A Very Merry Christmas

MN and I spent a few days in New Orleans over the Christmas holiday. The city rejuvenates, inspires, baffles, pokes fun at and enamors us beyond description. As always, the Big Easy provides elixir for all that ails us.

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez

And we're off …


The photo's a little blurry - it's important to select a decent photographer from the crowd of mature adults at a casino in southern Mississippi


Suckered into the penny slots again


Life after the devastation


Christmas Eve - ready for Santa


Christmas morning service at St. Louis Cathedral


Check out the trees on the balcony


Decorations in the Quarter


Riding St. Charles streetcar


Postcard shot


So yummy


Ah, sweet Bourbon St.

More from Charleston

Charleston is a beautiful city filled with lots of charm and lots of history. Exploring cities by foot is our favorite way to get a feel for a new place, so staying at the Francis Marion, a historic hotel in the heart of Charleston, was ideal since it's located on King Street, a street boasting block after block after block of local and regional shops and restaurants. Also, the Francis Marion overlooks Marion Square which is where the Saturday Farmer's Market is held, so we were close to the action and enjoyed viewing the wares being sold at various vendor booths.

Of course, food was at the center of our vacation (as is always the case with us!). We tried to hit all of the bakeries and cupcakeries in town, including Cupcake, which was a mere three blocks from our hotel. We also indulged in yummy seafood at a restaurant on Market Street, and donuts and beignets (yes, beignets!) from the Farmer's Market.

We had a great time and look forward to visiting Charleston when the weather is warmer! As always, we're sending lots of love and hugs across the miles...the girlz

Trotting with turkeys

Our visit to Charleston for Thanksgiving was lovely! On Thanksgiving Day, we ran our first 5K race together (woo hoo!) on Kiawah Island - it was so much fun! About 400 other turkey trotters participated in the event as well.

Then we converged on a Thanksgiving buffet fit for kings and queens, complete with all the comfort foods of the holiday. Running three miles in the morning helped us to feel less guilty about the amount of food we consumed at the buffet that afternoon!

More Charleston pictures to follow. As always, we're sending lots of love and hugs across the miles...the girlz


Pre-turkey trot


Check out the crowd!




Check out those two turkeys!


Action shot during the race


Action shot during the race #2


We did it!


So proud!




Re-enactment