Thoughts On New Orleans

I'm back safe, although sound is another question entirely.

I thought that the knot in my stomach would go away once I got on the plane but no such luck. I struggled with it through the entire vacation. I've decided that I need to stop calling them va-cations and start calling them sleep-cations since that's what I do most of the time.

It is a recurring theme in my own health (physical and mental) that I don't sleep well here. I've mentioned it before. My brother reported that mom had him up at all hours of the night while he covered the home front, too.

Despite the tummy ache, I made up my mind to just push through. Sometimes just getting out and about can take my mind off of my worries. My bff from CA had some Vicodin and I found that it relaxed my stomach for an hour or two. That way at least I could eat.

With all of that, I think the trip was an overall success. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but there wasn't a bad part about it except for my nerves. I would definitely recommend going and I would like to go back.

Okay, here are some things I notices about New Orleans:

• Nobody calls it N'Awlins. I think that's for t-shirts. However, it is New OR-lins and not New OrLEENS. (On a similar note, Nevada is not Ne-VAH-da, it's Ne-VADD-a with the first 'a' sounding as in cat.)

• The airport seemed a bit old and decrepit.

• We couldn't have had better weather. When planning the trip, we decided on October since it was historically the month with the least rainfall. It was in the mid-70's, clear skies, no humidity, nice breeze. Absolutely perfect.

• Driving into the French Quarter takes you through Metairie and outer New Orleans. It's a pretty bleak low-industrial kinda place.

• Seeing the Superdome brought back all those images from Hurricane Katrina.

• Cab ride was $30+tip. Glad we didn't rent a car since there was so much to do within walking distance and there was a $25/day parking fee at the hotel.

• Odd, but considering that they are on the waterfront of the Mississippi River, I didn't see one seagull. For cripes sakes, I've seen seagulls around here! I hate seagulls, so I shouldn't complain.

• The Moonwalk is the name of the wide sidewalk and berm along the river. I walked the length every morning and evening.

• On Saturday morning, the Steamer Natchez boat tooted tunes from its whistles, drawing customers to come and take a paddle boat ride on the Mississippi. You could hear the music for blocks. It was a bit corny but I have to say I like corny! I'm still singing "The Good Ship Robert E. Lee" that I performed in a 7th grade version of Showboat.

• Po'Boys. These are special New Orleans sandwiches. Think a 6" sub on a lighter roll. Meat, sauce, shredded lettuce and tomato. I had one with hot roast beef (with dark gravy) and another with grilled chicken that was very good!

• Muffulettas. These are special New Orleans Italian sandwiches. Think Italian cold cuts (salamis etc.) on a soft tasty roll. They usually come with olive salad inside but I was able to order mine without.

• Beignets. Pronounced ben-YAY. These are special "French doughnuts." Ummm, highly overrated in my opinion. They are deep fried, piled high with powdered sugar, but the inside of them is more like Italian bread. One was enough for me.

• Cafe du Monde is the famous place for getting the beignets. It's a bit of a tourist trap...you gotta get them here...blah blah blah. It's like an outdoor coffee shop since they only sell beignets and beverages. There were lines to get seating on the weekend mornings. If you go, don't sit at a table along the sidewalk. While you may think it will give you a good view of all the happenings, you will be subject to beggars, derelicts, people who think they are musicians, etc. looking for a spare dollar.

• They don't bury people in cemeteries. Nothing is underground...I assume because of the high water table. Everyone is put in above-ground crypts/mausoleums. These places are really run down as the weather has just worn away at the brick façades.

• If you want to take a tour, they've got one just for you. Vampires, architecture, gators, cemeteries, walking or horse-drawn or Segues. Each evening, we'd be heading back to the hotel and there would be four vampire tours starting.

• The French Quarter is pretty nice. It captures an old world style housing with more than a few souvenir shops and bars. If you like alcohol, you'll like Bourbon Street in the French Quarter.

• The city is full of artists. Lots of galleries and there were tons of local folks selling their creations around the main square on the weekends.

• There are no fast food restaurants. No McDonalds, BK, or Wendy's. I couldn't find Chinese food, either. I assume these restrictions are done by city code.

• All in all, I found the food to be good, not great, and on the pricey side.

• I made sure to tip everyone big since they are still on tough times.

• Lots of references to VooDoo. I don't know if there's really a secret underground or if it's hype for the tourists. It seems that every local has the ability to tell your fortune and a card table in tow that they can set up in the public square.

• The ornate work on the front of the buildings is cast iron, not wrought iron. And, most are not "balconies" (which do not have supports underneath). Rather, most are "galleries" that are supported by posts that reach down to the sidewalks. I dare say most of them look really rickety and on the verge of collapse!

Tomorrow I will try to post some of my photos. (Update: See my pics of New Orleans here.)

