Southern Exposure

We made it, more specifically, Joel made it home from a major road trip to Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi (and all the states on the way down). Yep, you read that right. He DROVE  over 3800 miles in 10 days. Sound fun to you? Well, it didn’t to me, so Carson and I flew.

Joel has a goal of spending time in every state, and this year BYU was playing back to back weekends in Dallas and New Orleans, so he thought it was a perfect opportunity to see the South AND get to see his mighty Cougars play.  And it was!

We started our week in Dallas for the Oklahoma/BYU game. Carson and I did not actually go to the game because tickets were $150 each and we would have had to pay for the little man too. So, he and I waited patiently {ahem, shopped} while Joel witnessed one of the best BYU games EVER! I cannot describe Joel’s excitement after the game; nor could he, because he lost his voice! I am so glad, being the huge Cougar fan that he is, that he was able to go.

                              

We spent Sunday catching up on sleep, visiting the site where JFK was assassinated and listening to crazy conspiracy theorists, and exploring downtown Dallas. We ate some true tex-mex for dinner, something that Milwaukee is definitely lacking, and called it a night.

Monday we drove to Austin and visited Univ. of Texas, the massive state capitol (would you expect anything less from Texas??), and was able to see my cousin Jamie and her family. They treated us to a true Texas tradition: BBQ at Rudy’s and the Texas original, Blue Bell ice cream. It did not disappoint!

                                

Tuesday we left for San Antonio, but took a detour for some more BBQ, this time at Kruez’s. WOW. I am normally not a meat lover, but it was  a-m-a-z-ing! Ribs, sausage, brisket, OH MY! When we finally did make it to San Antonio, we saw the Alamo, strolled the Riverwalk, and had more tex-mex.

 

Wednesday was a car day. We drove to New Orleans. Nothing much to report, other than Carson pooping 5 times in about 7 hours. No joke. The kids plumbing must have been in over-drive!

Thursday was geared towards Joel visiting Mississippi and Alabama. First though, we stopped for beignets at Cafe Du Monde. I fell in love at first bite. That was my first of 15 that trip. Yes, 15. Anyway, we drove through Biloxi, which I thought was neat to see, because most of it was destroyed in Katrina and the rebuilding was in full force. We made our way to Mobile, Alabama, ate at Wendy’s, and turned around. We looked for some real food downtown, but we seriously did not see anything. We even had a GPS, and it only gave fast food options. Guess that goes to show there is not much in Mobile.       

                         

Friday we had beignets for breakfast and met friends for lunch at Emeril’s NOLA. It was fabulous. I don’t know how else to describe its goodness, so I won’t attempt. Just know you are missing out if you have not eaten there. The rain dampened, pun intended, our afternoon, but we toured the Garden district anyway. We finished our day with dinner at a hole-in –the-wall place with a New Orleans classic of Po Boys.

 

Saturday was the big game day. BYU trounced Tulane , which was expected. It was so fun to see BYU play, even though I spent most of my time out of the stadium, because Carson was not a fan of the noise. I cannot imagine how he would have reacted if it were an exciting game…

                                 

I bet you can’t guess what we did after the game. We ate some more! I enjoyed my 3rd PoBoy and had one last taste of the utterly delectable beignets.

                        

So, if you haven’t already noticed, the trip was mostly comprised  of food. I promise we did other things, but the food was just most noteworthy. I now know why the southern states have the highest obesity %’s in the country. We ate and ate and ate and ate some more. It was delish, and it’s a good thing I am still breastfeeding or else I think I may have come back a whale. Instead, I came back a blimp!