IF IT COULD GO WRONG IT DID

Rhinelander, WI

June 23-26, 2012

As I stated in my last post, I scheduled a two-appointment dental procedure in my hometown because flying home twice for both appointments was cheaper than getting the procedure done in NYC.

My first trip home was a huge success and a lot of fun. I got to see all sorts of relatives on my mom’s side of the family at my cousin’s graduation party and play a lot with my Alaskan nephews. This second trip I scheduled at the same time as another cousin’s wedding, a cousin on my dad’s side of the family, meaning I would get the chance to see the other side of my family, too. I was really excited. Then a little storm happened that changed the way everything would go...

I was set to fly out on Saturday morning, a direct flight to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where my brother would be picking me up and we would go straight to the wedding in Appleton, Wisconsin, together. Friday afternoon the skies started darkening and suddenly unleashed a terrible thunderstorm. It lasted for all of one hour. I was still at my office when I got the email that my flight for Saturday morning had been canceled. Here is the saga that ensued: 

1. Delta canceled my Saturday morning flight and couldn't rebook me until Sunday. Until Sunday! My cousin's wedding was on Saturday. My brother was only in Wisconsin for Saturday. I needed to be there on Saturday. The woman I spoke with told me there was no way to get me on a flight and refused to look at neighboring airports to get me on another flight. Apparently, getting customers to their destinations is not their top priority. Saturday morning I tried calling again and spoke to a much more sympathetic person at Delta, who said she wished I had called her sooner because she could have easily gotten me on a flight out of Newark. At this point I officially hated Delta.

2. As a result of Delta’s incompetence, I missed my cousin's wedding, seeing some of my dad's family for the first time in about five years, and seeing my brother and 90 year old grandmother-- the one and only day this year I was going to see either of them.

3. When I went to check in for my new Sunday flight on Saturday, I noticed that the connecting flight had magically disappeared from my itinerary, meaning I was no longer on the flight that would get me to my new destination of Wausau, Wisconsin. Another one hour phone call with Delta.

4. This is most likely too much information, but when I finally made it home, I went to the bathroom, pulled up my underwear, and it ripped apart in my hands (that made me laugh).

5. I forgot deodorant.

6. I had sent a text to my mom on Thursday to remind her to pick me up more cheese curds from my favorite local place (they get new cheese curds on Thursdays), but she didn't go, and they were sold out by the time I got there on Sunday.

7. I went to the dentist (the real reason I flew back home) to get my crown put on and it didn't fit. It. Didn’t. Fit. I cried and cursed, as only a New Yorker can do, which probably shocked the Midwestern ears of the dental office. As a result, they had to make another one for me and ship it to my dentist in New York.

8. The zipper on my pants broke apart in my hands, which was the final straw that sent me over the edge (at which point my mom grabbed her purse and dragged me into Kohl’s to buy me new clothes...).

9. On my return home a mere two days later, my Delta app wouldn't give me e-boarding passes for my flights, so I was nervous I was being bumped (I wasn't, but I still needed to print tickets at the kiosk in the airport-- kind of defeats the purpose of having the app).

10. On my flight out of Wisconsin I was seated directly in front of a man in handcuffs and his police detail. And, when prompted by his police detail with, "In the event of an emergency..." his response was, "Let me die." Awesome.

11. Once I landed at Newark, I stopped by the bathroom before leaving the airport, just missing the shuttle bus back to NYC. The next bus, which should have come in 25minutes, didn't come for over an hour.

12. Most of the Lincoln Tunnel was closed for construction (hence the really late bus), which caused a major delay in traffic. I got home at 2:15am. And got up for work the next day.

It's an amusing story to tell, so I'll give it that.

All in all, I was home for a total of two and a half days. I was able to squeeze my nephews and relax with my family, eat deep fried cheese curds and brats, watch my nephew catch fish at my aunt and uncle’s cabin (and throw them back), and, of course, have a bonfire. Short and bittersweet, but lovely to be home, nonetheless.

