Tour de Louisiana: Last weekend Jeff and I had work associated events that had us in Houma and New Orleans. We decided to make a trip of it. It all started with great plans...but all should know what happens to the greatest of plans. Jeff traveled to Fouchon for a day trip on Friday. I was going to keep Champ and get us ready for the trip. Well Champ passed a sinus infection to me. I was at the ENT's first thing Friday. Antibiotics are wonderful, but they didn't help me quite fast enough. Champ decided to be particularly cranky and the day went downhill from there. As a visual the afternoon was Champ attempting to crawl on the floor of the den clad only in a diaper. Anyone who knows me, knows that my child clothed in just a diaper is not a good situation. Jeff's work threatened to keep him late, but I warned him that this was not the day for him to be late. Many thanks to Ana and Christopher who came over for our Friday dinner. They cooked a wonderful warm meal that would not have been possible without their help.
Saturday we were supposed to head to LA early, but the morning dwindled to afternoon and a 2:30 start was all we could put together. We arrived in BR for a quick meal, some rest then on to Houma Sunday morning.
The drive to Houma was fun. We were able to travel down LA 1 through many small towns. It was so quaint and made both our hearts yearn for the LA culture we were both raised in. That Sunday morning we passed lots of small towns each with a Catholic Church, some with filled parking lots after a recently concluded Mass. Houma was mostly work, so not too notable. Only one funny story... Sunday evening the meeting attendees split for dinner. We mercilessly picked on the group that chose Outback. Really, who travels to the heart of Louisiana to eat Steak from a chain restaurant? Not us...we ate seafood.
Monday we ventured to NOLA. We just had one quick night, but we stayed in the W. It turned out to be a very smart move. President Bush was in town for a NAFTA summit. All the roads were barricaded. We ditched the car with the hotel valet. We only had one thing on our minds reservations at Restaurant August. For the many who don't know what that means. August is owned by John Besh. John Besh is a Louisiana native getting lots of publication for being one the best chefs in the nation. Just to give an idea of his popularity...since the beginning of the year he has been featured in every magazine I receive...Food and Wine, Cookie, and Better Homes and Gardens.
The restaurant was just across the street, but thanks to W, we had to pass though the state police to get there. The restaurant had to verify we had reservations, then we had to walk past a line of national Guard transport vehicles to get there. I didn't expect that scenery, but its NOLA. The restaurant is fine dining and it didn't disappoint. We even were stated with an amuse bouche and thanks to all my Top Chef watching, I knew what that was. All of the food was local. I tasted my first foam and caviar. I highly recommend the experience to anyone planning a trip in that direction...hopefully you won't need to get through the popo to make your reservation, but if you do, it is worth it. Jeff and I had a truly memorable night and I can't wait for the next excuse to visit NOLA again. (Sorry Champ, you won't be invited anytime soon.)
Tuesday we finished up our work and headed to BR. We picked up the little guy from his Honey who didn't really want to let him go. She told us how much she spoiled him. We really appreciated Honey and BudMan watching the little guy for us. It's amazing with kids, how you enjoy the time without them, but miss them the whole time.
Another post to come with last weekend's events, but this will have to suffice for now.
Champ with Cherie:
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