New Orleans...

Our original vacation plans involved going to Tennessee and Kentucky, visiting a bunch of parks and events and roadside attractions, and then camping/hiking to our hearts content.  All that changed when Miss Vienna died.  She was supposed to be our travel buddy on that adventure and without her, well, my heart just wasn't in it and it certainly wasn't content.  So, we changed our plans at the last minute and in a whirlwind of online travel booking chaos we made reservations for a stay in New Orleans.  The Big Easy.  A place that's known for telling you to take things slow and relax.  A place that sounded like the beginnings of the balm to ease our hurts...

The sky changed colors hourly and sometimes within minutes.  We ate lots of food.  We swam in the saltwater pool (there's the old adage that salt water cures almost anything) every evening...floating and watching the waxing of the moon.  We walked a lot on pitted brick roads and sidewalks.  We fought like cats and dogs the first two days due to the enormous stress we'd been under but then had a blast for the rest of the days.  We talked about our futures.  We bought a ton of records.  We walked down soggy grass paths in so many cemeteries.  Did I mention we ate a bunch of fooood?

We've been back a few days but the magic of the vacation still lingers.  I honestly have never had a better trip that this one.  It was so damn hard coming back to reality although I must say I missed putting my hands in flour and sugar.

And I still miss my traveling buddy.  That, I think, won't ever change.