IT'S ALL RELATIVE

Rhinelander, WI

June 6-10, 2012

I try to make it home at least once a year. Catching up with the family and relaxing in the wilderness is a great escape from living in NYC. And since my sister lives in Alaska and we so rarely get to see each other, it’s important to plan our trips home accordingly.

So when my sister, who is a stay-at-home-mom to two rambunctious toddlers, announced she would be spending the month of June in the lower-48, I marked my calendar.

Now, it just so happened that my NYC dentist gave me the awesome news that I was in need of a very expensive crown. When he told me the cost of said crown, it took all I had to not openly weep in his office-- let’s just say it was four months rent and move on. How in the world could I afford that with the lame dental insurance I have?? I couldn’t. So I did what any child would do, and I called my mom.

She found out how much a crown would cost at my family dentist in my hometown. I couldn’t believe it, so I called the office myself. The woman I spoke with said I would need to come in for two visits approximately two weeks apart. Adding their estimate to the cost of two flights home, I realized that it was cheaper (yes, cheaper!) to fly home TWICE than to get the work done in NYC, and I would get the added bonus of visiting with my family and playing with my nephews for a good chunk of June.

Two trips home, if planned accordingly, also meant that I could attend my cousin’s graduation party and hang out with my mom’s family during the first visit and attend a cousin's wedding on my dad's side of the family, hanging out with that side of the family  during the second visit. I was really excited! So I booked my flights (the first trip via New Orleans) and made my appointments.

After a really fun trip to New Orleans, I was on my flight to Wisconsin. I wasn’t sure who would be picking me up at the airport, so I kept my eyes peeled and was rewarded with the sight of two little boys chasing each other around the waiting area. My nephews! 

After squeezing them both and greeting my sister and my dad, we were off to Sam’s Club. Of course. What would a trip home be without a visit to Sam’s Club where I could buy a giant block of Wisconsin cheddar cheese?

Goofing with my nephew, Jackson

Then it was time to get home so I could play with my nephews properly and try to unwind from my morning of travel. (Might I take this moment to mention that stay-at-home-parents get a lot of kudos from me-- after spending quality time with those two boys, I was so exhausted and ready to hand them back to their mother.)

I went to bed early because my dentist appointment was right away at 8am the next morning-- I had the wild notion that I would want to get the appointment out of the way so that I would have the rest of the day for fun, forgetting that sleep is also important...and fun... Anyways, so I dropped my mom off at her office and made my way to the dentist. Half the office still remembered me and all wanted to know how life in the Big Apple was treating me. It was like one big happy reunion, and then it was time to get down to business. A little over an hour later I had a temporary crown and was off to pick my mom up (half day!).

Before going home I had to stop at my favorite little cheese curd place, Kids’ Korner Pizza, where every Thursday they get a fresh delivery of cheese curds. It just happened to be Thursday, so I was ready to stock up on some cheese!

Then it was time for my sister and me to go for a walk and enjoy the outdoors. She gets plenty of that, living in Alaska, but wilderness is not the easiest to come by in NYC, so off we went down our favorite path, a road right near our house that we used to travel a lot as kids, either running, walking, or riding our bikes.

Dear Photograph

One of my goals whilst visiting the family home was to dig out old family photos and recreate them like the Dear Photograph blog. I was so enthralled with the idea presented in Dear Photograph that I had to try it myself, but rather than just bringing a photograph back to its original location, I wanted to recreate the images in modern times. I enlisted the help of my mom and my sister and put her youngest child to work, too. It was a lot of fun and was so great to look back at the old photographs.

That evening we invited any available family member to come on over to our place for a bonfire and s’mores. Any time you get my family around a campfire, you know that fun will ensue. A couple of my aunts stopped over, along with one of my cousins, and we stayed up until the moon was high in the sky, roasting marshmallows, telling stories, and laughing until we could barely contain ourselves. I love nights like those.

