Very last day, but what a trip!  We had a terrific time!  Drove home today and thankfully an uneventful day.  I had to unpack, grab another, smaller suitcase and repack to travel to our home in Florida for a wedding leaving our daughter to hold down the home place.  Yes, that's right, traveling without her but picked up another traveller, my husband.  Maybe I will write about this weekend, but, only if is some good stuff!   Hahaha

Arose early this morning and walked down to the Cafe Du Monde for our final serving of beignets and coffee.  Ahhhhh, what a delight!   Back to the hotel for check out, loading, and off to Mobile to visit with my brother and his family.

After arriving in Mobile, we went to see some old friends and visited with them and just really had a good time catching up and back to my brother's home.  Big spaghetti dinner with my niece and her 2 children, Mason and Bailee (who will soon be driving, unbelievable).  My brother  and his wife surprised me with a birthday cake and ice cream and then of course, we finished watching the Auburn football game (they won) and told catholic jokes.  Lol.  Early to bed.

Last Day in the Big Easy

Ahhhh, Wednesday, our last big day in NOLA.  This morning we slept late and strolled down to the Court of Two Sisters for brunch.

 If you've never done it, you've missed something.  It is a must do for me every time I come.  You can also sign up for their newsletter and they will send you recipes.  Well, of course they have the standard breakfast on the buffet, but also shrimp, salad, jambalaya, etc. etc. etc.  Too much to mention.  Desserts are my favorite and the top one is Bananas Foster.  Love it!!

Later, we had to walk off our brunch and we shopped.  Visited my favorite antique store which is really more like a museum.  Cannot and do not expect to be able to purchase anything there but to see these antiques is really an education.  I believe the cheapest piece of furniture in the store was $68,000.00.  That's right.  The jewelry is exquisite also.  Just a great place to spend some time.

My next favorite shop which I have purchased items from for at least 6 years is the Glass Managerie.  It is a tiny shop but she has so many different things and really reasonable prices.  I love this shop!
We then worked our way back to the casino for a little more blackjack and neither of us were very lucky today, so back to the French Quarter we went.

Katherine wanted to get some more beignets, so that was our afternoon snack then off to Pat O'Brians for hurricanes.  Earlier in the day, we had met 2 scotsmen walking the street and had our picture made with them and I asked why they were wearing kilts and they said they were celebrating the half way mark to St. Patricks Day.

 Okay, interesting and something I had never heard before and thought they were making it up.  But.....we arrived at Pat O'Brians and guess what?  Yes, they were celebrating the halfway mark to St. Pattys.  Can you believe it?  Well, we had hurricanes and they gave us hats and beads and we ran into the same scotsmen again with some more joining and of course, I  had my picture made with all of them.  Great fun!!

We left Pats and walked down Bourbon Street going to the hotel and, well, sometimes you think you have seen it all but then something just comes along.  We look at the opposite sidewalk and there is a woman walking with a man just talking and talking but she is naked except for a pair of bikini panties.  She is painted completely silver including panties and let me say she was not young, she was overweight and well, should I say more?  Surprisingly, she walked right by a policeman and he apparently thought it was okay!!!!

On that note, I think we are ready to leave NOLA.

New Orleans Day 2!

It is now Tuesday are our Big road trip and this was our first full day in the rocking city of New Orleans.  We started the day out by walking down to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and chickory coffee for breakfast.  Just can't beat it!

We strolled around the French Quarter and shopped then headed to Harrahs to play some blackjack.  Decided to play one deck blackjack which I thought would be easier for Katherine and I guess it was because she came out ahead 100.00 richer.  Unfortunately, in helping her, the cards were just not with me and I quit after losing a little.

Afterwards, we took the trolley (Katherine's first ride ever) down to the garden district and met the nicest couple from England who coincidentally were staying at the same hotel as us.

 Small world.  I also found out that Katherine must be jealous of our dog as she stated to the couple "They brought our dog to New Orleans before me".  LOL  Well, that is true!!!

After the trolley we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Mr. Bs Bistro owned by one of the Brennan Family.  Excellent food even though Katherine balked at having to wear a bib for the barbequed shrimp.

It rained on and off all day but luckily when we finished dinner, it had stopped and we walked down to Bourbon Street so Katherine could see what it was like.  Well, it was Bourbon Street, what can you say.

 I did manage to get some beads they were throwing from a balcony and we listened to some rock and roll music then called it a night.

We have been visiting New Orleans since the 80s and it was always fun to walk Bourbon Street and listen to  all the jazz music playing on every corner.  Really what NOLA was known for in the south.  Now, all you hear is rock and roll.  Don't get me wrong, I love R&R but it was better to have all the jazz.  Very sad.

Well, we didn't stay out too late and managed to get back to the hotel to take a late night swim.  Full, hot day.

Another Travel Day

Drove away from McKinney very early this morning and actually watched the sunrise in front of our car.  It has been many years since I have seen the sun come up and it was beautiful.

