Jazz Fest!

Following the wedding festivities, Kendal and I headed down to New Orleans (sans three kids - thank you GanGan and Big Daddy!) for Jazz Fest. Neither of us has made the trip down for the fest since college so we were excited to get back to town. We met some of our best friends for lunch at a south Louisiana favorite, Middendorf's, then headed for a tour of the Abita Brewery. Unfortunately, we missed the tour due to traffic detours (I was not a happy camper - sorry about that, Kendal!) but still got to walk around a bit and Mary E "won" an Abita game (see above). Then, on to New Orleans!

First, we hung out in the Pat O's Courtyard. We then had dinner at Irene's, a fantastic restaurant in the French Quarter. We then got to visit with Kacie Ali, one of my favorite friends from LSU, and her husband Zee. They live in the Quarter and we got a great visit in with them and enjoyed the sights off their balcony - heaven! We later walked around the Quarter a bit and introduced Conner and Mary Elizabeth to Lucky Dogs - alas, they were not impressed!

Saturday, we had brunch at Brennan's, then chilled for a while in the Quarter before heading uptown to walk around Tulane and around the Carrollton area. We walked over to Magazine for dinner at Franky and Johnny's - boudin balls, oyster po-boys, a secret sauce that was out of this world - loved every bite. We capped the night off with the Old Crow Medicine Show at the House of Blues. Halfway through the show they welcomed one of my favorite actors to the stage as a surprise guest - Ed Helms from The Office. I screamed like it was the Jonas Brothers and am still excited! This was followed by a trip to The Rusty Nail (owned by one of Kendal's good friends) and burgers and waffles at the Clover Grill.

Saturday, we got to enjoy a little Galactic and Pearl Jam during Jazz Fest. As luck would have it, a group of my best guy friends from high school were in town and we were able to take advantage of their spot and enjoy the music. Ben, Kelly and Carl are all living in North Carolina now with their wives and kids so we don's see each other often, but what a perfect surprise! In all a great weekend with friends we could not be more grateful for!

From Collages