Friday morning proved to be dreary and rainy, but as soon as the weather started to clear, my sister and I hopped in the car with my grandparents and my Aunt Tina, and we made our way to Hoggie Doggie’s Snack Shack in Minocqua, a seasonal, outdoor eatery, home to delicious hot dogs (if you couldn’t guess), brats, burgers, and, of course, deep fried cheese curds. It’s one of my grandmother’s favorite places, and she couldn’t wait to take us there.

Knowing I would be having brats at a cookout over the weekend, I opted to try the “Chicago Style” Vienna dog, and I couldn’t turn down the chance at deep fried cheese curds. We were able to find a dry table in a gazebo, and enjoyed a delicious lunch and great conversation. Hanging out with grandparents is a luxury many of us take for granted, but when you live far away like I do, it’s such a treat.

Once back from Minocqua, the sun finally made its way out and we were able to take my oldest nephew, Jackson, to our favorite swimming hole, Black Lake. The water was freezing! Once we were in it, it wasn’t so bad, but it did take some getting used to-- the beginning of June is early for swimming in northern Wisconsin. Jackson wasn’t too fond of the idea of being wet, but he certainly enjoyed watching us throw ourselves into the water for his enjoyment.

The traditional thing to do in Wisconsin on a Friday night is the Friday Night Fish Fry. And, being Friday night, we weren’t going to pass up the opportunity. We debated which fish fry to hit up, and finally decided on the Al-Gen Dinner Club. I used to take part in the “all you can eat fried fish” option, with unlimited servings of potato salad, cole slaw, and french fries (green vegetables, anyone??), but I was trying to eat healthy so I opted for the one serving of broiled fish, which was delicious. However, when I asked for a side salad, they looked at me like I was crazy. “It comes with potato salad. Is that what you mean by salad?” Um, yeah...The potato salad and cole slaw were so creamy I couldn’t eat more than a forkful, so I had my deliciously prepared broiled fish and called it a night. I guess I’m no longer suited for Wisconsin dining-- I need some greens!

Jackson, Grandpa, and the carved bear at the Al-Gen

After dinner I said goodbye to my family and headed over to a pub called Bugsy’s to grab drinks with a couple of my girlfriends. You know you’ve got great friends when it takes no time at all to catch up and it’s as if you haven’t been apart for months and months. There were a lot of bands playing in the area, so the bar we were at was dead, which was great for us. It was calm and quiet and we could actually have fun conversations over drinks without yelling. Loved it! As a result, I stayed out longer than anticipated and felt like I was in college again. 

The next day was my cousin Hope’s high school graduation party/cookout. It was so much fun because almost everyone from my mom’s side of the family was there, so I was able to catch up with aunts, uncles, and cousins I haven’t seen in a really long time. It was the perfect sunny day, too, so we all soaked up the sun and played games in the yard. That’s something I certainly miss, living in New York. I have no yard and no grill, which means no cookouts. It’s always nice to go home during the summer just for those cookouts. Oh, and bonfires. Cookouts and bonfires. And family, of course. Quintessential country living.

Speaking of bonfires, it was my last night in Rhinelander, and not wanting to end the party so soon, we invited everyone over to my parents’ place for one more bonfire before I headed back to New York. We had a bigger turnout than our bonfire earlier in the week since so many people were in town for the graduation party, which meant a much more raucous night. Ah, the perfect way to end my trip.

The next day I spent the day with my family, playing with my nephews, and promising to see them in a few weeks. 

Who would have thought that the trip from hell was looming...

Hodag Country, Rhinelander, Wisconsin

RUM PUNCH

New Orleans, LA

June 5, 2012

Miriam’s dad, a professor at Tulane University, had two guest passes to the large recreational center on campus, so we decided to take our morning workout indoors for our last day in New Orleans.

