Gatlinburg - Flat Rock, NC and then home to Virginia!

I had planned on our time in the Smoky Mountains to be all about Bill and his photography.  But then life handed me a curve ball... I discovered that the Sky Lift that runs a chair lift type thing up the mountain that my brother, Mom, Dad and I had ridden on a trip we took when Clif and I were kids was STILL in operation.  So I asked if we could ride it before leaving, and Bill kindly said sure.  We went down there and were originally told that it was being serviced and would be up in about a half an hour.  So we walked, and shopped, and killed time, and came back.  Still not running.  OK, we'll go get subs to have a picnic lunch on our way to Flat Rock and come back and if it's still not running we just can't wait.  It wasn't... but I did get a pic of it and hope to catch it NEXT time we are there

We headed out thru the park and grabbed a couple of pics on the way.

We had our lunch and got to the McCall's residence just in time.  Donna had the house decorated for Easter and their home is always gorgeous!  We visited, had yummy appetizers followed by a delicious dinner and then a rousing game of Catchphrase (which Donna and I won... just saying...)  We had a good night's sleep (maybe the wine and lemoncello helped?) and after breakfast went to the back yard to take a couple of pics.  Lee and Donna have a gorgeous yard including a beautiful fountain and...

A frog that has taken up residence!  I suggested they name him Phineas.  Then a couple of pics together and we headed on our way.  

We headed home and were happy to see the first sign of home along the way...

After about 3330 miles, and 47 of 50 state license plates spotted (we were missing Rhode Island, North Dakota and South Dakota) we arrived home tired and happy from a wonderful adventure visiting family and friends and discovering new destinations.

THE END!

New Orleans to the Smoky Mountains

As we left New Orleans we had cloudy skies and it was TRYING to rain but only spitting at us.  Again thankful for the good weather we've had, we pointed the car toward Chattanooga, TN.  The ride was pretty unremarkable but went smoothly and we were glad to arrive.  The next morning we headed toward our destination for the Smoky Mountains - Gatlinburg.

Our first sign we are getting close!

We headed into the park and drove the Cade's Cove loop.  Wildlfowers were beginning to show their sleepy heads.  Spring has spring!

The road often follows the stream, which was flowing well with melting snow. 

The last time we visited the Smoky Mountains we stayed in a rental way up in the hills and were thankful we did NOT stay in Gatlinburg, as it's a bit like downtown Ocean City Maryland... hotel after hotel after candy shop after t-shirt shop.  But for a one night stay, it fit the bill.  We checked into  our hotel and then went back into the park for Bill to photograph (hopefully) sunset.  The skies were gray and we weren't sure the sunset would cooperate.

But it did!  A beautiful end to a nice day. 

 

World War II Museum and a final walk in the French Quarter

First off, I have to include a pic of last night's dinner.   We were SO tired that we didn't want to walk far, and ended up taking a suggestion of the desk staff and walking just a couple of blocks to a place called Walk-Ons - a cute sports bar (can a sports bar be called cute??) with good food.

Love me some fried pickles!

And had my first Po'Boy - fried shrimp!

Sunday it was supposed to rain - a pretty solid chance - so we decided to can our original plan of attending a parade and go with the World War II museum which we had heard was great.  We heard correctly!  They have an excellent 4 D film on the war which takes you up to Pearl Harbor.  Then you explore the rest of the museum which tells the rest of the story.  It was very interactive and well worth the time and money spent there.  

Bill knew that one of the things I was sorry we didn't get to do was get Cafe Du Monde for beignets.  We started out walking to the closer Cafe Beignet, where there was no line at all.  But once there decided to go for it and walk the whole way thru the French Quarter to the real thing.  Along the way we watched a very entertaining street show and saw many other talented performers.  We found our way and after identifying the correct huge line to get carry out, and standing in line for 40 minutes, we had our warm beignets in hand along with some iced cafe au last.  

And they were DEEElicious!!

Court of Two Sisters jazz brunch and Mardi Gras World

Again - a beautiful day!  We had tried to get reservations for the jazz brunch at the Court of Two Sisters at 10:30 but they only had 9 am and 2:30 pm available.  We went for the 9 am.  I think it was a great choice!   Though we had to get up and get moving early, all the items were very fresh on the buffet and we had an excellent meal with great light jazz playing.  We sat in the courtyard and it was lovely!  Probably the most expensive brunch I'll ever have... but it was an experience we enjoyed.

I touched it - am I more charming??

Seating was under a canopy of wisteria. 

Back at the hotel with a small bit of shopping along the way.  After a short rest, we called for the shuttle to Mardi Gras World.  This place is amazing.  They make floats for Mardi Gras but also make things for many other venues.  Mostly it's styrafoam, paper mache, and fiberglass.  But it's formed into amazing creations!  They have a film, a tour, and even give you a piece of King's Cake.  It was a fun time!

We'll finish this post on a selfie note!

Touring New Orleans and Preservation Hall

We were up early to get down to meet our tour guide for our morning combined tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1 and the French Quarter.  Our guide, Jane, was had a PHD in History and was very good.  We spent 3 hours walking and seeing and discussing architecture, traditions, and the history of New Orleans.

One of the MANY horse drawn carriages

One of the ways to keep folks off your balcony

This one is called the Romeo and Juliet kind - if you are a Romeo and try to crawl up it can make you a  Juliet!

Now to the cemetery.  An interesting method of burial.  The body is placed on a slab with a hole in it and sealed in the tomb which is then closed for 1 year and 1 day.  The temperature gets to above 400 degrees in there, so it is basically a natural form of cremation.  

  

Grave at the cemetery

Nicholas Cage will be buried here...

The Italian buriel building made to look like a jewelry box with drawers

A Mardi Gras Indain (side kick accepting tips)

Marker in Cemetery

Much needed refreshment - a pineapple cilantro margarita - yum!

Street art

We decided to walk back to the hotel to rest for a short bit, then headed back to the French Quarter for our performance at Preservation Hall.  It is an AMAZINGLY small place, almost a clapboard building.  It was quite dark, had some fans running (well one of 2 ran at least) overhead and had 3 rows of benches and some floor mats.  The first 2 rows of seating can be pre-purchased (they call them big shot seats) for a little more money, or you can wait in line to purchase tickets to sit on the floor, stand, or take a chance at the one row of unreserved bench.  The band we saw, the Southern Syncopators, were excellent and we had a great time listening to some good jazz.  The acoustics were really very good!

We wandered down Bourbon Street, which was now dark and had taken on a much more shall we say festive air, in search of dining that did not make us feel uncomfortable in shorts and a t-shirt but was better than a slice of pizza or a burger.  We ended up at Tony Moran's and sat on the porch on the second level which was fun.  It was great to be above the fray and be able to watch it from afar.  The food was OK, but the service was wonderful and we had an amazing bananas foster prepared table side for dessert before crawling back to our hotel and crashing with feet that felt the over 16,000 steps we had taken this day!