Charming Old City

I spent 6 wonderful days of escape in lovely, old New Orleans this May.  I have yet to reclaim my heart from this grand old city, and a part of me is walking still along the old cobblestone and brick sidewalks and streets.

My travel partner, Shellie, and I heard great Jazz and talked to so many warm and friendly people.  We drank refreshing cocktails unlike any I've had before, and  we soaked in sights that have been shared by travelers and fellow romantics for hundreds of years.  There was such a rich mixture of history, delicious food,  pathos, debauchery, beauty, heady scents and magical moments.  I won't forget sweet Miss Elizabeth, the psychic tarot card reader with the healing spirit we met on our way to a late night bite to eat.  And Noche Flamenca, the world famous Spanish flamenco troupe who shared our hotel space, provided a truly unique diversion during our downtime.  What fun they were with their singing and clapping by the pool!  Their company was simply lovely.  Their performance at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, the oldest continuously running theatre in the country, was absolutely breathtaking.  It brought tears to my eyes.  Today, my words aren't really up to accurately describing everything I loved about New Orleans.  I truly  felt like I was in another country.  It was such an exotic place.  For now, I just want to acknowledge a trip that will hold a special place in my memories for the rest of my life. 

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip.  Some are not technically great, but they make me smile to see them.  I hope you enjoy them, too.

View of Antoine's from our balcony meal across the way on the first night. Lovely sunset.

Shot from a cab as we rushed not to miss Noche Flamenca. 

Thought this porch and railing was so pretty.  Loved the architecture in N.O.

In the Garden District.  Live Oaks make things even more beautiful.

Best Shrimp Po'Boy ever!  At "Catch" on Magazine Street.

View from outside of gated cemetary.  Got there too late to stroll inside.

Simply loved these steps leading to a Garden District Home.

Passion Flower

Inside Napolean House - est. 1797 

Serving 'em up at the Napolean House!

Loved their Pimm's Cup!

Saw this type of horn nearly every day.

Couldn't help snapping this...loved everything about this guy.  What a friendly face. N.O. was full of friendly people!

Found the flower on the ground and placed it here...

Funny story behind this pic!  Shellie made him smile like that.

Too cute!

Jumbo Shrimp Band - gotta love their fun, Dixie-Land style jazz!

Sudden Downpour

Took me a long time to get this shot.  Had to wait for droplets to quit splashing and people to move on...

Very old street after a heavy rain.

Shellie in the pool in our hotel courtyard.  We loved The Olivier House on Toulouse Street!

Seen on Bourbon Street near Toulouse, early one morning.

Early morning peek across the Mississippi River.

Pretty Sunrise on the Mississippi

Caffe Au Lait and Beignets at Cafe du Monde - so yummy!

Rain washed Jackson Square before the crowds came in.

I wonder how long these have been there.  So pretty.

Cute baby statue in Audobon Park

These girls were so cute and having so much fun on Bourbon Street

Night Scene in the French Quarter

"Touchdown Jesus" as the locals say.

Old Street Drainage

Spanish Cabildo Ironwork

Daytime Shadows

Out of Hiding

In an effort to protect my privacy from someone whose intentions toward me are questionable at best, I recently took steps to make my blog much harder to find. I changed the blog URL and removed the link to it from my Blogger profile. I had another blogger remove links from his blog to mine. I even quit blogging for awhile, to stretch out the time she would be unable to search for and actually find it.  I had hoped, for her sake and my own, that she'd finally give up on following my life so closely and move on with her own. Unfortunately, I only temporarily prevented the problem. As of yesterday, my most frequent visitor ever, who I've never met or had any communication with, who has logged onto my blog regularly - indeed sometimes multiple times daily - for months on end, has now found my blog again.  She kept searching till she found it - over a month after I tried to hide it.  I apparently went through the trouble for nothing, because this woman is persistent. 

