mom and dad visit - part 2

 following our swamp tour my parents and i went to middendorf's to re-fuel and relax on the breezy dock. the weather was beautiful, the coronas were cold and the fish was deliciously fresh. later in the day we went to art for art's sake on magazine, which the annual new orleans event i look forward to most. every antique store, art gallery and boutique on magazine opens its doors after hours and provides drinks, hors d'oeuvres (ya, i had to google the correct spelling of that), entertainment and discounts (!!!). basically, it's all of my favorite things in one evening (wine, cheese, music and deals:). 

mom and dad [finally] visit - part 1

 my parents finallyyyy came to visit last weekend to enjoy the beautiful weather and see our new apartment. the last time they visited together was over two years ago. dad came last year to help me move in (see pictures from our trip here, here, here, and here). mom visited a few weeks later during the Great Blog Hiatus and Computer Destruction of 2010-2011, so i don't have any blog posts to link to... but i can tell you that mom's visits always result it a lot of wine and shopping and marty having to drive us everywhere. to celebrate my parents' return to the big easy, we had an action-packed weekend full of my favorite things: beignets from cafe du monde, some yard sales, a swamp tour, a trip to middendorf's for their famous thin fried catfish, and a jaunt on magazine street for art for art's sake. and that was just one day :) here are some pictures from the first half of saturday...

dad in the big easy

are you sick of being inundated with photos from my cross-country road trip? well, there's more. if you're not interested in seeing photos of random things to do in new orleans with your dad, skip today's post and come back tomorrow.

my dad's (and my) favorite thing to eat in new orleans: bbq shrimp at deanie's!

surprisingly, i found some unexpected treasures in this magazine street garage

it seems that every store you walk into in new orleans, there is a pet of some sort

in honor of the 5-year anniversary of hurricane katrina, we went to the opening of a photography exhibit at the ogden museum entitled "telling their stories: the lingering legacy of katrina"

afterward, we ambled around the ogden

of course, there was musical entertainment to accompany the opening of the exhibit

the next day, we went to irvin mayfield's jazz playhouse in the royal sonestra hotel on bourbon street to see leon "kid chocolate" brown

the two men in my life

the night ended with a burlesque show (none of us had ever seen one! i have to say, watching scantily-clad ladies with my dad and boyfriend was a little awkward at first)

we did a short stint on bourbon before my dad left town

road warriors*

our truck, before it met its fate. it was a trusty companion during our trek, for the most part.

because we had no means of music listening other than the radio, and i wasn't about to blast my nearly two-year-old iphone (read: the battery last approx. 16 minutes nowadays), we shuffled through stations like cards.

here's what i learned:

radio stations love to play nickelback. that is true in the north and the south, and everywhere in between

there are NO options other than country music south of st. louis - not even npr. or gangsta rap.

elton john - and in particular his tune "don't go breakin' my heart" - can be heard at least twice an hour on a cross-country road trip, if you really try

*p.s. i know just yesterday i promised to blog all day. and i blogged once. but i wouldn't be living up to my title as queen of the inconsistent updaters if i'd actually lived up to that goal. today will be better, i promise.