After a wet four-day weekend over Labor Day thanks to a visit from "Lee", Ken and I were ready to get out the house after a hectic work week.
The weather was perfect and we started the weekend with a visit to the French Quarter on Friday night. We love a good bargain, so we stopped at the New Orlean's House of Blues. Every Friday night they have live music and a great happy hour with half-priced drinks and appetizers. The band played the "Blues" on the back patio (Voodoo Garden), and they were really great. We love the blues ... lots of guitar!
Afterwards, we roamed the streets of the French Quarter and took in the sights. I've said it before ... the French Quarter never gets old!
The House of Blues wolf lurking in the "Voodoo Garden"
The band and outdoor bar
Mural of the Voodoo Priestess ... in the Voodoo Garden!
Since Ken and I longed to continue to be around people outdoors and our daughter was in town, we were back in the French Quarter on Saturday! We were easily amused walking around in such beautiful weather, and enjoyed a late lunch at Margaritaville. This was another bargain with our 20% off "locals discount". (We're always living frugal for the future!)
The crazy sights in New Orleans ...
and the beautiful sights in New Orleans ... the St. Louis Cathedral!
Sunday was the somber ending to our weekend, as it was the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. We spent the morning watching the television coverage of the ceremonies in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. The New York City memorial was beautiful, yet so sad. Seeing the fountains where the twin towers used to stand, and the names of the victims etched along the side was really moving. Then there were the faces and words of the families that lost a loved one that really brought the emotions back. My dad is a retired New Orleans firefighter, which makes me realize that this could have been my town, and my father. As Americans our lives will never be the same, yet those that lost a loved one have been affected in ways that we'd never want to endure.
After grabbing lunch Ken, myself and our daughter spent the remainder of the day sitting out back and enjoying a peaceful day on the water. We listened to classical music that was part of our daughter's homework assignment, and Ken kept an eye on a pork butt that he put on the grill. Thoughts of the victims and their families entered my mind throughout the day, and I was so thankful to be spending time with my family.
Ellwood, our daughter's addition to the family!
While the food finished cooking on the grill, Ken and I took Nirvana out for a quick ride along the canals. We brought along Ellwood, our daughter's dog, and wished we could have stayed out longer. But, Ken had a butt that he was keeping an eye on so we reluctantly headed back home.
We wrapped up the weekend with a great meal before our daughter headed back to college for the next week or two. We will never forget where we were and what we were doing on that fatal day 10 years ago. I was in our bedroom getting ready for a new job while watching "Kelly n Regis". I watched the twin towers go down in flames on television with those two guys. Since I was headed to a new job, Ken was bringing our daughter to school on his way to work. He and our daughter heard of the news together on the radio. I remember calling him in disbelief and listening to the radio in a daze during my hour drive that morning as more bad news continued to come regarding the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. I could not wait to get back home later that evening to be with my family. We will never forget!
Hasta luego ... until then. Mid-Life Cruising!
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3 comments:
Cool. I had always wondered what was in the back of HOB. I've only ever been inside to listen to concerts.
Tate
What a great weekend. Well not the reliving 9-11, but everything else. I think all of us will always remember exactly what we were doing with we were attacked my terrorists. I sure do.
Have a terrific day. :)
Beautiful post, Cheryl. Loved the pictures and hearing about your memories of that fateful day on Sept. 11th, 2001. As you said on FB, since your dad is a retired New Orleans fireman and I'm his present wife, we can almost...but not quite....feel the pain of the firefighters and their families on that day of tragedy.
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