April Louisiana Road Trip.....Day Five & Six

Day 5 started way early.
We were at this motel for 5 nights, which meant, we sadly came to find out, 5 mornings of a really bad breakfast at this facility.
Bad like they had a huge pan of powdered scrambled eggs with some too well done(think burnt!)sausage bits in it.  The few mornings we went to the motel breakfast, at which we hardly ever saw another soul, they would bring out this pan of nasty eggs.  I truly believe it was the same pan each morning, since nobody ever took any eggs. 

Needless to say most mornings(besides the first and the last)we found different breakfast accommodations.

We took the Daughter to Sue's Country Kitchen for breakfast and later that morning we met realtor #1 to go see houses.

We saw a lot of houses and they were quite a mixed bag!

The view out the front of the 1st house.......this one was a possiblilty but nobody was in love with it.
But the price was right.

 

And this one was the backup property if the one our Daughter wanted fell through.

We saw one house, well I saw it from the car and we never went inside.  It was basically an old shack, something like this.....

It was a bit wider but in just about this condition.  It was located 1 block off a major highway and looked out onto the back of a new metal pole building church.  Behind the shack was some type of repair business.  No one answered the door for the realtor but then a woman came over to the car asking why we were here.  Evidently the listing agent never told the property owners someone was coming to see the house and this woman was the sister of the woman who owned the shack.  Let's just say this woman was not the friendliest person I've ever dealt with and leave it at that.

While this woman was talking at us, a real old woman came out onto the porch of the shack dressed in not much more than a smile.  It looked like the woman who "owned" the shack wasn't all there and her sister was "taking care of her".

While the realtor and I spoke with the owner's sister at the car, Hubs and the Daughter had walked around the backside of the shack checking things out.
When they came back to the car we quickly got out of there.
The shack was sitting in a swamp basically(thank goodness it was up on blocks!)and they had a sump pump running outside the house, trying to dry things up.
This place was beyond a hot mess!  And you wouldn't believe what they were asking for this!!! lolz

Moving on.....

A pretty nice kitchen, except it needed all new appliances since the previous owners took them all when they got foreclosed on.

This one was the last house we saw that day.  This is the shot of the BEST feature of this property--the large metal carport and nice poured driveway.  The house, needless to say, was a cobbled together construction mess.

 

Another foreclosure with trash being thrown out in the front yard.

Except the backyard was 10 times worse! lol

If you look closely at that homemade "pond", there is a partial mannequin floating in it.....

Heck these people took the large bathtub with them.
I suppose they thought it would make a great base for their next homemade pond out back.....lolz

Daughter left us to go to work and we looked at a couple more properties, one of which was the most promising.
We called it quits for the day at dinner time and Hubs and I went to eat at a place the Daughter recommended which wasn't too far from the motel......

Shane's Seafood & Barbecue it's the Cajun thing to do.

Unfortunately Hubs didn't want to share a Crawfish Boil with me and I wasn't up to eating an entire disposable aluminum roasting pan full of mudbugs by myself so I settled for something else.......



And here is what my plate looked like when I was done.....

We HIGHLY recommend Shane's if you are ever in this area.  Good food and good prices.
Not big on atmosphere but who needs that when you are elbow deep in gator and crawfish. lol

Back to the hotel and we turned in early with full tummies.

Day 6 was more of the same--looking at more properties this time with Realtor #2.
She showed us nothing I'd want to live in, let alone have my kid live in.
Oh well.

After Daughter left us we got a call from Realtor #1 telling us about a new foreclosure, not even in the system yet.
So we made plans to go see that one with Daughter and her BF on Saturday morning, as well as the top contender Hubs and I had seen on Thursday.

This meant we were free the rest of the day so we ran some errands.

We ended up going to World Market.

Let me just say I had never been in one of these stores before and I LOVED the place!

We went in there because Daughter said they carried lots of microbrews and wines.
Hubs found a few regional/local beers to bring home.

