Road Trip Recap

Today, as I stroll through the photos of the past week, I am reminded of the great memories from family vacations growing up.  Somehow, the drive home was never considered part of the fun…ever.  One time in particular, we had an adventure our family will never forget, and it wasn’t a pleasant one.  That’s for sure!

It was our annual Gulf Shores trip…1983.  Year after year, we drove the same route, stayed at the same hotel, and ate at the same restaurant.  My dad was always the driver.  ALWAYS!  My mom was the passenger.  We always sat in the back with the same view year after year.  Blonde hair to the left and dark brown to the right.  On the way home from this trip, Mom’s new Ford LTD suddenly decided to begin…um, coughing (for lack of a better description)?  It would slow down to 30 or 40 mph while sputtering and then stall out.  We would coast to a stop on the shoulder.   The car would restart,  and we’d regain speed only to repeat the process.  Nothing like being miles from home when the car decides it just doesn’t want to go back yet.  You aren’t familiar with the area or the repair shops…and it was a Sunday!  Back in the day, nothing was open on Sundays.  Seriously.  To make matters worse, as the traffic raced by on I-10, a huge gust of wind randomly slammed the hood shut.  We almost lost dad right there as he gazed at the engine.  Funny part was he didn’t know how to fix anything so what was he looking at?  We’ll just say it was not a safe place to be with the family, and I’m pretty sure my dad created a few new words for the English language on that drive home.

I think I feel just like that car when it comes to the end of vacation.  I never want to return to the regular routine.  If only life could be like the vacation every day!  However, it too would become just the norm.  Why is it that we long for the down time, and when it gets here, it goes as quickly as it came?!

The up-side to vacation is having so many wonderful memories.  Without time to rest and relax, we’d end up broken down on the side of the road like that LTD, which by the way I later inherited & put out of its misery.  This week’s road trip may not have been far from home, but what a week of memories: delayed flights, feeding ducks, St. Fran trip, coffee, more coffee, fireworks, Cajun cooking, movies, touring, shopping, rain, more touring, car problems (which will not be mentioned here…(cough cough) Telia (cough cough) ran out of gas), multiple trips to the airport and the list goes on for days.  We managed to see about 20 of the 225 Things to do in BR list I found, and we added many more of our own to the list.  Here are a few of my favorite pics from my Adventure at home (and it doesn’t even cover the half of it).

Perkins Rowe with Kaycee and Telia

With Kaycee waiting for her flight. Lots of great memories with her for all of us!

 

Feeding Ducks with Miley

Doug guiding Telia at the Online shoot Sunday

View at the Myrtles on Monday

One of my favorite pic's of the week...

Flo-rida and Vegas standing on their steps

27th Floor

View from the top...it's all about perspective

Question:  What’s your perspective? Are you broken down on side of the road or standing at the top enjoying the view?

It’s all about perspective.  Take time to see things from every angle.  Best part is, you don’t have to go out of your area to take a “road trip”.  I have driven these streets my entire life and passed up so many fun things to see and do in our area.  Oh, and the view…it never looks the same from up top.  Reminder to Connie:  Slow down, enjoy your surroundings, and always make time to see God’s perspective.  The view’s definitely better from above!

Road Trip Rain Out

What a bummer!  Rain, rain and more rain.  Today’s plans were halted due to the weather forecast.  It was ok, but there are so many great things to see and do here if it were not raining.  We drove around town taking in the sights from the car, and settled for a movie.

We did mark a few things off the 225 Things To Do in BR list and added a few of our own.  We drove up Highland Road to LSU Avenue (one of my favorite streets, rain or shine).  I love the character of this street.  The houses, the canopy of trees shading the road, and the environment as a whole make my heart sing.  Just beautiful!  We rode through the LSU Rural Life grounds, shopped at Lifeway & Barnes & Noble, enjoyed a coffee from Starbucks, and drove up River Road passing The Cabin, Houmas House, & another plantation.  The name escapes me right now.  Nothing super exciting since the rain stopped us from seeing all these great sights.  Maybe tomorrow…

I just had a random thought.  I wonder what things in my life are halted spiritually by a little rain (distractions or detours)?  I wonder what I allow to stop me from seeing and doing the God things in my life.  Hmmmm, gonna ponder that one…

Question:  Am I easily distracted or detoured when a little rain falls my way?

More Road Trip…

Miley spent the night with us Saturday.  She is so much fun!  For some unknown 3 year old mind reason, she decided to name one of her mini-mermaid dolls after me.  She dubbed her:  “Lil’ Honey”.

Meet "Lil' Honey"

In honor of Miss Miley and to make today even more exciting, we three adventure seekers brought “Lil’ Honey” along for the ride.   I would like to introduce you to “Lil’ Honey”.

What a great idea to go on a mini-road trip to show Kaycee some of the beauty of Louisiana.  With Telia, a native of St. Francisville, we got the deluxe guided tour.  First I must warn you, we covered some mileage.

Head Usher at Hemingbough

The first stop was breathtaking!  I must say, I didn’t want to leave.  Hemingbough.  It’s a must see and hear for the full experience.  The Amphitheater is beautiful with its view of the lake and such sweet music.  I found these two chairs sitting alone.  I could have curled up here with a good book for hours!

Come sit a while...

Next we went into the town of St. Francisville.  So glad Telia was there to escort us through “Grandma’s Buttons”.  What a precious little shop.  And Grace Church…such a treasure!  Words cannot describe the incredible beauty.  What rich history these bricks and head stones held.  How I would love to hear the stories.

First Time Visitor at Grace Church

Next we grabbed a bite to eat at Magnolia Cafe’.  I forgot the name of my sandwich, but that doesn’t matter because it was great!  No pictures from there.  I had one thing in mind, and it was food.  While we ate, the rain seemed to serenade us as it pelted the tin roof over the patio.

After fueling up, we went to the Myrtles.  I’ve never been there, and honestly, I wasn’t overly impressed.  However, I was pleasantly surprised at Telia’s harmonica skills…she rocked!  The pond was pretty gross and the house itself wasn’t that much to see.  Our tour guide did a really good job of entertaining our group though…she was funny and a pretty good story teller.

Searching for the infamous "Chloe" at the Myrtles

We left there to ride up the scenic driveway of Greenwood Plantation.  Whoa!  I was so taken back at the gorgeous trees there that I completely forgot to snap any pictures.  We didn’t get out since we were short on time.  It’s definitely on the list for the next trip to the hills.  Here’s today’s question for you…

What’s the best adventure you’ve been on?

Here are more pictures from today’s adventure.

Lake at Hemingbough

I just really liked this gate...

Secret tunnel behind Grace Church

Whole new meaning to "old school"... 1907