2017 New Orleans

Thongs become Uptown Girls and Wild Irish Lassies!

This reunion counts as one of the BEST!! I loved everything about it –– NOLA has such an electric vibe that energizes and is like no other place.  And that St. Patrick’s Day parade was a hoot:-)  Where else can dancing in the streets, being given flowers, and being kissed by crazy guys be so intoxicating! All the food was great and I loved having the classic NOLA brunch at Commander’s.

I think as we move into the next decade of our lives, it was just so special to go back to our roots together.  We have each traveled our individual journeys from our time at LSU  (some near, some far) but we have shared history and have created moments when our journeys have brought us back together –– for fun, for laughter, for tears, for adventure, for stories –– for something good and joyful, for something that matters.  We are able to stop –– avoid the business and perhaps messiness –– of our lives to create time for long shared community. It is a wondrous thing that we can generate beauty from the rich soil of our past, and I love you all for it!!

Thank you all for being who you are –– for creating a colorful quilt in which to wrap our friendship.

A la prochaine…Salut!

Charlotte

Raw oysters and drinks at Pascale Manale’s, then back to our Uptown Manse, Beau Sejour for CRAWFISH!

The Patches of the Quilt 2017 by Betty and Others

 
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The “patches” of the quilt came together on March 16, 2017.  Twelve lovely 70 (or almost)-year-olds gathered in an amazing old Uptown home on Napoleon Avenue in New Orleans, a happy place known for good times.  Three floors of beds and baths had everyone scrambling for just the right niche.  Chatter, chatter, chatter, oohs, aahs, and uncontrollable laughter spilled out onto every level.  Once rooms were staked out with individual suitcases, Kathy arrived with 20 pounds of crawfish!

But before we could enjoy those yummy critters, our plan was to head down to Pascale Manale’s for happy hour and half price oysters.  We were joined by Erin, Susan, and Scott (family members) for a more the merrier group.  

Bloody Marys with “hand-dipped” pickled green beans and raw oysters eaten at the stand-up oyster bar were the best!  Crawfish awaited back at the house and were consumed with relish and no small amounts of alcohol.  Hilarity reigned!

Friday morning had many of us heading to Oak Alley Plantation.  It was a glorious day, bringing back memories of that LA swampy terrain, colorful azaleas, and magnificent oaks. After the plantation tour, we had lunch at Hymel’s on the River Road.  Some of us had been there in college, but our recollection of it compared to reality was quite different.  The gumbo and oyster po-boys were divine.  The silence at our table spoke volumes for the those wonderful Louisiana flavors. Another group walked to Audubon Park and were regaled with stories of Dixie’s falling-in-love-with-Carter days. This group was met by the remaining ladies for lunch in the Carrolton area.

Audubon Park

Oak Alley Plantation