 Ah, the taste of decaying Edwardian landed gentry.....

Strange name for a wine.  I hope it doesn't smell like wet dog!

I also found that they carry a wide selection of gourmet sodas and a wide variety of them came home with me, especially the root beer varieties......

There were many Mardi Gras type items here.....

As well as kitchy kitchenware and kitchenWEAR.......

Here are a couple more things that came home with me......

 These were intriguing mints.  While they didn't taste like anything but sugar they smelled of lavender and were heavenly.  I should keep a roll of these in my purse just for the fragrance.

Since we didn't get down to NOLA I brought this home and as soon as I remember to go buy some powdered sugar we'll be having beignets.

I "heart" World Markets selection of spices.  I got multiple large bags of this assortment of peppercorns for $3.99 each.  Beats paying through the nose for those little jars at the grocery store!

We finished off our day at Podnuh's.
(The U in "Podnuh's" and the N in "Where the Smoke Never Clears" is missing in the sign behind Hubs). 
If you can't tell from the slogan, it's a barbecue place down in Shreveport.
Lots of Roy Rogers memorabilia on the walls.

We give it a B+ for 'cue.....

And that closes out Day 5 & 6.

Day 7 coming up soon.


Sluggy

April Louisiana Road Trip.....Day Four

We spent the night at a Choice branded hotel in Tuscaloosa. How do I know it was in Tuscaloosa? Because these guys were hanging out by the front door.....

This places was pricey for us(over $100 a night).
This freestylin'/not having reservations thing works but only if you are willing to go in with set criteria and stick to it.

My criteria on this trip was.....

A--either a king sized bed or 2 queens
B--free breakfast
C--free wifi
D--less than $60 a night

Good criteria, right?
Except that once Hubs stopped at a hotel/motel, if it cost more than $60 a night, he took the room anyway.
So much for keeping our lodging costs low......lolz

The breakfast fortunately was very good here....not sure if it was worth an extra $40 but still.
#2 on our breakfast hit parade this trip.
Excellent yogurt, such that I took two(one for later).

We were out of there by 10ish.
I had googled and found that a Hancock Fabric Store was nearby, so we hit that before getting back on the interstate.

I got this great kitchy fabric on the clearance table......

It's a rayon so drapes wonderfully and it was .50¢ a yard!!

This will make a great fun shirt!


An hour or so after the fabric store stop, we were in a new state......

And we took a potty & leg stretching break......

Me doing my "Why I do declare, we ain't in 'Bama no more!" impression.

 

Not sure why the Mississippi Welcome Center had a carousel horse in it but it made a nice photo op.

 

Some lady offered to take our photo together....

 

We got back on the road quickly and were off heading west again.

We stopped in Meridian Mississippi at this place HERE , The Brickhouse Bar & Grill because we had seen a brochure/flyer in the Welcome Center.
It was a nice find.

They claim to have the largest selection of craft beers on tap in the state I think.
They had many LA, MS, AL and AR regional beers.
Hubs could have stayed here a week trying them all but had to make do with 2 choices.

 

They also have a list of "BEERTAILS".....cocktails they made using beer and various other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Though I was tempted to try the Crazy Bitch(shaddup!)and the 69...hehehe......I went for the Mudbug Mimosa....

It had hard cider, blood orange, Sprite and one of the local IPAs in it(I can't remember which).
I deemed it pretty good for someone who doesn't really like beer(except the porters and stouts).....but it was no Cosmo! lol

We had food too.  That was pretty good, not great, but what do you expect from a bar?
It was pricey though....

We'll have to make this a regular stop on our route to LA in the future.

And here is my gratuitous photo of the art in the ladies' room at the Brickhouse.....confirming that old saying that you don't buy beer, you merely rent it.....hehehe

Not long after getting back on the road we hit Vicksburg and the Mississippi River.....

Here's a shot from the interstate as we left the shoreline of Mississippi.  That's a riverboat casino past the railroad trestle bridge there.

And here is the next welcome sign.......albeit a bit blurry.....