We had a long drive ahead of us to New Orleans and it was pretty much uneventful.  We had one 45 minute delay due to an accident but I am not complaining.  In fact, I feel very fortunate because.... and I do not want to offend anyone.... but Louisiana drivers are the worst.  Really, no lie.  I always feel fortunate if I get out of the state without an accident.

We arrived at the Maison Dupuy Hotel around early afternoon.  This is an older, small hotel in the French Quarter, and very nice.  We usually stay here because it is convenient to everything but far enough away where it is quiet.  We decided to skip lunch and eat a big dinner, so we headed out to the Gumbo Shop which has pretty good food and a varied menu. Katherine's observation about NOLO so far is that it is dirty, smelly and humid.  HaHa.  Yes, I know, but I love this city. We then strolled around Jackson Square and window shopped and I did find a jacket that I loved but really could not wear it anywhere.  It looks like a coat a saloon girl would wear during the western days and the more I think about it, I just might get it.  I just have to think about where I would wear it so I can justify the purchase.  lol

Now for the boring part.  We were so tired we decided to go back to the room and watch TV and that is exactly what we did.  And of all things, we watched Dancing with the Stars and laughed a lot.

One more thing..so far 5 days of 24 hour togetherness and we have not killed each other yet!  Yea!!!

Our last day in Mckinney before heading to New Orleans!

Ohhh, it's Sunday!!  Up early, yes 3 hours sleep, but up and addam.  We went to breakfast in the hotel with a few other Lancer Ladies and then took off for the festival.  Spent time with James and Antigoni and the ladies, made new friends with Billie and Tina, wonderful couple, and we all just hung out today talking, laughing and having fun.  Went to Ken Farmer's table and chatted with him, got his autograph and lots of pictures.

He is so funny and just all around nice guy!  Jan, Katherine and I then went to talk with Dan Haggerty and he insisted on kissing us all.  He is a character.

Later, the group walked to the local Pie Emporium and we all got pie.  All flavors!!!  It was so funny, the shop was deserted until we walked in and then people just kept coming in after us.  The line was literally to the door!  We sang Happy Birthday to Lori and everyone in the shop chimed in.  Connie and Jeff said a sad goodbye to us as they were flying back to California and then we all proceeded to back to the festival for group pictures.

Katherine attracted a prospective unwanted boyfriend which amused Billy, Tina and I immensely!  I did give her an out by telling her to take our camera to the car.  Did she take the hint?  Noooo, she came back!!!!  It was the talk of the outside crowd.  lol

Also, on Friday morning we had met Peggy's friend, Tony, who was from England and a Robert Fuller fan and friend.  We kept running in to him all weekend and talking to him and today, I looked over and by george he was signing autographs of his picture.  The Man had his own fan club!!!  He did not hear the end of it.  lol  He said the Fuller ladies couldn't resist him.   He used it was a fundraiser for a children's charity Robert Fuller supports.    He was also going to Robert's home and stay with him this week and work his ranch.  Lucky guy!!!

Dinner tonight was at the Rockfish Restaurant and again the seafood was delicious.  James and Antigoni joined us for dinner and James really enjoyed himself.  Stacie sat at our end of the table and boy did we have fun!

Stacie got me good not once, but twice, playing tricks on me.  Our end of the table was so bad!!!!  but fun!!!!!!  After dinner, up to the famous room 211 for a farewell party but I had to leave early (midnight) due to getting up early to head to New Orleans.  Again, Katherine left us and was in bed by 11.  Poor girl, hope she does better as she gets older!!!

Here are pictures from today, they are the Western Stars, The Lancer Ladies Group, the reunion committee for the Lancer Ladies (smaller group pictures, and of course more pictures of Mr. Stacey himself.

The Festival and DINNER WITH THE STARS!

Our road trip is now in day 3, Saturday, with another breakfast at Panera and off to the Spirit of the Cowboy Festival.  McKinney is a small town with lots of shops in the town square and a heritage section with historical houses where the festival takes place.  We arrived at the festival just as it began and managed to be the first group of people to enter the home where you could meet and greet all the cowboys.  I only wanted to speak with James Stacy and have my picture with him and Robert Fuller.  Robert also took a picture with "K", my fundraiser with the Kiwanis Club of Coweta County.

 After hanging with the Lancer Ladies a bit, we decided to take the infamous trolley tour of McKinney!!  We did have a good time but it was a tour like no other.  The Tour Guide was a retired physician whose family went back several generations in McKinney.  We saw lots of houses, the park, the historical hospital and all 3 houses he lived in growing up in McKinney.  At one point we thought the tour was over, but nooo, it continued on to show us another park before returning to the festival.  It was a very quaint tour, funny narration and really quite sweet. At one point, the riders started asking questions of the tour guide about people he knew in town because they were all McKinney residents who decided to go along for the ride.  lol.  Off to the hotel to freshen up and get ready for the big dinner tonight with the stars.

