THE MIDWEST AND TORONTO

THE MIDWEST AND TORONTO

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Just got back from an amazing week-long adventure with Reedi, Ari, and Tre’! We packed a lot into this trip, hitting Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana Dunes National Park, Toledo, Detroit, Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and Niagara Falls! Day 1 started with an afternoon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where we got our first taste of the local scene and some tasty treats. Then, we hopped on a train and headed straight into the Windy City! We spent the next couple of days exploring Chicago. We…

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TUPELO AND CYCLING THE NATCHEZ TRACE

TUPELO AND CYCLING THE NATCHEZ TRACE

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Just got back from a wonderful long MLK weekend getaway! And guess what? It coincided with my birthday! Reedi and I decided to take Nigel for a spin down to Tupelo, Mississippi. We had a great time checking out the local spots and even enjoyed a fantastic, long bicycle ride along the beautiful Natchez Trace Parkway. Such a peaceful and scenic ride! More pictures to come soon!

OUTER BANKS, DC, AND APPALACHIA

OUTER BANKS, DC, AND APPALACHIA

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In October 2024, Reedi and I had a special trip planned to meet up with our daughter, Ari, in Washington, DC, for her Fall Break. Instead of a quick flight or a boring interstate drive, we decided to make an adventure out of getting to the East Coast! We took our sweet time heading towards DC, with our sights set on exploring the beautiful Outer Banks. We spent a wonderful five days meandering through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina….

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CHASING SUNSETS AND GEYSERS: YELLOWSTONE, GRAND TETONS, AND GLACIER

CHASING SUNSETS AND GEYSERS: YELLOWSTONE, GRAND TETONS, AND GLACIER

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Kicking Off Our Great National Parks Adventure In September 2024, Reedi and I embarked on what turned out to be our most adventurous trip yet! We loaded up Nigel and pointed him west, leaving Louisiana with our sights set on the incredible national parks out west. Our very first stop, still close to home, was Memphis, Tennessee. Of course, you can’t pass through Memphis without paying homage to the King, so we pulled over to snag a few quick photos…

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ORANGE BEACH, ALABAMA

ORANGE BEACH, ALABAMA

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Another weekend meant another chance for a little adventure! We had a free night award with Hilton, good for any location, and Reedi had been dreaming of the beach. Since it’s been so warm at night along our part of the Gulf Coast, we thought using the free night for a beach getaway would be the perfect way to escape the heat and enjoy some ocean air! Even though it was just a regular two-day weekend, it gave us plenty…

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WEEKEND IN ARKANSAS

WEEKEND IN ARKANSAS

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In May, 2024, we took Ari to Monroe, Louisiana, so she could catch her ride up to Cimarron, New Mexico. It was her second summer in a row working at Philmont Scout Ranch! After dropping her off on that Saturday morning, Reedi and I pointed Nigel north into Arkansas. We had a fantastic long weekend planned filled with sightseeing, hiking, good food, and even a little crystal mining! It was a great way to spend some time together after saying…

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NORTHEAST ROAD TRIP

NORTHEAST ROAD TRIP

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During Spring Break of ’24, we embarked on a special family road trip through the Northeast. It was one of those trips where everyone flew in from different places – Reedi and I from New Orleans, our son from Austin, and our daughter from Atlanta – and we all met up in Baltimore. From there, we kicked off an amazing eight-day adventure, winding our way through Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. As the…

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NATURAL BRIDGE CAVERNS IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

NATURAL BRIDGE CAVERNS IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

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During our trip to Austin this past weekend, we had the opportunity to experience the Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio. These caverns are Texas’ premier natural attraction, and they truly live up to that reputation. The adventure began as we joined a Discovery Tour, where state-of-the-art lighting illuminated massive, otherworldly formations formed by single drops of water over eons of time. The sheer size and beauty of the caverns left us in awe. After our adventures underground, we enjoyed…

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ATLANTA CONCERT & HIKING NORTH GEORGIA

ATLANTA CONCERT & HIKING NORTH GEORGIA

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Our daughter, Ari, discovered several months back that one of our favorite bands was playing in Atlanta. Fortunately, this coincided with a break in school for her. So, I decided to meet her in Atlanta, catch the concert, then whisk her away to North Georgia for a quick hike on the Appalachian Trail. I left home on Wednesday, January 24th, and meandered my way to Atlanta. I stopped at the Conecuh Sausage Company Store in Alabama on my way there…

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ST. AUGUSTINE, MANATEES, AND THE FLORIDA COAST

ST. AUGUSTINE, MANATEES, AND THE FLORIDA COAST

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In January, Reedi and I took advantage of the 3-day weekend to travel to St. Augustine Florida to see the Nights of Lights and experience the charm of America’s oldest city. We enjoyed our evening there hopping in and out of the many shops, having a hearty English dinner at a public house, and enjoying some ice cream at Kilwin’s Chocolates. We left St. Augustine on Sunday and made our way south along the Atlantic coast to Flagler Beach before…

