Thank You, Hail Storm from Hell

One month ago, we got hit by a horrible hailstorm in our neighborhood.  One of those freak late afternoon, pop-up thunderstorms that produced baseball sized hail for a solid 20-30 minutes.  It destroyed our roof, our gutters, 15 windows on the house, some of the wood on the house and our trees and backyard.

Front of our House after the Storm

Backyard Tree Carnage - there is a patio under all that debris

View of our Street after Storm - Steam is rising from the hail stones

Just a sample of some of the window damage

It also claimed the lives of both of our cars as we do not have a garage or covered carport to protect them.  Our poor vehicles took a beating for the entire storm and our insurance company totaled them out and gave us $30K for both of them.  Steve's poor Nissan Altima didn't even want to start when they came to tow it to the salvage yard a week later.  I theorize that it had lost its will to live. On the bright side, we get a new roof, new windows and two new cars and we have insurance to cover everything. In fact, the deductible on our cars was only $50 and the home deductible is only $1500 so we're in pretty decent shape, all things considered.

Murano Damage - Back windshield totally gone and
 front windshield shattered and sagging in

 We ended up using all of the insurance money to buy my husband a new 2012 silver Subaru Outback (his choice) and I used some of my rainy day savings to put a down payment on my new car and financed the rest.  I decided that I was tired of my "mom-mobile" Murano which I really only bought because Steve had a smaller sedan and I felt we needed something with more room. The Murano is a fine car but it never really did much for me.  Also, I have never gone the European car route and have only driven Japanese cars my whole life.  That is, until I was introduced to the Audi.  I walked into that dealership and they had me at hello.  I was a goner.  I ended up buying a turbo charged, all wheel drive, white Audi A4 with a souped-up trim package and I love it.  I have never been a car person but I have to admit that if this car were a person, I would marry it. It's so fun to drive and I love the European-style handling of it.  I wasn't planning on buying 2 new cars this year but now I really don't regret the situation at all. I am calling it my cougar wagon - all I need to do is find some twenty year old guys to pick up but I really don't want them messing up the interior of my car or annoying me with their stupid chatter so I guess I'll just stick with Steve.

Well, hello there Lover.

So, looking on the bright side of what was a pretty horrific evening back in June, things turned out all right.  Zoom, zoom, cougar wagon coming through!

The Big Easy - July 2012

Just spent 4 nights, 5 days in New Orleans.  Verdict?  Hot and sticky.  We had a great time but the humidity was oppressive, as expected.  At first, I was kind of digging the steamy, sultry vibe that I got from the city during the summer.  Makes me feel like I'm in a Faulkner novel. However, after 2-3 days of pouring sweat walking around the Quarter and the Garden District, the "sultry" feel turned into "just plain gross." On a few days, we looked like we had been swimming as our hair and clothes were drenched in sweat.  Add the general funk and smell of the Quarter to that, and I was one hot mess, minus the hotness.  Thus, the reason why I have photos of only places and not us.  Believe me, I am doing you a favor by sparing you those photos - the shine off my forehead alone would blind you.

We arrived on Saturday around 11am and went straight to the Napoleon House for a Pimm's Cup and a quarter muffaletta.  Always a great way to start a trip in The Big Easy. I love the look and feel of this restaurant, which was originally a house built for Napoleon to live in while in exile from France (he never made it back to live there, though). Obviously, remodeling is not a priority.

Napoleon House

Pimm's Cup from NH

Afterwards, we walked around the Quarter, verifying that our old favorite hang-outs were still alive and kicking.  Our favorite go-to watering holes in the Quarter are The Old Absinthe House on Bourbon, Molly's on Toulouse (total dive bar), Harry's Corner (even worse dive bar), Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop and Fritzl's on Bourbon for live European-style jazz music. We walked to Jackson Square and the river as well before having one more drink at The Old Abinsthe House and then heading back to our hotel to check in and clean up for our first fancy-pants dinner.

Helmets hanging from ceiling at Old Absinthe House

Had dinner at Commander's Palace in The Garden District our first night. It was a great meal but not the best I've had in New Orleans.  The best dishes were the turtle soup, which was actually brought to us by accident as we didn't order it and the dessert, a bread pudding souffle with a whiskey sauce.  Our favorite part of the experience there was having a pre-dinner cocktail at their bar, which is a must-do.  They actually bring you through the kitchen, Goodfella's style, before depositing you at a small bar in the back of the kitchen for your drink.  The bartender was hilarious and made a delicious Hemingway martini for me and a Sazerac for Steve (Steve decided he is a Manhattan guy and not a Sazerac man as he doesn't care for licorice flavored things). We ended the night with a late night coffee at Cafe du Monde, always an oldie but goodie.
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CP in the Garden District

The next few days were basically nothing more than sleeping in, an occasional workout at the hotel gym, lunch, walking around, hanging at the hotel's rooftop pool one afternoon, checking out the French Market, taking the streetcar to the Garden District again, late afternoon naps, general shopping and wandering in the Quarter and then plotting for dinner.  Best meals this trip were Mr. B's Bistro for Sunday Jazz Brunch (best BBQ shrimp and shrimp & grits there), Arnaud's for our second fancy-pants dinner and Coop's for a total dive restaurant experience with amazing rabbit Jambalaya and a massive cheeseburger with handcut fries.  We ate well this trip.  We also drank well and a bit too much on two nights.  I wasn't at the top of my game on Monday morning but managed to stage a brilliant come back that evening (and by brilliant, I mean ugly).

Lovely dining room at Arnaud's

Live jazz at Fritzel's

We enjoyed the hotel but it wasn't my favorite place to stay in the Quarter though you can't beat the location.  We stayed at the historic Monteleone Hotel, which is beautiful and has a great bar called The Carousel Bar. The chair seats actually revolve around the bar and they make some great cocktails. They recently remodeled the lobby, the bar and the common areas, which are amazing.  The room was just so-so.  It was small and clean but the closet and storage space for clothes was limited and the wall paper was peeling in the bathroom.  Not just puckered and slightly peeling - a big sheet of it was hanging down like you would expect  to see in a flophouse.  However, our room was at the end of a quiet hallway and we had a nice river view so we decided the wallpaper peeling issue gave the room character and didn't complain.  The rooftop pool and gym were also nice so overall we were happy.  Couldn't beat the location right at Royal and Bienville, too. Just a 2 minute walk to the Old Absinthe House!

Carousel Bar in Monteleone Hotel - the chairs actually spin
around the bar  like a real carousel

View of the Quarter and the Mississippi River from our room

We ended the trip on a bang by going to Acme Oyster House where we pigged out on chargrilled oysters, crawfish puppies, a fried softshell crab poboy and some red beans and rice.  We then walked the Quarter one last time, listened to some kids playing jazz on a street corner and took a 2-hour boat ride down the Mississippi River on the Steamboat Natchez.  Headed back to the hotel (pouring sweat again and smelling gross) to have one last Pimm's Cup at The Carousel Bar before heading to the completely empty airport for a quick flight home on Southwest.  We'll definitely be back to New Orleans again as soon as we can squeeze in a trip!

Street Corner Jazz, NOLA style