Cajun Country Road Trip

My last post about New Orleans got me thinking.  Louisiana has so much to offer!  The Big Easy is probably the most popular tourist destination in the state, but there are other areas to explore that offer visitors a glimpse into a distinct regional culture.  A few summers ago, a friend and I took a weekend road trip off the beaten path through Cajun Country to check out the southern central part of the state.  It's a fun little weekend getaway and pretty easy to cover in a couple of days, especially if you live in a bordering state.

On a Friday night we left from Dallas and spent the night in Shreveport.  If you live in the Southern part of the country and are passing through, it's a fun little town to stop and place some bets, but I don't recommend it as a destination.  Go to Vegas.  Just do it.

After winning a little and loosing more, we got up early the next morning and set out for our primary attraction of the weekend: the Tabasco bottling plant on Avery Island.  In my opinion, it was a scenic four hour drive almost due south from Shreveport, so if you enjoy swamps, bayous, and cute little historic towns, you'll agree!

On our way we stopped for lunch at Pat's Fisherman's Wharf in Henderson, which has been serving Cajun cuisine since 1948.  It's still operated and owned by the Huval family and is a popular stop in the Atchafalaya Basin.  We sat on the screened-in patio on a bayou and enjoyed some cold beer and crawfish!  Yum!

New Orleans

Summer trip no. 1…  New Orleans.  Laissez les bon temps rouler!

The first trip my guy and I took together was to New Orleans in the summer of 2010.  I had been a handful of times but he was a Big Easy virgin (haha).  One of my favorite things to do is play “tour guide,” and I loved showing him some of my favorite places in the city.  We had such a great time we decided to make it an (at least) annual trip.

When we landed in New Orleans in July for annual trip no. 2, we grabbed a taxi and headed to our hotel in the Vieux Carre.  (Insider tip: This taxi ride is usually about $60 each way, so if you go for a day trip as I’ve done a couple of times, you’ll come out ahead if you rent a car.  If you’re staying in the French Quarter for a night or two, you can easily walk to where you want to go or take a streetcar for $1.25 per ride.  Plus, parking at a hotel might cost you $20 per night, so I think a taxi makes things easier.)

Hello World!

Wow, 2011 flew by, and brought a lot of changes with it.  I went from couch-surfing to putting down roots in a lovely little apartment.  Shortly after I got a promotion (yay!) and traded my cube for a home office.  I love my new job but the first six months were incredibly BUSY!  I have a handle on things now, which means I also have a reasonable amount of free time again for this blog!  :) 

There are lots of stories to be told about my last six months of travel. Like I said, I’ve been B-U-S-Y, and yeah, that is my alibi! Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting on the following trips:

New Orleans

Chicago

Austin

San Antonio

Denver

International Falls, Minnesota

London

Paris

Cincinnati

Keystone/Vail

Oklahoma City

I hope this year will bring as much excitement and adventure as the last!  Here’s a picture of my hand-made Christmas gift from my very talented brother:

A Nomad's Home

I have earth-shattering news.  I have a home.

I’ve been waiting to post this update for a couple of months, as I was planning to include pictures and wanted to have the place looking decent!  However, I've been busy lately with other changes in my life, which I'll share with you in the near future, so when my place is nice enough to grace the pages of Domino (I miss that magazine!) you'll find them here.

First things first.  I'll explain how it happened.  When I began my nomadic venture this past November, I wanted to find a permanent home that fit my needs, rather than jumping into the first thing that was available.  I wanted the right size, price, and location, and at the time had expressed interest in a job on my team located in Chicago, so I wanted to remain flexible and avoid a lease at all costs.

One of my very generous friends is a pilot, and I often crashed at his apartment when he was on trips during my extended nomadness.  Lucky for me, he had the opportunity to “upgrade” apartments in his complex and moved into a one-bedroom, one-bathroom place with new hardwood floors, granite countertops, vaulted ceilings, and a spare room.  Guess who is living in spare?  That's right- yours truly!