It's funny that this part of the Mississippi crossing the land was so different, one side from the other.
The MS side was high with cliffs(during the War of Northern Aggression when the Yankees invaded Vicksburg, the local citizenry had to hide in caves along the cliffs to escape the shelling), but as soon as you crossed the river into Louisiana the ground level was quite a bit lower.  You had to drive a good 10 to 15 miles inland from the river to not be surrounded by boggy and swampy areas.

About an hour and a half into LA, we arrived in West Monroe.

Me with the boys inside the store.....

the world's largest duck call and Uncle Si.....

I picked up some shirts and tchotchkes.
I "heart" Uncle Si.....

Uncle Si Replica Tupperware Tea Glasses and miniature tea glass keychains....

It was BOGO that day so I got spares. lolz

Fans of the show will recognize "The Loading Dock".
Yes, it's a real loading dock.

Hubs and I got to the Duck Commander HQ right before the store closed....we were the last ones out of the building before they locked up for the day.

They had this big trailer out by the loading dock and people were milling around long after the store was closed and taking photos.

This woman came up to me and enthusiastically offered to take Hubs and my photo together if we'd return the favor and take her and her family's photo.
No problem.....

She asked me if I had been inside, when she saw my shopping bag, and about swooned when I said yes.

Okay......

Her whole family(a DH and 3 little kids, including a baby)were dressed in matching Duck Commander shirts.

Here they are over by the loading dock.
She seemed just a bit too excited to be there....lolz

Heck, I should have given her this self-guided tour brochure I picked up somewhere....

She could have gone all around Monroe and West Monroe and seen all the places seen on their show.

Hey Jack!  The sign....

Me and the sign....

and before things got any weirder we gone!

We had about another 1.5 hours of driving.

I must confess to Sonya Ann that THIS is about as close as I got to a casino.......

A Casino billboard.
I hang my head in shame.....

We got into Bossier City LA, to our motel, right before dark.
We settled in, called the Daughter to let her know we had arrived(she was working)and then we went HERE for dinner since it was practically across the street.


I was too tired to take a picture of our meal but I did get a photo of this ENORMOUS bottle of Tabasco Sauce on the table.....

I have never seen one this size but then again, I haven't been in Louisiana(if you don't count that time back in about 1968 when we took a family camping trip and were down near NOLA).

The daughter came over to our motel room after work and we talked for a few hours before hitting the hay.
Thursday morning was coming bright and early and we had things to do and places to go.

Sluggy

 

 

L'Homme qui Sait Deux Langues Vaut Deux

Last night we attended the Société Honoraire de Français induction ceremony for the last time.

Our daughter was a 4 year member in the French Honor Society while in middle/high school and #2 Son received his 4 year pin and certificate last evening too.

We've been to 7 of these ceremonies......one year they both were inducted so not 8 ceremonies.

If you feel like wasting a little time, here are a few film clips I shot during the ceremony.

First the introduction and the passing of the torch.....this part is over 6 minutes long.
(The actual torch passing happens around 4:30)




Then Madame Schwartz, the French teacher, spoke.  She got choked up this year and there were many tears shed by teens, teacher and parents.....this part is 7 minutes long.



The 4th year students(really 5th year French, since you have to have 6 semesters with a 94 average to get into this society)receive their pins and certificates......this one is under 1 minute.



And finally, this year, a 3rd year student , AJ, sang Le Marseillaise and #2 Son accompanied him on the flute.....

He's actually smiling....I suspect it's because the ceremony is almost over. lolz

 #2 Son with his French Teacher Madame Schwartz

Sluggy

Wednesday's Shop

In between waffling about whether to do to DC with Hubs next week I did my usual Wednesday grocery shop yesterday.

I don't usually use a lot of coupons(basically because what I buy there aren't any coupons available to use)unless I am talking about non-food items.

I got some sweet deals by combining store coupons the catalina machine at Weis spit out at me the last 2 times I went there and some manufacturer's coupons AND store sales.
Yes, the always Fabulous! Coupon Triple Play.

