First stop: Montgomery, Alabama. They have a new museum all about the bus boycott- very modern and well done, but the childrens side only talks about what led up to the boycot, and there is nothing about the actual boycott and what followed. Kind of dissapointing, but it gave us a lot to talk about on the next leg of the journey. This is a life- size statue of Rosa Parks the kids are on.
Next stop: New Orleans.
There is still a lot of devastation to be seen, which is very sad, but the French Quarter is still booming (with that very distinctive New Orleans smell: vomit and urine aged several years in 100 degree heat). And the people were very friendly...as were the lizards!! Of course the girls had to find every creepy-crawly in the city. Ahh...just like home!
Clealy Isaac was enjoying the trip- he slept in the Ergo most of the morning. It had been awhile since he slept in there, and I really enjoyed it! Then, that night we found one of my new favorite places. Preservation Hall plays some of the best jazz in New Orleans (real jazz, not that aweful stuff they play on the radio) It's only a few feet from Bourbon Street
, yet family friendly! They don't allow smoking or drinking and the music goes on all night. We were so excited!! Emily and Audrey danced their little feet off! And Isaac was so cute doing the 2-year old whole body shake!! That is Audrey in the Hall- her favorite music is jazz, so this was her favorite night. The next day......
We finally crossed the Texas state line. Of course, we still had an entire day to cross only HALF of Texas!! THis state is HUGE! But we took a few days off to hang out in Brandens hometown of Beaumont. We got to stay with our great friend Scott- he is a history teacher and owns more books than Barnes & Noble. I REALLY liked staying there!! Plus he has this huge finished attic that the kids used for all kinds of imaginary play. Thanks, Scott! We also went crab fishing with Branden's dad and brother.
Growing up in Kentucky, I'd never been crabbing (I have only ever eaten one, maybe two)! So, this was new to all of us except Branden- and Emily and Audrey caught several. They couldn't believe their good luck! As you can see, Isaac thought his job was to tell everyone else what to do with their nets and lines! I think he might have spent a lot of time near a river when he was in Vietnam. He is fascinated with them and runs right over anytime he sees one. Yet, he doesn't like to swim in anything bigger than a tub as evidenced by his walking around this lovely pool wearing goggles and refusing to get in.
This pool is in my friend Amanda's neighborhood. She's a friend from our years in England and got to San Anonio a few years ahead of us. She found us a great place to stay while we househunt and has cooked dinner for us several times, not to mention keeping the girls when they couldn't stand to look at one more house!! Speaking of.. we found our house!!Ta Da!
We are renting this one and are so pleased! It has a huge yard, I mean HUGE! There is a screened back porch, 2 living rooms (so the grown-ups can have a no-toy zone!!)and it's on a cul-de-sac! Does it get better? Why, yes, it does! It's only .6 miles from Audrey's school, so we can walk when the weather co-operates. THat's a huge change from the 20+ minutes each way we drove for Emily's school the last 3 years. Of course, she went to the best school ever and I would've driven even longer to get her there! Me and Emily are doing the homeschool thing this year and there is a descent size support group just for our neighborhood! THen there is the community pool, walking trails, shade trees covering all the sidewalks.... yes, I love this house. God has certainly given us some big blessings this week. He kept telling me (as I grieved leaving all that was familiar and loved in Georgia) that he was preparing for us in Texas, just trust Him. I am being shown this is true on a daily basis. While I still miss all the folks in Georgia and shed at least a few tears each day, I KNOW that He has a plan for us here and am starting to really look forward to living that plan. Now if someone would just rent our house in Georgia, I'd be set!!