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NATCHITOCHES FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

NATCHITOCHES FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

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It’s December here in Louisiana and we took advantage of one of the first cool, crisp weekends to take a road trip 4 hours north to Natchitoches, La. This was the 97th Natchitoches Festival of Lights, and we’ve always wanted to make a trip to the City of Lights to experience the festivities. Our daughter lived in Natchitoches for 3 years as she attended high school at the nearby Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts. However, we had…

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LOUISIANA’S CAJUN COUNTRY AND AVERY ISLAND

LOUISIANA’S CAJUN COUNTRY AND AVERY ISLAND

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The summers in Louisiana are brutal. Temperatures are in the high 90s and humidity pushes the heat index well into triple digits. Heather and I have been wanting to make a trip down to the Southwest Louisiana and the Atchafalaya Basin, but it’s simply not a place we want to be in a van with no A/C. So, we’ve been having this little weekend trip sketched out for a little while not and were just waiting to pull the trigger….

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BLUE ANGELS HOMECOMING IN PENSACOLA, FL

BLUE ANGELS HOMECOMING IN PENSACOLA, FL

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On Thursday, Reedi messaged me mentioning that there was a Blue Angels Homecoming in Pensacola this weekend. Within an hour we had decided that we were going to be in Florida for the weekend. We left after work on Friday and headed to the Florida Welcome Center were we spent Friday night. Early saturday, we head to Fort Pickens Park and found a parking spot along the sea wall across the Bay from the Pensacola Naval Air Station where we…

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MIDWEST ROAD TRIP

MIDWEST ROAD TRIP

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After spending much of the summer of 2023 in East Tennessee, Reedi and I planned a round about way to travel back home to Louisiana. Trying to knock a few states off of our 50-by-50 bucket list, we decided on a road trip through the Midwest that would include Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa (new), Wisconsin, Minnesota (new for Reedi), North Dakota (new), South Dakota (new), Nebraska (new), Kansas (new for Robert), Oklahoma (new for Reedi), Arkansas, Mississippi, and back…

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MONROE COUNTY HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL

MONROE COUNTY HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL

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Reedi and I spent much our Summer in East Tennessee visiting family. We spent the weeks working (remotely) and visiting, and would try to get away for the weekends and see the natural beauty of East Tennessee and the Smokey Mountains. On this Saturday in September, we visited the Monroe Life Hot Air Balloon Festival. We didn’t know what to expect, but found a wonderful and relaxing evening watching the glow of the balloons.

SOUTHWEST AND NATIONAL PARKS

SOUTHWEST AND NATIONAL PARKS

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Our daughter spent the summer of 2023 working as staff at the Boys Scouts of America’s Philmont Scout Ranch High Adventure base in Cimarron, NM. As soon as we heard she was planning that, Reedi and I planned a trip around visiting her. We started our trip by flying to Albuquerque, NM, then driving to Sante Fe to meet with Ari. We spent two days in the Sante Fe/Taos/Cimarron areas eating and exploring this section of New Mexico, which is…

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CLARKCO STATE PARK – QUITMAN, MISSISSIPPI

CLARKCO STATE PARK – QUITMAN, MISSISSIPPI

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Many of the trips we’ve taken over the last few years include SUV camping. As in, Reedi and I pack a mattress, a cook kit, an SUV tent, and some other items and hit the road in our SUV. No hotels, no reservations. Sometime we fly to a location and rent an SUV to camp in. During this trip in January of 2023, we travelled to nearby Dunn’s Falls Park in Enterprise, Mississippi, then to Clarkco State Park in Quitman,…

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MICHIGAN & CANADA

MICHIGAN & CANADA

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Sometimes the best laid plans go awry. Reedi and I had a trip planned to Cabo. We had booked a week in a resort in Cabo. We had day trips to old town Cabo and to the marina scheduled. We were going to go on an excursion on a glass-bottomed boat. Then with less than 24 hours to go before we boarded our flight to paradise, we received a call from our daughter that would change all of that. Our…

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PACIFIC NORTHWEST

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

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In August of ’22, we made a trip to the Pacific Northwest. We flew into Lake Tahoe, made our way west to Northern California, then spend a week traveling up the west coast through California, Oregon, and Washington. During that trip we visited Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, Crater Lake National Park, The Oregon Coast, The Columbia River Gorge, and Olympic National Park. Many nights of the trip were spent SUV camping, with the occasional hotel room…

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FALL FOLIAGE IN THE NORTHEAST

FALL FOLIAGE IN THE NORTHEAST

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Being from New Orleans, we don’t get many chances to see the changing of the season and fall foliage. So in the Fall of 2021, we flew out to Massachusetts and made a trip through the Northeast. We began our trip in Salem, Mass., then drove to and through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, ending our trip at Niagara Falls.