The Reilly Center offers practically everything you could want in a gym, and Miriam attempted to do as much as possible, from running to playing racquetball, but I kept it simple and stayed on the treadmill. After our workout we headed home to clean up and get our day started.

One of the goals for my last day was to get a daiquiri to go, which is very popular in New Orleans, so we thought it would be a good idea to cross that off the list right away. We stopped by New Orleans Original Daiquiris Cafe and found we had the place to ourselves. I had never seen it so empty! The bartender looked bored so I sampled a few things before deciding on Rum Punch. 

Funny story about Rum Punch...when Miriam took me to my first Mardi Gras a few years ago, we stopped at Port of Call, a bar/restaurant that is known for its burgers and a drink called the Monsoon. I asked the bartender what was in a Monsoon, and he said, “Rum and punch.” Well, punch can be a variety of flavors, so I asked what kind of punch, at which point he grabbed two bottles, held them up, and growled at me, “It’s Rum AND PUNCH.” I sheepishly said, “I’ll take one,” and left it at that. So I was very amused when the flavor that called out to me on this day was Rum Punch.

Miriam waiting for my daiquiri

I even opted to get a bigger size in order to get the fabulous souvenir travel cup (I had been looking for a cup similar to it the entire time we’d been in NOLA). It wasn’t until we got back in the car and I was happily sipping away at my drink that we realized it wasn’t even noon yet...whoops! 

We then drove back over to Tulane to visit the music department and pick up Miriam’s dad for lunch. It was at this point that I realized I was slightly intoxicated (and still sipping the drink), which meant that stairs were a daunting task and interacting with people was a little bit amusing. We had a good visit, talking with a number of staff members who had watched Miriam grow up and who were always excited to see her come home for a visit.

We then drove back to the house with her dad, and made a few sandwiches, me trying to soak up some of the alcohol in my system, and them trying to catch Jeff’s local commercial for his pizza place (we didn’t see it) and laughing at my drunk behavior.

And as quickly as the intoxication came on, so did the hangover. By two o’clock that afternoon my head was pounding. Thanks, overly-sugared alcoholic beverage. All I wanted to do was take a nap, but we had too many things to do. 

I sucked it up and climbed back into the car for the bumpy ride over to visit our little friends Jadyn and Zoe one last time (gotta love the uneven NOLA roads when you’re hungover...). Jadyn was busy playing outside when we pulled up and was very excited to see her Mimi again. Zoe was once again taking a nap. I was jealous. We had fun playing with Jadyn-- well, Miriam played and I took lots of pictures-- and chatting with Jadyn’s mom, Christa. 

Jadyn playing in the sprinkler

Once it started sprinkling we decided it was time to head out. We had shopping to do!

Now, when I say shopping, I don’t mean for fun souvenirs...I mean Wal-mart... *hangs head sheepishly*. When you live in New York City, where Wal-marts do not exist and everything is a bit more expensive, sometimes a trip to Wal-mart is very exciting. We like to stock up on little things, like our favorite Crystal Light flavors, and things of that nature. So we finished all our errands and then headed back to the house for a nice, home-cooked meal. 

Miriam’s mom was making us a delicious dinner and insisted on inviting our friends Jena and Sarah over so that we could see them one last time. There was so much food on that table that by the time we finished dinner I think we had to be rolled out the door. So good! Sometimes it’s so nice to have a Mom-made-home-cooked meal. There’s something truly special about it.

We had talked about getting ice cream with Jena and Sarah after dinner, but we were all too full, so they offered to drive us to the French Quarter instead, where we would be spending the last part of our evening. We said goodbye to the girls and began our saunter through the Quarter.