We met some of the other Lancer Ladies in the lounge before dinner and I went to order Katherine and I something to drink and while waiting started talking to a gentlemen sitting at the bar.  We were talking about the dinner and he stated he was attending because he was one of the stars.  I did not recognize him and very nicely said I did not know his name and he introduced himself as Ken Farmer who also stared in Silverado, one of my favorite movies.  Well, I was embarrassed but he was really nice about it and of course I said I was sure to see him later.  Stacie came down to hang out with us and found out she had been a stunt woman in Hollywood and regaled us with lots of stories.

The dinner started at seven with the premise that you sat at any table of your choosing not knowing which cowboy would be sitting with you.  The Lancer Ladies decided to sit together and we took up 2 large sections of tables and our table was lucky to have Dan Haggerty sit with us.  He was charming and quite funny and kept us laughing with stories and  he flirted outrageously with Jan, Christie and Katherine.  We really had a good time.

Back to the hotel we went after dinner and again meeting some Lancers, Peggy and Stacie in the lounge.  Katherine deserted me and headed to the infamous room 211 for the upstairs party.  Stacie and I talked about everything and struck up a new friendship.  Katherine showed up to request my presence at the upstairs party, so I had to bug out for the fabulous Lancer Ladies.  Whew, what a night, lots of laughter, storytelling, and just plain fun.  One point of discussion was a video of a crocodile eating a girl on youtube.  If you haven't seen it, well, look it up.  One LL said it was real, another said it was fake and luckily we had a hollywood documentary filmmaker with us and she decided to view it frame by frame and decided, yes it was fake especially after the advertisement for the crocodile handbag popped up at the end.  lol.  If you haven't guessed, this was around 2 in the morning and I did not get to bed until 3:30 am.  Where was Katherine?  In bed by 11.  She just cannot keep up with her Mom.  On til tomorrow.

Day Two of McKinney, Texas

Day Two of the McKinney adventure started with extremely cloudy skies, yes rain and lots of it!!
Breakfast at Paneras and it was one of the high tech eateries with computers to place your order and a buzzer you put on a circle on the table for delivery.  Pretty cool.  Went to the lobby and met James Stacy for the first time, Antigoni, his fiance, both are so nice and of course Ruby.  A little later Stacie, his niece arrived and decided to go horseback riding with us.  Great morning so far!!  Went to downtown Mckinney and found a great candy and popcorn shop, Mom and Pop Corn and purchased a large, and I mean large, bag of caramel and cashew popcorn and a snack bag of Loaded Potato Popcorn.

  Delicious. We then rushed back to hotel to pick up Stacie.  Unfortunately, when we arrived for the horseback riding, the rain had been so heavy they decided to cancel.  YES we were not happy, we had bought ponchos and everything, oh well, better luck next time.  Hung out for a while then went to dinner with all the Lancer Ladies at Salt Grass Steak House with 30 Lancer fans (I say fans instead of ladies because we did have 3 men with us), the food was excellent and we all had a great time.  Afterwards, we headed to the hotel lounge because all the cowboy stars were in residence meeting their fans.  Robert Fuller was the next cowboy I wanted to meet and yes, there he was, and yes, he hugged me and blah, blah, blah (lol). Made a new friend from the Robert Fuller Posse, Peggy, who was so much fun!  Finally,  upstairs to the now famous room 211 for party time which included our popcorn!  We finally ended the evening at 1:00 am with hopefully sunshine in the morning.

Off We Go To McKinney, Texas!

Atlanta, Ga - 5:00am

We are headed off for the great state of Texas! Where everything is bigger (and some would say better!) This is the mother-daughter trip out to McKinney, Texas to see James Stacey, for those of you who don't know him he played Johnny Madrid in the 70s western show Lancer. Here is a photo of the hunk, 

 Isn't he a good lookin' man?

This is a long haul of a trip, it's about a 12 and a half hour trip including stops and traffic (and weather unfortunately). Of course, starting a road trip at 5am isn't always the greatest thing ever but we sure as heck beat the morning rush hour out of Atlanta and really missed any traffic other than the Dallas traffic when we got here around 5.  All went well until the weather turned ugly outside of Dallas, in the traffic, so yeah, it was a mess and stressful.

During our trip, Katherine decided she wanted lunch at the Cracker Barrel and  we accidentally found the famous Duck Commander warehouse where the Duck Dynasty stars work (and as we see in the show, play as well) while we were trying to find out how to get to the Cracker Barrel. Just goes to show, you never know in life where a wrong turn can take you and it might just give you a good surprise.   We ran into one bad accident but no one really likes to talk about the accidents in life, only the funny things! We did happen across a gas station that had tons of different types of jerky and it smelled heavenly (though they didn't have any aspirin for my headache!) We got into Dallas and had dinner with a bunch of Lancer ladies. You would be surprised to know that some of the ladies fly from the UK and one is from New Zealand, all to  come and see these western stars. (I should include that there are some men as well here too.) A boring day of travel but tomorrow should be much more fun! 

Till then, 

Brenda & Katherine