Here we are, two Aquatic Cousins once again separated by miles of land. What is an Aquatic Cousin to do all alone? Something AQUATIC!
First lets recap shall we? Lets take it back to the end of December 2009.
Chapter One:
(For the sake of all those involved the names of the participants will be changed. Please do not let this effect your opinion of the following chapter or chapters.)
Ever done it with a Cougar?
I have asked this of my male friends many times. Now shall we go a Cougaring?
K & G
Feature above, out-of-town-Cousin (aka Umbrella Dancing Cousin) and her Man came to the ATX to have a pre-NYE celebration! We all met up at their favorite wine dive and had a few. We then proceeded to a bar that for this blog we will call Red Velvet. There we smoked a little tabackie from a Hookah and had some cocktails. It was at Red Velvet that we saw a young lad escort a dancing Cougar through the bar. We all of course laughed about this odd couple and it was not until later that I realized that this young lad was in fact "Baby Brandon"- friend of my friend [another] Brandon. Brandon had been searching all over the warehouse district for Baby Brandon and his group of friends, little did we all know that Baby Brandon had gone A-Cougaring.
I have done New Years with one (yes a Cougar) ...and shall we say that the lore of the Cougar outdoes her actual performance? Well hell yes, I shall! Perhaps it was a bad idea to bring a 51 year old divorcee with two 20-somethings to a dance party?! Yes, Svetlana sadly it was! While I do love a bit of Cougar company now and again, this was not the time, nor the place.
We had planned a non-stop, dance-a-thon, party adventure sure to last all night, but what happened was of a completely different nature. After a stop for sushi, numerous glasses of wine, and two hours of dancing, Svetlana and I escorted our falling-to-pieces Cougar home only minutes after midnight! Sadly we missed out on Flosstradamus which is what we had come for!
Let me say this as a cautionary tale to all you Cougars out there: Xanex, Cougars, is not your friend! Even when suffering extreme emotional trauma, use it with discretion and not when drinking in public for crying out loud! This was not a pretty sight. . . groping us, hitting on fat security guards. . terrible! By the time we returned to the car, retrieved a return mode of transport and drove her back to he ritzy home in the Hills (where she forced us to eat organic nuts and other produce), we scarcely had time to sprint into the nearest bar for one more drink! This NYE could not be saved for this Aquatic Cousin or her very dear Svetlana. I do hope that your New Year Celebration faired better!
Chapter Two:
Here We Go a Road tripping!
The Tale of Mission Return the Moo.
I will say that the Aquatic Cousin's are in general known for their splendid ideas, Bedazzling etc. I recently had what I think may have been one of my better ideas (actually that is a total lie, it is turning out to be one of the worst! More on that later....)! Road trip Return the Moo! As most of you know my very dear man friend SGT. Inconvenience has been in the Middle East doing creepy Special Forces military stuffs. . .hence why I have been harboring the Moo and the man truck for 7 months! So I thought to myself I have to return the aforementioned man garb and why not make it a party?
After a three day visit to San Antonio, to be with my favorite Aunt Deb while she had surgery I really needed to have some fun (you will be pleased to know that she is doing very well two weeks post Op)! So I said "Hey Mommies! Y'all want to ride as far as New Orleans with me and the old dog and we can have us a girls weekend?" They being the wonderful mothers that they are said "OF COURSE AMANDA! THAT SOUNDS GREAT!" (notice the all caps for this is how a cougar types). So onward we went to NOLA!
The three of us (Me, my Mum, Molly-Ryan's Mum-and Moo) all piled into the Maynard mobile and began the journey. I for one have never driven a giant man truck on a road trip before and while the truck its self is fun to drive, putting all of our junk in the back was a bit unsettling considering all the rain, so we took it easy and stopped for the night in Lake Charles, LA. We grabbed some rooms at the local LaQuinta and headed over to a local spot called Steam Boat Bill's.
Notice the Gator in the back?
I had some amazing Gumbo which I of course filled with Tabasco and I think the Mom's both had shrimp of some sort.This joint was high class as I am sure you can tell from the previous photo. If you have any doubt let me supply this next image for further evidence.
Sutter Home, Sauvignon Blanc. . tastes like Bananas!
