The Long Journey Home

Memphis is home and although we are closer than before we are anything but close.  Ben and I decided a while back that it would be cheaper and perhaps easier to drive home for the Thanksgiving holiday.  This would become our first family roadtrip.  In addition to Memphis we also traveled to Baton Rouge to see friends and family.  All totaled we traveled 2224 miles and spent 36 hours in the car.  While that would be enough on its own all of it became a lot more interesting with a nine month old baby. 

Thursday the 18th we packed the car.  The trunk was so full it had to be loaded and unloaded like a jigsaw puzzle.  For the first time I was not the heaviest packer, this time it was Charlotte.  Babies don't travel light (yet another reason for not flying).  The first leg of the journey was great and we made it all the way to Crestview, Florida.  We (Ben) made the decision to pick up dinner from Hooters.  Yes, I said pick-up.  No way was I going to bring the baby to Hooters.  Ben made the decision to order fried pickles and loaded tater tots and also left his jacket.  Luckily, the clean-up crew was there in the morning when Ben realized he had left it at the bar the night before. 

Morton's in Madisonville

Tailgating

We made it to Louisiana without issue on Friday, and enjoyed lunch in Madisonville before heading to Baton Rouge.  Pretty much all we did in Louisiana is eat.  Friday night: sushi.  Saturday: tailgating at LSU and then boudin and burgers with friends.  Sunday: Brunch at Court of Two Sisters in New Orleans and then a po-boy after the Saints game.  All of this and still four days to go before Thanksgiving.

The ride up to Memphis was also good and Charlotte was a great traveling companion.  I truly believe that she knew that she was on an adventure and at every stop there was a friend, cousin, aunt, uncle or grandparent to welcome her. 

Opps!

The one thing I didn't expect in Memphis was a flat tire.  This actually resulted in us getting four new tires.  While I was grateful we did not have this problem in the middle of nowhere it did cause me to lose a day of fun with friends and family.  Nevertheless, we got the problem fixed and continued on our adventures.

By Thanksgiving day Ben and I felt as though we had each gained about 100 pounds.  We decided to take Charlotte on a walk and then Ben decided it would be a better idea to walk all the way to his brother's new house. We missed the turnoff and headed back to Ben's parents house (a much shorter walk).  After our walk we felt better about ourselves and we ready to stuff ourselves again. 

Fall in Memphis with Uncle Todd

Thanksgiving was great and everyone from Ben's and my family was in attendance. We continued to eat and enjoy good company. 

Friday we headed for home.  The drive home was uneventful though Charlotte was a bit of a pain.  I think she was upset leaving everyone behind.  I promised her that we would go see everyone again soon.  Though I plan of flying the next time. 

Disney!

I was deprived the quintessential childhood experience by my parents as they never took us to Disney.  Mom said that she had already been to Disney (in 1971) and didn't need to go back.  Thanks mom.  She doesn't like to travel.  Actually, she just didn't like to travel with us.  

Finally, after 31 years, I got to go to Disney with my husband.  The weather was perfect and fall-like after the endless hot and humid weather we have been having. And the best part, no crowds.  Normally people wait hours to ride the rides and we never waited more that 30 minutes for any ride and usually just walked right up and got on.  

On Sunday we went to Epcot, which is currently having their annual food and wine festival.  This means that little kiosks are set up to serve foods and drinks (beer/wine/spirits) that are specialties of the country represented.  There were extra countries in addition to the usual countries on display.  Most of the food costs less than $5 and you could enjoy various sizes of the beers and wines being offered (so you don't get too drunk too fast).  We walked around and ate and drank for about six hours before heading back to the hotel.

Although most people bring a camera with them to Disney I decided not to take a purse and only took a few photos on my phone. I figure if I want photos I can always go back.  That is the one advantage to actually living in the same city as Disney.  Also, I am hoping this will encourage us to buy an annual pass.  Here are a few photos of the topiaries of characters from Beauty and the Beast. 

Monday we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios.  The weather was even better than the day before and we went to a lot of the shows.  My favorite show was Muppets 3-D. I love 3-D movies.  We also went on a few rides and I am not sure if I liked Tower of Terror or Aerosmith's Rock n Roller Coaster best.  For the record, Ben screamed and giggled like a little girl on the Tower of Terror Ride.  That was the highlight of the trip for me.  I kept my eyes shut for the majority of the roller coaster (see below).  Super fun!

Although we had a terrific two days at Disney we still have Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom left to visit (plus the two water parks, but that is never going to happen).  Although my parents never took me to Disney I am hoping to take Charlotte in the next few weeks to see the Magic Kingdom all lit up for Christmas.  As it is her first Christmas I want it to be special.  And because she won't remember, I will take my camera. 

Bread on Demand

Little loaf, you won't last long

Who loves bread? I do! I do!  Who would eat an entire loaf of fresh French bread if given the chance (and has done so repeatedly of Albertson's French bread)?  That too would be me.  I am still learning the art of portion control, but thanks to my handy dandy Costco and my clever mom, I can have my bread and eat it too. 

Costco sells these wonderful mini loaves of French bread and my mom told me that she and dad freeze them then bake em up whenever they want bread with dinner.  Six loaves cost $4.49 so that is a real deal.  Each loaf is had 360 calories, which isn't too bad if you share (our dogs get the end, I get the middle and Ben gets whatever I leave him).  Of course by the time you add butter or olive oil it will be more, but still, it is better than a whole loaf.  I freeze them in quart-sized ziplock bags.  Mom says to bake them at 400 for about 15 minutes. Sometimes I wrap them in foil to make sure they don't get overly hard, though they are very crusty to begin with.  You will know right away if you didn't bake it long enough because the inside will still be frozen.   Oops.  Also, if you want to make it into garlic bread, simply nuke it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to soften enough to cut in half then slather on the butter and garlic and bake.  Yum!

Trick-or-Treat

Last night was the big night and it didn't disappoint.  As you know I sort of figured Halloween might be a big deal here considering how many people decorated their homes.  I bought candy in preparation and then wondered if I had bought enough.  I asked around and one neighbor said he bought about $75 worth of candy (what!?) and another said you could never have enough.  I was told that people come from all around to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood.  With this information in mind I went back to the store and bought triple the original amount of candy.  Of course, the original bags of candy were not quite as full as they were when I bought them seeing as I have no willpower.  I'd like to think of it as quality control.

Saturday we bought our pumpkins at the church pumpkin patch.  I really wanted to buy like 20 pumpkins to give the yard its own pumpkin patch effect, but Ben said no.  Regardless, we still ended up with a nice display (that I didn't get a good photo of due to how busy we were last night).  I had spiderwebs all over the trees,  gravestones, tons of candles (LEDs, not actual candles), and my big light up spider, as well as our jack-o-lanterns. 

The first trick-or-treater arrived at 6:00pm and it was our three year old neighbor dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.  Adorable.  Soon after we abandoned the idea of answering the door and just decided to sit out on the front porch.  Child after child after child arrived in everything from princess to ninja costumes with Spiderman being the most popular.  All in all I would say that we gave out candy to over 200 kids (and some of their parents) before packing it in at 8:30, just in time for the Saint's kickoff.  Most children were super polite making sure to say "Trick or treat" and "Thank you" (often with their parents urging). Several even commented on our jack-o-lanterns or decor (which made me happy).  Charlotte, dressed as a spider, got to watch all the action. Thanks to Ben she even got to try a lollipop (and then have a super hyper sugar rush).  All in all it was a great night, and I still have a few pieces of candy left over.