Utah Trip: Utah State Capitol & Capitol Hill

After I arrived, I was in the rental car by 1 o'clock and on my way to downtown Salt Lake. It was about 90˚F and sunny.

First on the agenda was the Utah State Capitol and the surrounding area of Capitol Hill.


This statue commemorates the Mormon Battalion that served during the Mexican-American War.


The original White Memorial Chapel, across the street from the Capitol, is in the 18th ward and dates back to 1883. It was rebuilt in an LDS Gothic revival style and the chapel now holds non-denominational services.

The following description of the Chapel was taken from a sign.

The 18th Ward Chapel
The 18th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one of the original nineteen ecclesiastical wards of Salt Lake Valley, was organized Feb. 14, 1849. Early congregations consisted of families of Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Newell K. Whitney. Meetings were held in boweries, then Brigham Young's schoolhouse on East South Temple Street. In 1880 Don Carlos Yound deeded a lot on A Street and 2nd Avenue where the orignial chapel, of Gothic Revival style, was built (Obed Tayor, architect). It was dedicated Jan. 14, 1883 and demolisthed in 1973. This 18th Ward replica, dedicated June 27, 1980, remains a permanent example of early Utah Gothic architecture (Steven T. Baird, architect). The present site was acquired through an act of the Utah State Legislature in 1975. Original parts salvaged and used in this replica include: steeple, cornerstone, window frames, doors, benches, pulpit, and the stained glass window.

The Old City Hall building is now home to the Utah Office of Tourism and has a visitors information center with gift shop. There were uniquely painted bison on the sidewalk at each of the front corners of the building.


Down the hill and close to Temple Square is the Gibbs-Thomas-Hansen House circa 1895.

I'm Home; Diet Update

I have returned safe and sound and had an absolutely outstanding time! I have a ton of pictures and can't wait to share them.

On the diet front, last week was week 4. If you'll recall, it was a loss of 10 lbs for week 1, then nothing for weeks 2 and 3. I was concerned about the trip and blowing my progress. My friend Melanie is a fantastic cook and I had given myself permission to splurge. As it happens, I am down another 2 lbs to 172. I had a bit of a nervous stomach during the week, so between skipping a few meals and making wise choices, I didn't do too bad.
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Diet Update; The Coming Week's Vacation

Well my dears, it has been three weeks since I started chanting "30 lbs in 3 weeks." It all seemed in reach after that first week when I was shocked to report that I had, indeed, dropped 10 lbs. I thought maybe there was something to all that talk about the power of positive thinking.

The second week, although keeping on the diet but not walking as much due to rain and/or heat and humidity, revealed I had hit a plateau. I hadn't lost anything additional. Perhaps my body had decided that it was starving and needed to slow down and hang on. Or maybe week number one was water loss. Those seem like a lame excuses, though.

Yesterday marks the end of the three week period. I had July 4th to contend with, but truth be told, I'm really not someone who goes ape shit on holiday food with multiple trips to the buffet. Even on Thanksgiving. But the 4th did present itself with tempting dishes and I indulged a bit...a grilled cheeseburger on a roll, a few ribs, some potato salad, and two large chocolate chip cookies.

I had no weight loss in week three so it would appear that this diet was front loaded, building excitement and expectation, but failing to deliver a big bang in the end. Not unlike the majority of dates I've been on.

The result..."10 lbs in 3 weeks." Not bad, and I'm going to continue because once I set my mind to it, I have really strong willpower and maybe I can shed another 10-20 lbs before Labor Day. Just in time for the cold weather to roll in and the need for me to cover up.

One good thing is that the tan I paid for back in April/May before the NYC blogger weekend hasn't faded much. And my hair is longer and silverier.

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The reason for this drastic diet, you may recall, is that I had scheduled a vacation to visit friends I haven't seen in 10 years. They remember me at 155 lbs from when I bulked up from 130. Now I'm at 174.

Tomorrow is the day I leave bright and early. I'll be spending today trying to cram 5 days worth of crap into a single carry on so I can avoid the $50 baggage check fee. Then I get to deal with all the harried airline personnel as I make my way West changing planes in Chicago. Although I have to say I rather like the United terminal in Chicago.

I'm bringing my skis back with me so I'll have to pay for that on the other end. I'm afraid of the charge for oversized bags. Yes, my skis have been in their garage for 10 years. Hey, when you have friends that live in Park City, UT, why would you ski anywhere else?

Aside from the world famous film festival in January, Park City is the home of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team — the 2002 Olympic downhill was held there, as well as the bobsled/luge and ski jumping competitions. Those venues were just starting construction the last time I was there.

I'm bringing the laptop but I'm not sure if I'll have easy access to high-speed Internet. If it ain't high speed, I ain't dealing with it.