The situation is perfect for me.  (I hope my roommate says the same!)  The location is perfect, space is just right, and my rent is priced accordingly, so I’m still able to stock away savings every paycheck.  We rarely cross paths so it’s a pretty low-maintenance relationship.

La Belle Paris

This weekend some friends and I saw Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen's latest.  Some may say I have no taste in movies as my interests are limited to rom-coms and documentaries about evil corporations, so take this review as you like.  I absolutely loved the film.  It spoke to me as it addressed issues to which I relate.  (At least four people walked out in the middle of the movie, but I doubt they knew what they were getting into.  It was typical Woody Allen, and that's not for everyone.)

My Nomadic Habit and Bro's Graduation

Today was a glorious day in Norman, Oklahoma.  The University of Oklahoma's graduates of the class of 2011 were awarded their diplomas!  My baby bro Nicholas was one of them, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art from OU's prestigious Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts!  Hooray!  I can't help but brag about him.  Nicholas' talents range from graphic design to photography to painting...  I could go on, but you can see for yourself here: http://thetoltec.wordpress.com.  Nicholas is working as a camp counselor this summer but will be available for hire in the fall.  (Shameless plug, I know!  That's what good sisters do.)  Congrats, Nicholas!  We are so proud of you!

Working in LA

When my mom's and my recent vacation to SF came to a close, I flew down to  LA for a work meeting.  It's difficult to decide which is better, Northern or Southern California, so I'm not going to choose- I'll take both!

My teammates love a good burger, so we met for lunch at In-N-Out.  I'm not a fan of burgers in general, but their fries are awesome!  In-N-Out isn't your ordinary burger joint.  It's still a family run business after sixty-plus years that continues to focus on quality ingredients and customer service.  Plus, they have a secret menu that makes ordering extra fun!  (Insider tip: Order your burger and fries "animal style."  Just do it!)

Mother's Day in OKC

This weekend I took a quick flight to Oklahoma City to celebrate Mother's Day with my family.  Of course, I think I have the world's best mom!  Let me count the ways... She always puts others before herself, supports all of her kids' zany projects, she's a fabulous travel partner, and she makes the most decadent chocolate chip cookies from scratch!  She's also the only person I know who would bike across the Golden Gate Bridge after she'd just fractured her shoulder and not even mention it!  (Yes, it happened on our recent trip to SF.  She's still in trouble for that one!)

My lovely Aunt Arlene and Uncle Jim  invited our fam to their home today in Jones, Oklahoma for Mothers' Day brunch.

Girls Weekend in SF

Happy Earth Day 2011!  What a lovely coincidence that my post today is about my latest trip to San Fransisco, one of America's greenest cities!

San Francisco is my favorite city in the US.  It has everything – from world-class wine, savory seafood, shameless shopping, amazing architecture, easy public transportation, temperate weather, and plenty to do outdoors within the city and just outside its borders.

A Visit Home

"There's no place like home..."  Dorothy said it best.  No matter how old I get, I still feel like a kid when I visit my childhood home in Oklahoma City.  My parents' house is uber-cozy and relaxing and my mom goes above and beyond to make her kids feel welcome.  We even get turn-down service before bed, complete with a chocolate mint on our pillows!

On Friday night I took a quick flight to OKC to my parents' place.  They've done a great job updating their home over the past few years, most recently redecorating their living room.  I love what my mom did in my bedroom- there are nods to old memories (framed photos, yearbooks on the shelves, my favorite stuffed animal) but the decor is much more chic today than when I was in charge of decorating!  Here's a what it looked like from sixth grade until about four years ago...

Spring Forward

Even though I'm "sacrificing" an hour of sleep each night, I'm SO EXCITED we sprung forward on Sunday morning!  I get to see the light of day when I leave work and I feel motivated to get things accomplished in the evenings.  The weather is getting warmer and it's made nomadic life a lot easier, with rummaging through the trunk of my car, lugging around bags, etc- not so much fun in the cold and dark.  The trees around my office are blooming, making for a lovely commute in the mornings and evenings, and they're so beautiful I felt compelled to take some photos when I left work today.