It’s always fun to walk around the French Quarter. There’s so much art and beauty but at the same time debauchery and crazy Voodoo shops. It’s great! And it’s nice that you can walk around the streets with a drink in hand to take it all in (I passed on the drink, thank you very much-- still recovering from the daiquiri).
Our destination that evening was Preservation Hall, the famous jazz hall located in the Quarter, and a place I had, surprisingly, never been to before. We were hoping to catch the early show but arrived to the line just after a very large school group in bright, lime green tshirts. Preservation Hall isn’t very big, so that school group got all the spots. We hunkered down to wait the hour in line for the next set. At least we were now near the front of the line, which meant we would get good seats.

Preservation Hall is simply a jazz hall. No food, no drinks, no cameras, no recording devices. You pay your entrance fee, find a spot on the floor or a nearby bench, and you sit back and listen while a bunch of New Orleans jazz legends play fabulous music for 45 minutes.

While we waited for the next set, I left Miriam to hold our spot in line and walked around the Quarter for a little bit to take some photographs. By the time I got back to her, the line was ridiculously long, and I was glad we opted to stay in line. Every once in a while we could hear the band playing through the windows. I was even able to sneak some photos of the band through the small holes in the shutters.

The famous Lucky Dogs vendor 

The line for Preservation Hall 

Once the early show cleared out, we were allowed to go in and claim our seats. Miriam suggested sitting on the cushions on the floor so that we could be up close to the band without people being in our way, but I didn’t think I could sit for that long on the floor so we grabbed seats on the first row of benches. Excellent decision.

We were allowed to take photographs of the stage and the instruments before the show, but as soon as the band members came out we were told to put all cameras away. And they’ll call you out on it, too, if you try to take a picture! We saw it firsthand. Someone attempted to take a photo and the band members stopped what they were doing to point the guy out (luckily, they were only talking and not playing so nothing was interrupted). 

The show was a lot of fun. You can tell the guys love what they are doing and have so much fun playing music. 45 minutes goes by really fast with jazz music. We only heard 4-5 songs total because of all the solos and riffing.

Up on the wall is a price list if you want to make a request, and someone actually paid the handsome $20 price for “When the Saints Go Marching In”-- it used to be a staple to play, since NOLA is home to the NFL team, the Saints, but the guys got tired of having it requested multiple times a night so put a hefty price on it. 

After the set came to an end, we had the option to stay for the next set (once you pay the entrance fee you can stay as long as you want), but it was starting to get late. We tipped the band and thanked them for the fun show, and then called Miriam’s parents so they could meet us in Jackson Square.
We couldn’t leave New Orleans without going to Cafe du Monde for chicory coffee and beignets, the special NOLA fritter served covered with powdered sugar. Our plan was to grab some to go, but Miriam’s dad was able to find a parking spot, so we settled in to one of the outdoor tables, ordered up some coffee and one order of beignets. It was the cherry on top of a fun trip to New Orleans.

I had a really great time in New Orleans, doing a lot of things that I had never done there before, but it was time to pack up and head on to my next adventure: Wisconsin.

Jackson Square

THEY ALL ASK'D FOR YOU

New Orleans, LA

June 4, 2012

"I went on down to the Audubon Zoo, and they all ask'd for you. Da monkeys ask'd, da tigers ask'd, and da elephant ask'd me, too" ~ The Meters, from "They All Ask'd For You"

It was Monday morning, and rather than miserably pushing myself out of bed to go to work like I usually do, I was going to go visit my besties, Jean and Panya, at the Audubon Zoo. Who are Jean and Panya, you ask? Why, they are the resident elephants of New Orleans. And how are they my besties? Well, hold on to your britches; we’ll get to that in due time.

A swan and a duck with her babies

Even though we had a relatively late night out on Frenchmen, we still managed to get up at a decent hour for a good morning workout in Audubon Park. This time I planned on doing more of an actual workout than I did the day before. I still carried my camera with me, but the plan was to walk/run with Miriam the whole route around the park. Having company would keep me in check, even though it slowed Miriam down a bit.

