyed the sugarcane and cotton field backroads through Louisiana after leaving the New Orleans area. It's always nice to get off the interstate and enjoy more scenic and interesting landscape. It was an easy day of driving northwest towards Dallas. We stayed at our third LA campground, Lake Bistineau SP in Doyline. It was kinda scary empty. Not many campers in the deep South in September. Perhaps they don't enjoy little frogs in the shower with them or Jurassic Park size flies and mosquitoes. It's all part of the journey as I perfect my Zen-like approach to nature. We never did actually see the lake, but it was a peaceful respite nonetheless.

NOLA Farewell

Our last dining adventure took place on Tuesday for brunch at the iconic Brennan's on Royal St. We enjoyed a decadent meal and moseyed back to the hotel, window shopping through the French Quarter. With two Urbers on the way, we said our goodbyes. Will is off to the airport and we are heading back to camp at Westwego. What a great family getaway!

Upon our return, everything was just fine at the abandoned campsite. No surprises! We were able to do some laundry at Bayou Segnette SP and have a relaxing dinner on the fire.

The 26th Birthday Celebration

What a great city to celebrate any occasion! Lounging around the hotel room on Labor Day, we sipped our morning coffee and tea while discussing Will's birthday agenda. The celebrations included a cooking class at Crescent City Cooks, a walk through the NOLA aquarium, a respite with gifts back at the room and a fabulous dinner at GW Fins in the French Quarter.

It's been a grueling, but fun, few days of celebrating Will, so after dinner we went back to the room and watched a couple of episodes of "Succession" on HBO GO. I did warn Will before he committed to joining us in NOLA, that his birthday wasn't going to be a "drunk fest." It would be a cultural adventure exploring the city with his parents. He agreed, and we had a wonderful few days together. Although, I'm sure Will will be having a late night or two doing shots with friends this week.

Sunday in NOLA

There's nothing more pleasant than a lazy Sunday morning. We lingered over coffee and showers before heading out to Kingfish Restaurant on Chartres Street for brunch. Our day's plan involved taking the cable car to the City Park, strolling the NOMA sculpture garden, introduce Will to Cafe du Monde at the park location and then return to the French Quarter for the Southern Decadence parade. The pride parade was hilarious! We retreated back to the hotel for an air conditioned rest and dress for dinner at NOLA Restaurant on St. Louis Street. After all the amazing meals we've had, Emeril Lagasse's NOLA was meh. We had a couple of night caps in the Quarter and enjoyed a quintessential NOLA entertaIner singing some jazzy blues before we called it an amazing day. 

Saturday in NOLA

Refreshed and ready for a big Saturday in NOLA, we took Will to the Ruby Slipper Cafe on Magazine Street for traditional southern brunch fare. It was so good. Will tried the shrimp and grits, I had the fluffiest migas and Bill went with eggs cochon. All amazingly satisfying. We then spent hours at the National WWII museum in profound contemplation through a fascinating, state-of-the-art journey of the world at war. It was exhausting mentally and physically. It was good to get back outside for a dose of sunshine. We walked another mile or so on our tired feet to TackleBox Restaurant in the Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel on Common Street for small plates and drinks.

Feeling refreshed, we took on Bourbon Street in the late afternoon. What a crazy scene even at that time! We shared a couple of "big ass beers" as we strolled along watching the amazing array of revelers. Making the French Quarter even more festive this weekend is the annual Southern Decadence festival, aka, Gay Mardi Gras.

Back at the hotel, we changed into Saturday night attire and Ubered to Frenchmen Street for live music and, yes, more food, at the Maison. It was a big day in typical NOLA style.

The Start of Labor Day Weekend

An Uber picked us up early Friday afternoon at our campsite and dropped us off at the JW Marriott on Canal Street in beautiful New Orleans. Our first meal in NOLA was at Daisy Dukes on Carondelet St. for a Cajun lunch. Then, of course, Cafe du Monde was on order for dessert beignets. We walked off the calories around Jackson Square and the French Quarter. Great people watching! After a nap and a swim in the rooftop pool, young Will arrived weary from a long day of air travel delays. We had a welcome drink in the hotel bar and walked to Luke Restaurant on St. Charles Avenue for delicious oysters and Brussels sprout midnight snack (or so it seemed).

Takin’ Care of Business

Reminiscent of last year's journey through the Panhandle, a slow leak in a back dually had us scrambling for a repair shop. We killed a few hours in pursuit of a couple new tires. After that, it was smooth cruising, with a pitstop Buc-ee's in AL, and the first outside of TX. We arrived at Bayou Signette State Park outside of NOLA at 6pm. Another beautiful park and super close to the Big Easy!

Out of Dodge Once Again

As we provisioned the camper van for another adventure out west under spectacular summer skies, we were inundated with hype about Dorian. The tropical storm-turning hurricane is in the Caribbean and heading towards the coast of Florida. We're happy to be moving out of Dodge. We had lots of work completed on the van after our last big trip in October 2018, so it should be ready for another 5000 miles or so. Boats and RVs… pretty high maintenance they say.

We rolled into the Suwannee River State Park just after 4pm. We all know the song but how many have really spent time on the river? After a quick little hike around the banks, we settled into camp with showers and frozen pizza. Nice campground and super clean restrooms; always a bonus.