Sun and Sin City

One Friday last month, I had to go to Phoenix to host some of our corporate customers in a suite at the Suns game.  Coincidentally, the Suns were were scheduled to play the Oklahoma City Thunder, my favorite NBA team.  I’m from Oklahoma City and they are the sole professional sports team we have; luckily they’re good and really fun to watch!

My boyfriend happened to have the day off work thanks to the snow that fell the night before, so he was able to join me on the trip.  We were lucky to be booked on one of the few flights that wasn't canceled so after getting delayed at Love Field for a couple of hours, our plane was de-iced and we were on our way.  When we arrived in Phoenix it was sixty degrees and sunny, a welcomed change from cold, snowy Texas (what an oxymoron)!  We cabbed it to our hotel downtown, the Wyndham, and had just enough time to unpack before we headed to the US Airways Center.

Lobby at the Wyndham Phoenix downtown[

Top Reasons to Go Nomadic

This month is my fifth month of nomadness.  The past two months, I've been feeling ready to settle down into a conventional living situation but have refrained due to a gut feeling that now isn't the right time to get into a lease.  To help myself keep the momentum going, I've comprised a list of the benefits of being electively homeless.  In case you're considering this path (or are wondering why the heck I'm still doing it), here's what all of you potential nomads have to look forward to:

1.  There are no bills to pay.  (I'm FINALLY building up my bank account!)

2.  There are no chores to be done.  (Although, I clean up my friends' bathrooms when it's needed.)

3.  There is more money to spend treating your friends.  (Buying them dinner/drinks is a great way to thank them for crashing at their places.)

Big D Tour

A friend who lives in London had a twelve hour layover in Dallas this weekend on her way home from Chile.  Julie is a travel professional (check out her fabulous blog) and has been all over the world, but this was her first visit to Texas.  (Technically, it was her second.  She had a similar layover situation on her way to Chile and used public transportation- yes, it is possible to do here!- to get from DFW to the Uptown area of Dallas.)  I absolutely love living in Dallas, so I was excited to share some of the fun things the city has to offer.

Public transportation options are limited on Sundays because the Trinity Railway Express, the train that connects the airport to Dallas or Fort Worth, doesn’t run so I made the quick trip to DFW to pick her up.  My immediate concern was eating, so we joined some friends for brunch at State and Allen Lounge in Uptown.

Photo from www.buywithme.com/dallas/deals/1621-state-and-allen-lounge

Vancouver Vaca

After my worcation in Seattle (which was more work than cation), my boyfriend and I took the Amtrak Cascade to Vancouver for a full-on weekend vaca.  I’ve only had one other experience on Amtrak (you can read about it here) so train travel is relatively new to me.  This was my first time to cross our northern border, but my boyfriend had visited Vancouver before, so it was nice that he was somewhat familiar with the city.

Photo from www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/cascades

Snow Day

Greetings from a winter wonderland! I'm currently sitting in an airport waiting to see if my flight, which has been delayed multiple times, will be canceled. Who knew we'd wake up to six inches of snow in North Texas?



If all goes well, I'll be in Phoenix soon where the high is sixty degrees. Keeping my fingers crossed!  Hope everyone is staying safe and warm today!

Seattle Worcation

Last week work took me to Seattle so to make the most out of my time I added on a day of vacation [(work + vacation) x travel = worcation].  I’d been looking forward to this trip because it involved a lot of firsts:

1. It was my first time to visit the Pacific Northwest (prior to this I hadn’t ventured north of San Fran).
2. It was my first time to meet with our corporate accounts on my own (I’ve always shadowed a manager).
3. My boyfriend was able to take off work and it’s the first time we’ve taken a trip alone together.

We arrived in Seattle late Tuesday night and took a cab to our hotel downtown.  The Warwick is in a prime spot.  It’s an easy walk to great shopping and dining and Pike Place Market.  The hotel’s building is old and the interior isn’t as pristine as it appears on the Warwick’s website.  Fortunately, management is renovating all of the rooms from the top down.  My boyfriend and I snagged one of the newly upgraded Executive rooms on the 15^th floor.  As soon as we got off the elevator we were hit with the smell of new carpet in the hall (almost as good as new car smell).  One side of the room was outfitted with a long desk (great for work), another corner had a small seating area, and the majority of the space was taken up by a comfy king size bed.  The best part of the room was the view of the Space Needle from the balcony.