I walked and ran alongside her, sometimes running on ahead to try out some new photography techniques of her jogging. And every once in a while she was forced to run in circles while I stopped to photograph beautiful swans or amazing scenery. It was a lovely trek around the park, and I was glad to finally see the whole park instead of the first half-mile.

Miriam running over the bridge. 

After getting showered and ready for the day, we headed over to one of Miriam’s favorite coffee places, PJ’s Coffee, for some iced coffee. Right down the street was Maple Street Book Shop, a local bookstore that we just happened to have a Groupon to, so we ventured in to pick up some books. Maple Street Book Shop has two stores side by side. One store is a regular bookstore while the other is their used bookstore. We took a look around the regular store but didn’t see much we wanted, so we decided to try the used store. We had a little better luck here, but still the pickings were slim.

Maple Street porch

We had just recently seen the amazing play Peter and the Starcatcher on Broadway and had fallen in love with it, so we were excited to see the book the play was based on in the children’s used books section. We snatched that one up right away. We ended up finding a coffee table book of the inside of the fancy homes around New Orleans and grabbed that for Miriam’s mom. The rest of our purchases were of magnets and postcards. 

It was at this point that I realized I had been subconsciously scratching my bare ankles and legs with increasing intensity. I looked down at my legs and notice all sorts of little red dots around my ankles. Miriam realized she had been doing the same thing and that she, too, was covered in red dots. The store had fleas in the carpet and they were eating us alive! I immediately left the store and sat on the front porch while Miriam made her purchases, trying not to give in to the itch all over my legs.

We then headed over to Miriam’s brother’s third and newest pizza place, Pizzicare (pronounced peet-see-car-ay), a by-the-slice or by-the-pie joint. We each grabbed a slice (one regular cheese slice and one Margherita slice) and also ordered garlic knots and the pepperoni sticks. There was no way we could eat all of that, but we had heard so much about the garlic knots and pepperoni sticks that we at least needed to try them. Everything was so delicious! Once we ate our fill we boxed up our leftovers and hit the road.

It was zoo time!

Now, here’s a little back-story about the elephants and me. When Miriam and I first met, she asked what my biggest dream was (besides the obvious “I want to be a performer” answer). My automatic response was always: I want to meet an elephant.

Unbeknownst to me, Miriam made it her personal mission to make that dream come true. She contacted every zoo, circus, and elephant habitat she could find in the United States, getting the same answer every time: Sorry, no.

Then in 2007 her networking paid off, and she was told that the zoo in her own hometown might be able to help. We were in the process of planning a trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama—just a few hours away from New Orleans—to vacation with some of my family members, and we were having a hard time finding reasonably priced airfare. So Miriam slyly suggested we fly roundtrip to New Orleans—which was a lot cheaper to fly to—and drive to Gulf Shores in one of her parents’ cars. That way, she said, we could spend some extra time in New Orleans at the end of the trip. I bought it, hook, line, and sinker.

Miriam had filled my family in on what she had planned—a visit to the zoo at the end of our trip—and everyone kept it very secret. They did get a hoot out of my response when we were talking our biggest dreams, and I said it would be the greatest thing in the world to meet an elephant and went on to explain just how much I would love it.

Cut to the end of our trip, we’re driving around New Orleans, and Miriam says we are meeting someone around lunchtime. My mind automatically thought: we are meeting the elephants at the Audubon Zoo. I have no idea why my mind went there, but as we drove towards Audubon Park, my insides started going crazy. When we pulled into the zoo parking lot, I was shaking and holding back the tears. And when we finally met the zoo curator and he asked if I was ready to meet the elephants, I started crying (at which point Miriam had to tell him that this was a surprise and the tears were ones of joy).

Best. Day. Ever.

The experience was amazing. I got to feed them and pet them and talk to them, and then the elephant keeper even took Jean out of her paddock and let me stand next to her. I could feel her eye watching me, and her trunk kept swinging up to sniff at me. As soon as we left I ugly-cried like I have never ugly-cried before (to put it into perspective what that day meant to me, I’m crying right now, five years later, just retelling the tale). Miriam ended up sending the zoo a picture of my ugly-cry, and it’s still up on their office wall. I’m known as the Girl Who Cried.