I'll have my new camera so I may be able to upload pics as I go. If not, I'll do some posts next week. I plan on taking lots of shots of Temple Square in downtown SLC and lots around town in Park City. There is a place called Thanksgiving Point that promises lots of gardens so I may take a day and drive down there. Some people like to hit the bars when they travel, others the museums. Me, I seek out the botanical gardens!

So, for the next week, I have scheduled posts for each morning. Depending on how things go, I may or may not be able to respond to comments — but I'd appreciate them anyway so I can read them when I return!
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"Rich's Place"

Last weekend was my getaway to St. Petersburg, FL to visit my buddy Rich of A Work In Progress. It's a weird contradiction...it seems like I've know him forever but can't believe it's been three years already.

The visit started off with a bit of excitement. After 15 minutes into my flight, I fainted in my plane seat. I had already fallen asleep then awoke with a start thinking I was going to vomit. I fiddled with the air sick back in the seat pocket in front of me, but that queasy feeling quickly segued into a sense of passing out. By the time I made my plan to get up out of my middle seat and climb over the rather large elderly man on the aisle to get to the rest room, I was out like a light. I was in a full flop sweat when I came out of it. I got my bearings, then went back to sleep and was out the remainder of the way down. No one even noticed. I'm suspecting a drug reaction between meds after I took a Tylenol Sinus capsule shortly before heading to the airport to clear up my headache and congestion.

I arrived in Tampa and Rich, along with his handsome and sweet new bf Wayne, picked me up curbside in his new VW Rabbit and we whisked down the peninsula to St. Pete. Rich has an apartment in a pink 1920's style Spanish Revival building in the historic Northeast section of the city...not far from the Coffee Pot Bayou inlet off of the bay. The architecture was just like the Spanish Revival house where I lived in Santa Ana, CA with the same windows, wide moldings, and built-in cabinets painted white.

The neighborhood has classic charm and lots of remodeling activity. The plantings are mature, with huge 100' trees that give shade in the smoldering summers, and tall palm trees that signal you're in a tropical locale. The NE section covers a huge area — over 250 blocks? — and all the houses are different, making it a unique mishmash of architecture that somehow works wonderfully together.

Stepping inside his building, it was clear he's been putting some serious eyeball mileage on his Will & Grace DVD collection. Rich decided to open his own "Rich's Place" hallway bistro (a la Jack McFarland) to entertain guests for happy hour. (One neighbor confided to me that Rich is a superb host and has been known to occasionally serve his signature Appletinis in a halter top, revealing Daisy Dukes, and calf-accentuating come-eff-me pumps.) He liquors 'em up and sends 'em on their way. Unfortunately, his liquor license was under review during my visit so we had to partake of lively spirits behind closed doors and out at local watering holes.

The boys invited me to attend a party with them that first night but I was still recovering from my little fainting spell and cold so I decided to stay home and rest while they met up with their friends.

Sunday was a late breakfast at The Frog Pond where we watched the fog quickly appear and roll in across Gulf Drive. Then it was a leisurely stroll on Madeira Beach and then to John's Pass for some shopping, ice cream, and watching the pelicans preening atop posts.

That night, Rich and I spent the evening at Georgie's Alibi with his friend Otto. I watched the two characters conjure up some trouble. First it was stalking a patron with fluorescent orange crocs, who got a shocking camera flash in the face when Otto unsurreptitiously snapped a photo of the ugly things. Next, continuing with the foot fetish theme, was a sneak attack on "Jesus" who was wearing sandals befitting of Christ with toe nails screaming for a pedi. (More pics on Rich's site.)

Rich worked Monday and Tuesday, so I took a couple of long walks along the bay and through the neighborhood to check things out. It was surprisingly chilly and the wind whipping off of the water made it downright cold so I ended up wearing my winter coat. There was no tanning time so I'm still white as a sheet.

Rich is doing great and I'm really happy for him!
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Searching For Cats At The Ocean

We bloggers always love to share the unique search queries that bring folks to our sites.

I just had a hit on "white cat motel old orchard" from someone in Quebec. A few days ago, I wrote about the summer trips my family would take to Old Orchard Beach, Maine and the motel where we stayed so it makes sense why Google served up this link.

This search reminded me of a trip we took one summer to Falmouth, Massachusetts. It's at the base of Cape Cod, not to far from Rhode Island to the West and the Kennedy compound in Hyannis to the East. It is also a launching point for ferries going to the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vinyard.

Two things I remember about that trip:
• The fog was so dense in the morning you couldn't see five feet in front of you. No exaggeration. It didn't burn off until about noon.
• There was a orangy-brown tabby cat named Peanut Butter that made the rounds to visit all the guests every afternoon. So friendly and cute.
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