St. Patrick's Day 2019

St. Paddy's Day was always a busy weekend for my large Irish family. Back in the day, there was Irish dancing, bagpiping, drumming, an iconic green river, parade appearances and plenty of eating and drinking with family and friends over the course of many local celebrations in Chicago. Our parents and grandparents instilled a great pride in our heritage and we pursued lessons in Irish music and dance for most of our young lives, with St. Paddy's Day presenting some of the best opportunities for showcasing our talents. That was many years ago. Now, I liken St. Patrick's Day to New Year's Eve: festive and preferably enjoyed at home.

I was folding clothes this week on my bed and when I put the last of the laundry away, a lone shamrock was left under the pile. It had been an unusually sad day for me, and the sight of this green clover made me believe in miracles. I was overwhelmed with comfort and at a complete loss to understand where this may have come from. Although, as an intuitive Irish lass, I have my suspicions. May you find something special to cuddle your soul today and bring you outright awe and joy.

Unexplainable shamrock on my bed

Pink

This just in ... the girls are getting ready for our Pink concert in Jacksonville next week. Click on that barely visible arrow in the center of the picture for some video action. 💕
📹credit: Steph

Great Vacation with my Guys

Home Sweet Home and we're all feeling super accomplished.

Lazy Day in Paradise

Candy and I hung at the pool all morning while the guys completed their final dives. After lunch at Morritt's, we all drove to Rum Point for some sightseeing and a drink. It was back to the East End for happy hour In the pool before dinner at The Italian Kitchen. Loads of fun on our last day in Grand Cayman.

27 Miles on a Rusty Huffy

With the guys out for a big boat dive Tuesday afternoon and Candy off to the spa, I took a bike from Morritt's and ended up riding on a fun adventure. After a few stops along the way, Rum Point was the end of the road.

Killing the Day

It was a beautiful sunrise on the east end. The guys had a 9am dive scheduled Monday near Seven Mile Beach, so Candy and I ventured along for the ride.

Still down with my cold, I was comforted by an amazing cup of "Feel Good" tea at South West Collective. Candy and I then browsed the shops, looking at plenty of diamonds and souvenirs with day trippers from the cruise ship in port.

We greeted our divers back at the fun dive vibe shop and enjoyed a terrific lunch at Rackhams in town.

After a harrowing ride of roundabouts and right-side-driver mayhem, a fun tasting of rum and distillation tour left us laughing like crazy at Cayman Spirits Co.

We made a nice pasta dinner at the condo and bed early. Exhausting!

Same Old, Same Old

It's all about sun, sea, food and drink in Grand Cayman. All you can eat lobster was on the menu for Saturday night at Morritt's.

The divers had a leisurely Sunday morning before heading out to Sunset House for a shore dive to see the bronze beauty, a 9 foot mermaid statue down 55 feet. Will said it was his all time favorite dive so far.

Saturday's lunch at Eagle Ray's Dive Bar lead us to Tukka's for Sunday dinner. We enjoyed waterside dining under the flip-flop tree and the pink full moon.

Off to Grand Cayman

Home only a few days and nursing the worse cold in recent memory. The neighbors planned a dive trip with us to Morritts Resort in the Cayman Islands. Will planned his vacation time accordingly and off we went.

We loaded up the plane with gear for fun and sun. It was a beautiful flight in the Bonanza. My first trip in the little plane in years. It was fun flying over Marco, the Florida Keys and Cuba. Quick and easy! The guys were diving within hours of our departure.

Ginnie Springs FL

Steph invited us for a camp-out weekend at Ginnie Springs. It was one wild time with kids, grandkids and friends. Loud music and boozers filled the enormous campground on the hot weekend. Alcohol infused rafting, kayaking, snorkeling, paddling, diving and general partying took place down the lazy Sante Fe River and surrounding fresh-water springs.

Large-scale groups of campers and day-trippers enjoyed the festive parade of floats, boats, trucks, trailers, pimped-out golf carts, campfires and all other things FL macho. It was a bizarre, once-and-done, sort of fun weekend.

Donna and Bob Figora

The blogsister, Donna, and her husband Bob, had lots in common, including February birthdays. While Bob celebrates today, we should be celebrating Donna's big 50th tomorrow. Bob and I spoke today, and we can't believe that it has been almost nine years since Donna's death. We both still miss her terribly.  Let's hope Donna is having a big bash in the wild, blue yonder.

Mom Rogers Turns 95!

Peg celebrated like a rock star this weekend with a lovely dinner party at her home on Friday with friends and family.

  

  

Peg reserved the private dining room at the Oaks.  We brought an assortment of hors d'oeuvres, wine and champaign, and chef Joe did his thing.  Wild Willy gave a beautiful toast to his mom and Earl delivered a heartfelt pre-dinner prayer.  Ginny brought flowers and candles, Josie brought cupcakes and everyone had a great time.  On Saturday, her actual birthday, Peg's grandson, Chris, and Kristy, Alexis and Devin, made the day extra special.  

Will and Callie joined in on the festivities, too.

 

The great-grandchildren made and hung a poster at the front door announcing the day. We had champaign and Pom punch, a full-blown Thanksgiving meal with turducken, two stuffings, and all the other fixins'.  A feast!  

 

Alexis and Devin performed a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday on the piano before presenting the special cake, they made from scratch, including the cinnamon ice cream frosting and cut-out fondants on top.  

  

 

Kristy, channeling her inner creativity, made a delightful floral arrangement and keepsake for mom. 

  

We're already talking about the celebration we're going to have next year, but the 100th is going to be very special.  Have a great year, Mom!