So, back to 2012! Every time Miriam and I visit New Orleans we always try to visit the zoo because 1. it’s a pretty zoo, and 2. I get to see my friends. I’ve never gotten up close and personal with them again, but I’m content standing back with the rest of the zoo crowd and looking longingly at them. Have I mentioned that I love elephants?

Anyways, I’m excited because they are currently building a whole new habitat for Jean and Panya, so they’ll have more room to move around. That was always my one complaint. They do get daily walks around the zoo before it’s open to the public, but elephants aren’t sedentary creatures so I always wished they had more space to walk. Now, hopefully, they’ll have lots of space! I look forward to visiting the zoo after the new habitat has been unveiled. 

We had an amusing, yet slightly freaky, moment at the big cat area, when we realized that one of the female leopards was hungry for a baby boy being held in his mama’s arms next to us. Mom and Dad were pointing out some sleeping leopards to their son and commenting on how they wished they all weren’t sleeping when I noticed another leopard slink out of her den on the other side of the pen—all eyes on baby boy. It was crazy! She totally stalked him, all crouched down and hiding behind things, until she got to the barrier and she couldn’t go any farther. She then started pacing along the barrier, never taking her eyes off the infant, and it was at that point that I mentioned to the parents that kitty was hungry for baby. They were fascinated! And very thankful for the barrier. 

We wandered around the zoo for a few hours, taking tons of pictures, and even running across a male peacock showing off his plumage in a beautiful and up-close display. We made it through most of the zoo before we decided to throw in the towel. We were exhausted!

My favorite of the ASPCA Mardi Gras bead statues.

Miriam’s brother, Jeff, amazingly had a night off from his various restaurants and asked if we wanted to go out for a family dinner, so that evening we all met Jeff and his long-time friend Sadie, at Mat and Naddie’s Restaurant in Uptown New Orleans. Mat and Naddie’s looks like it would be just a house at the end of a quiet block, yet it’s a very popular restaurant with delicious food. (Something I’ve noticed about New Orleans is that some of the best places to eat don’t always look like restaurants from the outside—I’ve been completely fooled on numerous occasions!) The menu was very diverse, and we all had a hard time deciding an entrée. We ended up getting multiple dishes to try and there wasn't a disappointed tummy in the house! Would anyone like to start off with a little artichoke, sun-dried tomato, and roasted garlic cheesecake? Yes, please!

We said goodnight to everyone and headed out for a little business meeting over coffee. Miriam’s friend, Rightor, who is now bicoastal in both LA and NYC, has a friend who is working heavily in the film/TV industry currently booming in New Orleans, and he introduced us so that we could get the lay of the land in case our plans to move to New Orleans ever come to fruition.

Bryce works on the behind-the-scenes side of the film industry—the kind of stuff I love to do when I’m not performing—so it was fascinating hearing about her work. She didn’t have much information on the acting side of things, but she did confirm that the film industry is steady in New Orleans at the moment. It sounded reassuring, as long as we can get our feet in the door.

We closed down the coffee shop, sitting outside at their tables, sipping our coffee, and chatting away, until we noticed we were the only customers left, and the employees were starting to put the chairs up on the tables inside. That was our cue to go.

We said goodnight to Bryce and realized we were close to Jeff’s apartment, so we decided to drop by unannounced—and managed to catch him eating Popeyes. He’s notorious for giving Miriam the “healthy eating” speech, so catching him with Popeyes after our delicious dinner at Mat and Naddie’s was incredibly hilarious.

It had been another long and eventful day in New Orleans. Only one day left and a long list of things still planned. Oh, what is a girl to do?
I'll leave you with the ugly-cry.