vacation recap

So.. i've returned from the land of wonderfulness, AKA vacation, and i am slowly settling back into normalcy. I've been home less than 8 hours, so i guess that's not too bad. Kitties missed us and were very missed, at least by me. (andy missed shadow, if none of the others)

The train ride to NOLA was great- we decided to upgrade to a sleeper when we got there and they had a room (not the roomette- aka closet). Breakfast was awesome- went and took a nap. Lunch was good. Went and took a nap. And then it was time for us to be there! I looked for gators as we went through the swamps leading into NOLA and was very disappointed that i saw none! Nor any turtles! but the water fowl were abundant and pretty. Arrived- Steven fetched us- jenny made dinner. (she introduced me to Napoleons- another delish pastry type thing that i now crave randomly) we played clue and Yahtzee. (*I* had fun) chatted until like 3 am.. then went to sleep.

I created a pocket dimension in Jenny's trunk for all our luggage, went to the port, carried our stuff in, andy's pocket knife got confiscated even though it was under the length limit.. sat for A LONG time.. but it was better that we got there early since that meant we got to board earlier. Ate lunch- and then we wandered down wait to go into our stateroom. Very boring.

The cruise was awesome. The food was great. I was only sick twice and thankfully both episodes were short lived. Our favorite part was going up on deck and watching the water from the back. I was amazed at how the water could look so different - different colors, different textures, different feel to it. We watched the sun set once, i think, and i was disappointed. Our lovely rainbow sunsets are pretty much caused by pollution.. and out on the open water, there's not so much of that.. which is good.. just not for pictures. :) Looking out and not seeing anything but waves 360 degrees around you really puts into perspective how big the world really is.

Progreso was cool- we went to see ruins. Climbed up one of the step pyramids. wandered around another temple. It was hot- like 85. It was really neat though. we took a TON of pics. I will have to space out getting the film developed. Over the entire trip i took 8 rolls, some of that 120.

Cozumel really captured me though. the water was SO gorgeous. I wanted to just dig my toes down into the sand and stay forever. I saw damsels in the water (made me wish we'd gone snorkeling), saw little blennies and other critters in tide pools, saw an iguana that from tip of nose to tip of tail was as long as the lane he was sunning himself on the road was wide..... finished the day with a great meal and some fishbowl pina coladas.

Getting off the ship in NOLA wasn't too hard- customs was super quick and totally painless. the condo was great- perfect location on Dauphine between Orleans and St. Ann. Went to Boutique du Vampire and got a copy of Father Todd's new book and stood there like a dorky little fan girl to have him sign it. (aubs took a pic)

Halloween was freaking fantastic. The crowd was awesome. Totally had a pre-Katrina vibe going. (although i only saw a few women flashing for beads- honestly i was too busy watching the costumes and posing for pictures to really watch for flashers)

November 1st- Andy and i got custom fangs made. it was quite comical. I might share the story, might not. Full moon was out- so of course, so were we! Decent crowd for a Sunday night.

November 2nd - ventured out to the Garden District. Stumbled upon Lafayette Cemetery. Wonderful photo op. Took pics. LOTS of pics.. :) shopped- mostly window shopping. Watched the first half of the Saints game at Oceana with Jenn, Steven and Kaylin. Had AMAZING crab cakes.. they were THE nom. Debated on going out... watched Paranormal State (which totally put me in a ghost hunting mood) Finally went out and the streets were packed with jubilant Saints fans and still loyal Falcons fans. (thankfully no fights that we saw) crashed out

November 3rd- the end of vacation... so sad. So tragic.. didn't want it to happen.. but i did get a new absinthe. Sidney's on Decatur has the largest selection of absinthes i have seen. there were at least 10 different ones. Went to go get the car to go home - and it had been towed for street cleaning.. oops. Had to get a cab to take aubs and me to get her car at the impound lot UNDER I-10.. there was a silver lining- found the cemetery i see on Google Maps that's split into three parts (by the projects). On the way out of town, passed Cypress Grove and another cemetery that was HUGE that i simply must take pictures of. (LOTS of statuary) Made good time getting back because Aubs wanted to go to Trivia. Started putting the house back together - it's amazing what 4 cats can do in 10 days home alone (although grandma did check on the kitties, they wanted to be sure that we were aware of their displeasure at us being gone so long)

now- almost 2 am... and i can't sleep. Insomnia seems to be tied to memphis as i didn't have a bit
of trouble sleeping while out of town (i don't count waking up at 6am because the upstairs neighbor walks hard in heels on a wood floor as being a sleeping problem of mine)

I just want to lock myself in the studio for a week or two. I have all sorts of ideas for all sorts of media. Silver, enamel, even clay and paint. And the pictures.. OMG.. i could print pictures for a month and not scratch the surface, i think. Most of my Mexico are color- i did a few 120 in B&W.. but most of my NOLA are B&W.. and i feel pretty confident that 80+ percent of them are print worthy. I'll have to see the negatives to be sure, but i'm feeling good about them.

So... yeah.. that's the recap. Vacation was great. Have some great stories to tell, some great pictures and some seriously sore feet. :)