Kidnapped (60 coming up fast)

So...with this big ole birthday coming up, Mary Grace and Ryan surprised me with a trip to New Orleans. They know how I love it. 

Here we are waiting for our Uber to go to dinner at Lula’s distillery in Marigny. It was excellent. However no pics. Ryan said the blackberry smoked ribs were possibly the best he ever had. 

Next morning MG started us off with breakfast. 

Our condo was beautiful

See that cool wall. 

Jackson square was beautiful as usual. 

All these priests were headed inside. 

Ryan is a plaque reader. 

Jackson himself. 

The river was as pretty as ever.

We headed to OYSTERFEST! Yes, we lucked out on timing. 

How many ways can you eat oysters? First up ceviche. 

It’s New Orleans so a go cup Bloody Mary



And if we thought we were bout to burn up then how does a guy in an oyster suit dancing with the band feel?

We even ran into friends Priscilla and Leland there!

Spicy hot oysters on jalapeño slaw. 

When the heat got the best of us, we found a nice cool restaurant. Grilled oysters were great. 

A downpour came up and we found refuge in a little dive called Mr B’s. Surprisingly good crabmeat egg rolls. 

My little souvenir charm for my bracelet. 

Ryan sampling hot sauce in a hot sauce store. 

Back to the condo to cool off and rest. 

Had to find a CVS for stomach meds. Hmmm. Wonder why?

Early dinner had us waiting in line at Mother’s in the heat. Our knight I shining armor scored us drinks while we waited and sweltered. 

Later we rode the trolly. 

Rode almost to the end. 

Hopped off at Camellia grill for shakes...

....onion rings

And burgers. Perfect. Rode back as dark was falling and we could see the lights coming on in the beautiful houses on St. Charles. 

Sunday morning we went to Court of Two Sisters for Jazz Brunch. 



The famous wishing well. See the statue of the two sisters behind the well? I wondered why they were naked. Mary Grace guessed it was because they were so hot. Man it was sweltering. 

Another Bloody Mary. You don’t see swizzle sticks much anymore. 

About as New Orleans as a menu gets. Grillaides, grits, red beans and pecan pie. 

Here we are. 

This wisteria vine covering the patio is 150 years old. 

For my birthday I got a lil cake...

and a song from the jazz trio

It is a tradition to search for Chester’s fried chicken on the road. Only some of them have fried gizzards. We scored this time. They cooked them fresh for us. So ended the trip on a high note.