For many good reasons I won't go into here, I don't feel she will stop nosing about any time soon, so I will no longer try to hide from her. I'll just be smarter about what I post and not thoughtlessly forecast my whereabouts like I regrettably did before.  I have re-established the link to my blog on my Blogger profile and will be writing and posting pictures again.  I'm looking forward to reconnecting with the interesting, well-meaning photographers and writers I met through Blogger before.  I’m tired of stifling myself because this woman is so consumed with knowing what I'm doing.  If she wants to make me the focus of her energies, so be it.  I'll simply continue to take note of things that concern me, keep good records and stay on my guard.  That's the most effective thing I can do anyway, according to both the lawyer and the police officer I've spoken to about this problem.

So - that said, I’m ready to write again and it feels good! 

Goodbye

Within a week and a half of traveling to Louisiana for a vacation and chance to visit my Granny one more time, I got the phone call this morning that I've been dreading.  My brother called me this morning to tell me that our Granny died this morning.  I knew before I pressed the button to answer what he was going to say, but it still felt like a sucker punch to hear it.  I've got a lot of jumbled feelings right now.  I'm glad she isn't suffering anymore, but I'm sad that I couldn't see her one more time.  I also feel guilty that I've not called her enough over the last few months and I've lived so far away at a time when I might have been able to help keep her company in her very old age and through the trials of Alzheimer's disease. I feel...very, very blue.  And a little empty.  She was such a sweet lady.  I wish I could have held her hand and listened to her stories one more time.

Explanation

I've recently had to change my blog settings and other information in order to protect my privacy, so it is harder to find my blog now.  I wanted to make sure you who have come here and commented, could still come, so I've set things up so that you will be notified when I post, and you will be able to read my blog, even though I've changed the URL and some other things, to make it much harder to find.

If you would like me to take you off this list, please let me know. 

Love you all!

Andrea

Springtime Pilgrimage

Well, I made it out to Smith Rock afterall, and I'm so glad I rolled myself out of bed before dawn to get there early.  The drive was perfect, even through the snow on Mt. Hood.  And the light was still pretty when I arrived at Smith Rock.  One of the fun things about this trip was all the wildlife I saw:  lots of geese (must be mating season - they were very vocal!), a coyote, a little cotton tail bunny, which Molly wanted to go after soooo badly.  I also saw some eagles and one falcon.  I'm too tired to write much, but the pictures say it all, anyway.  It's kind of hard to take a bad picture in a place like this...

(click to see larger)

Mt. Jefferson through the gap.  Taken near the bivouac area.

The morning light brought out the reds quite well.

The Crooked River winding around the Rocks

Deep Shadows

Like a cathedral!  I love this place.

This lone goose looked kind of funny playing "King of the Hill" :o)

Prettier from this angle.

Stunning colors - I love the green wash in some areas.

Molly, wet from fetching sticks I threw in the Crooked River.

A coyote!  (severely cropped - my lense couldn't quite reach him.)

Molly heard the climbers talking waaaay up there!

Good ol' Monkey Face!

I'm calling this "Skull Rock" - but it kind of looks like Edvard Munch's "The Scream"

Even prettier with the vapor trail in the sky.

Nature's artwork.

Other side of Monkey Face.

Monkey Face with Mt. Jefferson in background.

Mt. Jefferson from atop Smith Rock.

My heart went into my throat when Molly walked into this shot, so close to the edge!

Dead wood and flowers - two of my favorite things!

The Desert Sage is very pungent and freshly green this time of year.

A big juniper.

On the way back...

Lots of climbers out today.  Wish I'd caught up with Connor, but I just hiked and didn't ring him up to rendevous.

Spider Woman.

UPDATE:  This is Connor's girlfriend, Allysa in the pic above!  Looks like I ran into them afterall - sort of!  She looked like her from a distance, and I wondered if it was her when I shot this. I was too far away to see if Connor was in the party and I considered just asking, but I was on my way out and would have had to hike up to where they were, so I took the photos and moved on.  Turns out they left shortly after, because the winds were really picking up.

Amazing!

Bottom's Up!

Such a lovely place in the late afternoon light, too.

Happy Hiker! (taken with cell phone camera)