The next morning, not bright, nor early we exited the LaQuinta and continued on our trek through the rain toward NOLA. Let me just say that as far as my experience goes, Texas has by far the best Highway system in the nation (as far as clarity and road surface go anyway)! We used the iPhone GPS and didn't get lost, which was a complete shock to me since I always get lost! Once we arrived in New Orleans the B&B Mom had reserved in the Garden District turned out to be a bust. . . lets just say I was worried about the dog sleeping on the floors in this joint. Lets not talk about the sheets on the beds. . .one word, horrific! I could not allow two cute Cougars to sleep in a place like this, so we headed to the Sheraton on Canal which was much more our style.
We had such a great time, and even got to stay an extra day due to a collective Blonde Moment on the part of the Moms. We ate at Emeril's Delmonico, had Brunch at Brennan's, visited the Carosel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone, had a PoBoy at Johnny's and saw the sights of NOLA. Including the Famous Bourbon Street...
Look a baby Sarah!
AC2 ETA: This is totally me, down to the outfit. Amazing.
AC2 ETA: This is totally me, down to the outfit. Amazing.
The Aquarium was uber cool! They had Sea Horses! Which I love, love! They also had otters and giant catfish! When I say giant I mean like 30 pounders. . .YIKES!
My favorite Aquatic Creature (other than Sarah)!
We also took a carriage ride in buggy pulled by a Mule named Mike!
I think that may have been the highlight for me (yes, I am serious). Mike's driver Charlie drove us around town and showed us the historic sights of the French Quarter, and the St. Luis cemetery, where we saw the grave of the famed Voodoo Goddess Marie Laveau!
Charlie told us that if you leave a token, mark the grave with three x's and then spin in a circle and make a wish that perhaps Marie will grant it. If she does you are to come back and circle your x's! Pretty cool huh? Bet you want to know what I wished for or left as a token?
Then Charlie showed us where the original Pimm's cup was made, Napoleon House. It was fun and delicious!
Come on doesn't Molly look thrilled that I dragged her on this trip?
Ok so this trip was decidedly not Aquatic except for the Aquarium and the rain, but it was still really fun!
So, after a quick goodbye to the Mom's Tuesday morning I showered and headed out of New Orleans with the old Moo headed for Alabama. It was only about a 6 hour drive to Birmingham
Moose Looking out the window of our 21 floor room
which is where I stopped, because my cousin Adam lives round that way in a town called Vestavia Hills. Remember that show Hoover High or something like that about the Hoover High School Football team? Well Hoover is just around the corner from Vestavia. . I drove through it. HUGE Stadium! Totally ridiculous! Whatever. . . tax payer dollars at work right?
Cousin Adam and I hung out at my home away from home, the fair LaQuinta Inn. . . It was a lovely room honestly especially for the price! Once again Moo man and I were lucky enough to secure a room directly across from the back door which made things a breeze for him. Traveling with big dogs can be hard, but this trip was surprisingly easy! Adam and I had some delicious pizza for dinner and caught up on what has transpired in our lives since we last saw one another three years ago. He is such a wonderful person! He has really grown up to be a very generous and good looking young man! He is hilarious to boot! He and my Daddy are always making bets on things and this time, per the usual Adam lost and owes my Dad $50.00. Along with the fifty he sent a ten dollar gift card to Mc Donald's, because my Dad complains that Adam never takes him anywhere nice. I'm sure my dad will be thrilled and order off the Dollar menu.
In conclusion (because I am tired of writing and this road trip) for those of you who don't already know and actually read this, my journey has ended in Fayetteville, NC where it is currently snowing. I do not know how long old Moo and I will be marooned here, but we are looking forward to the day when our road trip has come to a conclusion and we return to the BDH.
Please stay tuned for the next installment: AQUATIC COUSINS TAKE VALENTINES DAY!!!
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ReplyDeleteEveryone went to New Orleans without meeeee! No one loves MEEEEE! Please return soon with meeee in tow.
ReplyDeletelove,
- Meee.
I would love to return with you! Lets all go! Sparker you in?
ReplyDeleteI am so in. It has been two years since I've done New Orleans. The Black Cat misses me, I am sure.
ReplyDeleteand in the meantime, Sparker and I had delicious mimosas and brunch at Taverna and made Lists.
ReplyDeletemy grandparents actually live in Birmingham (one set in Helena and the other set in Cahaba Heights, right around the corner from the Summit mall). when I was a kid, we'd always do Christmas there. good memories. my brother goes to UAB now. i remember Hoover, though, because my high school was beat by them for the state championship my freshman year. pretty sad.
fun fact i just discovered while searching for statistics: i went to high school with pat white, who is now the QB for the miami dolphins. he was actually a really nice guy. now you know!