First up, a bottle of Herbal Essence Shampoo......excuse the elegant background for all these photos, as I took them in the garage....lol

On sale for $3 this week at Weis.
I have an IPQ(coupons dotcom) for .75¢/1 bottle-which doubled up to $1.
I also had a Weis store Catalina Q for $1.50 off any hair product.

Triple play makes this.....$3-$1-$1.50=.50¢ a bottle.  8-))

Second up, 2 bottles of hand soap refills.....

The TopCare(Weis brand) of this are BOGO this week.
I bought the huge bottles that are $5.59 each.
So $5.59 off=$5.59.
I also had a Weis store Catalina Q for $1.50 off any hand soap or bar soap purchase.
$5.59-$1.50=$4.09 for 2 x 64 oz. bottles comes out to less than .04¢ an ounce.
(I could have gotten the smaller bottles and paid less OOP but in the end the larger bottlers were the better deal, since they mean I don't have to buy this product again so soon, and who knows what the price will be by then.  ;-)

Thirdly, some paper products....

Dixie brand paper plates/etc. are $1.77 each(must buy 3)at Weis this week. 
3 x $1.77=$5.31
I have a $1/1 Dixie item Manufacturer's Q and a $1.50 off any paper plate/products Store Q.
$5.31-$1-$1.50=$2.81, making each package less than .94¢ each.

These will augment my normal dinner sized paper plates I get from the restaurant supply store.  I buy a case of plates once a year, when they go on sale in the early Summer and this lasts me all year(I still have 4 packs left from last Summer's purchase). Those dinner plates average out to  .69¢ per pack.
These bowls and small plates cost me more but sometimes you need a bowl or smaller plate.

And Fourthly, more paper products......

There was a Kimberly-Clark Instant Discount Deal this week at Weis--Spend $20 and get $5 off instantly at the register.

I bought 1 package of Scott TP $7.99, 1 package of Cottonelle TP $6.97 and 2 boxes of Playtex Tampons $2.99=$20.94.
I used 2 x $1/1 on each TP packs(MQs from last Sunday's paper)and I had a $2.00 off wyb $9 of TP store Catalina Q....

$20.94-$5 instantly-$2-$2=$11.94 for regular priced $25.16 worth of paper products.

I don't need/use the tampons anymore(TMI but thank goodness!lolz), I got them to take to my daughter.

Add in to the mix that the store overcharged me for the watermelon I bought so I'll be getting $4.99 off what I spent this week when I go back to the store.

All in, I spent $96.57 on $171.38 of groceries, for a savings rate of 43.65% on this shopping trip.

Sluggy
 

More Travel....Maybe

Hubs has some business travel to take next week and I may be going with him.

He attends meetings of a regulatory agency he is a member of every 6 months or so.  As this group is made up of members from financial services companies from throughout the country, the meeting place moves around every time they get together.
He's been to Dubuque IA, Mobile, AL, NYC, Wilmington, DE, Newport Beach, CA, TX, SD, CT....you name it.

This month the meeting is in Washington, DC.
Usually he flies to these conferences but this time he's renting a car and driving, since it will get him in hours and hours sooner than flying will.
I don't go with him because he usually flies and I don't fly for various reasons.

But since he's driving I am waffling about whether I want to go with him. 
He's booked at a boutique hotel near Capitol Hill and other than driving down and back and a conference reception and dinner, I will be left on my own.
And that is why I am waffling on whether to go.....I'll be all alone in DC in a hotel room for 2 days.
And I don't know whether I have enough umph to actually go outside by myself and do/see anything.

I may seem like I have a lot of bravado and self-confidence but really in an unfamiliar place(especially a large city)when I am alone, I feel like a scared little kid.  I have a fear of large crowds.

