We got an early start on the day to play on our reserved courts at Houston Memorial Park. We wondered what day it was…since the park was PACKED as if it was a weekend… We realized it was a Thursday, and this park was helping to avoid the fact that Houston was the second fattest US city.
The heat and humidity alone made us sweat through both of our shirts, and we had a very serious game of tennis—where Katie prevailed with 6-4. We hydrated, headed back to Christine and Hanson’s for a quick shower before hitting the road for New Orleans. We had to get back on schedule to make it back to VA for Heather’s wedding!
Cri gave us a great recommendation, only 1 mile from her house, Picnic- where we got tasty sandwiches made for the road. The tuna was delish- and it made Dermot almost want to sit in the backseat with his head out the window.
After our long drive through the bayous, swamps and elevated highways, we arrived to our 23rd state, Louisiana. We bought our first winning lottery ticket since we started heading back east ($8!) and arrived to Barbara’s house right around 5pm. Katie and Barbara were both middle hitters on the volleyball team in high school, and the last time Katie visited was for Mardi Gras 1999. We enjoyed moijtios with fresh mint from her herb garden, and we had time to catch up before heading to meet Barbara’s boyfriend at an authentic Creole cooking extravaganza.
K-Paul’s cooking dinner was at Paul Prudhomme’s restaurant in the French Quarter. It was a pre-fix five course dinner with each course paired with Abita Beer. The food was delicious- as was the over abundance of beer. We got to meet many fantastic locals at our table, including two gentlemen who had fought in Iraq and two couples celebrating the rebirth of New Orleans.
We headed from our feast to the Columns Bar, which is an old Victorian house made into a bar/hotel. We enjoyed the beautiful night with many proud New Orleanians sharing stories of their past and how they are all trying to do their part to bring the city back to its grandeur.