Annual Marketing Meeting

Every January, my department kicks off the year with the infamous “Annual Marketing Meeting,” commonly referred to as “Annual.”  We celebrate our accomplishments from the previous year and hear from our leaders (including our CEO) on what they expect from the new year regarding goals and strategies.  This year’s destination was St. Louis, Missouri.  In January.  In the snow.  To say the least, it was cold.

St. Louis, aka “The Gateway to the West”, is rich in aviation history.  Charles Lindbergh and The Spirit of St. Louis, TWA, McDonnell Douglas, etc, put this industrial city on the map as an aviation maverick.  (My airline-geek friends could expound on this better than me!)   My employer has had a strong presence in the area since 1985 and St. Louis continues to move its way up the charts as one of our focus markets.

Tired of the Nomadness

Maybe it's the chilly weather and lack of sunlight bringing on my annual winter blues, but going into my third month as a nomad, it's beginning to wear me down.  The novelty and some of the excitement are gone.  The cold makes accessing the items in my car annoying.  I’m tired of thinking about what I’m going to wear days in advance.  (My previously chic nomad look has become repetitious as I’m getting lazy about digging through my rolling rack of clothes, still in my boyfriend’s garage.)

There are a lot of things I really miss about having my own place, like recording trashy reality TV shows and watching them with my old roommate on lazy Saturday mornings.  I miss leaving messy art projects on my dining room table.  I miss hosting house parties.  I miss my old house!  I miss my old routines!  (Gasp!)

Of course I’ve contemplated returning to my former, more conventional lifestyle, but I have too many solid reasons to keep on truckin, such as:

1.  I haven’t saved as much money as I should have.  (Oops!)  I’ve managed to stay out of credit card debt; does that count for anything.
2.  Life in general feels “temporary” right now for several reasons, so my gut tells me not to settle down in one spot for the time being.
3.  I have a unique opportunity to continue, and it could possibly be the only time in my life when I can, so I should suck it up and do it while the tools are at my fingertips.

LAX to PHX

I had another work trip this week, taking me back to the West Coast.  On Tuesday I flew to Los Angeles.  Every time I fly into LAX, I forget how massive it is!  When I landed, I walked outside of baggage claim to the hotel shuttle pick-up line to catch a ride to the Four Points Sheraton.  45 minutes later, I was checking in at the hotel and yes, it is adjacent to the airport!

Austin, Take Two!

Last week my friend visited me from London.  She’s been living there for about three years now, and I’ve taken advantage of her ex-pat local a couple of times, but this was the first time she’s visited me in Texas since she moved across the pond!  I wanted to show her a good time, and she wanted to eat as much Mexican food as possible, so the day after she arrived in Dallas we caught a flight to Austin!  My brother and his friend were there house-sitting for my cousin and her husband, so luckily they were nice enough to let us crash at their lovely home.  (Thanks April and Ben!)

NYE Staycation

I have a love/hate relationship with New Year’s Eve.  My immediate reaction is, Oh, NYE, you mean “Amateur Night”? It’s the most over-hyped holiday; an excuse for people who spend 364 nights out of the year behaving to go buck wild.  The past few years, I’ve kept things low-key to avoid the lines and cover charges at bars and drunk drivers on the road.

This year my boyfriend’s friends had a plan to go all out- get hotel rooms at the Gaylord Texan and see a local 80s cover band, The Spazmatics, play at the Glass Cactus, a nightclub adjacent to the hotel.  When I first heard the idea, I was immediately turned off.  This would be an extreme version of amateur night I thought, based on the band and the location of the club (Grapevine, Texas- if you’re not familiar with the area, it is quintessential suburbia).  After some debate, I decided to roll with it.  The group of friends going guaranteed a good time, and 80s attire became de rigueur.  Plus, staying at a hotel would keep us off the treacherous highways.

Photo from www.10best.com