I won't have a car(not that I want to drive around DC because yeah, I did that when I was in my 20's)and I am totally unfamiliar with the subway system there(been on it once back in the 80's and the person I was with knew what they were doing!lol)and I am sure I can't walk far enough to go to anything.  Besides I am afraid of getting lost by myself.

And I am trying to find something I want to do besides.
I remember visiting DC as a child with my family so I've been to most of the monuments and of course the National Zoo and I still remember crying over a dollhouse at the Smithsonian.....I wanted my parents to buy it for me and when they didn't/couldn't(hey! I didn't know things there were NOT for sale.lol)I cried for hours.lolz
We didn't go to the Washington Monument and I don't remember the Jefferson Memorial though.

And when I was in college in Baltimore during my freshman year I had a car at school and I made regular trips to DC once a month on weekends to go to the National Gallery and the Freer Gallery and take in all the art.

Though we are staying next to Capitol Hill I have no interest in seeing or being around politicians and seeing the White House sounds a bore, no matter who the current tenant is.  I can't even request an inside tour though as it has to be made at least 21 days in advance and looking from the outside doesn't do it for me either. 8-)

I guess I could just walk around or go to a nearby park and people watch.
I don't know....just not feeling it I guess.
Going places and seeing things is much more interesting to me if I am WITH someone else.

If you were me what would you do?
Would you go?
And what would you do while there?

And is anyone nearby who would want to hang out with me??

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The  "Help! We are Buried in Bread Products!!!" Edition.......

 

 

 

#2 son has a job cleaning a local bakery, which means he is usually there at closing time.
And of course he comes homes with leftovers......many leftovers!
I will weigh 600 lbs. by the time he leaves for college in August.....EEK!


Here is what was planned last week--

Sunday--Take-out
Monday--leftover Taco(salad) and Fajitas
Tuesday--Chicken Fried Steak, Veggie, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy(I'll have leftover Pork Chop and Cabbage.)
Wednesday--Burgers on Pretzel Rolls(freezer-Hubs not home for dinner)
Thursday--Duck Breast(freezer), Risotto, Veggie(from freezer)
Friday--Sausage Sandwiches, Veggie(from freezer)
Saturday--Pasta w/Meatballs, Salad

And here is what got cooked last week---

Sunday--Hubs took me out for Chinese
Monday--leftover Taco(salad) and Fajitas
Tuesday--Chicken Fried Steak, Veggie, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy(I'll have leftover Pork Chop and Cabbage.)
Wednesday--Burgers on Pretzel Rolls(freezer-Hubs not home for dinner), Salad
Thursday--Chinese Take-out
Friday--Pasta w/Meatballs, Salad
Saturday--Fend for Yourself Night(I had a big Salad with Fruit and Nuts in it.)

Duck Breast and Sausage sandwiches didn't happen, moving to this week.  I cooked 2 boxes of pasta on Friday and saved half to make Mac and Cheese for Sunday's dinner for this week.

 

As for the food spending update.....I spent a total of $53.86 on $82.98 reg. retail on groceries last week at Weis(PMITA)Markets.  I have spent $162.94 on groceries in May so far.
 

 

Going into the new week, here are the leftovers we have.....1 chicken fried steak, gravy and veggies, pasta and meatballs.
I also have 2 bags of rolls from son's job to work into this menu, not to mention 1 bag of bagels, 2 loaves of round bread and a loaf of pumpernickel rye.....sigh.
I see many many sandwiches in our future....lolz

 

Here is this week's meal plan----

Sunday--Roast Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Carrots
Monday--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself
Tuesday--Duck Breast(freezer), Risotto, Veggie(from freezer)
Wednesday--something easy, French Honor Society Ceremony night, leftovers Mac & Cheese and a veggie?
Thursday--Sausage Sandwiches, Asparagus(bought last week)
Friday--Chicken Sandwiches or Burgers or Crabcake Sammies, Salad
Saturday--Something on bread? or Leftovers
 

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......Nothing as I have everything here.  I will pick up some watermelons this week as they are super cheap for the Memorial Day Weekend.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

 

Sluggy