Road Trippin...

Sometimes I like to go off the grid (meaning my grid)...it relaxes me to get in the car with friends or family and head off to see the wonderful landscape of this fine country....I like to discover new haunts and hideaways whenever I can get the time...

Most of the time within our hectic lives we have to fly everywhere due to schedules and such...but my favorite kind of vacation is when we have the luxury of driving somewhere...listening to books on tape, playing car games and stopping wherever and whenever we want along the way...

It helps that I could also could be a long haul trucker...I can log 15 hours straight driving without getting tired. Luckily I have a husband and children who are game...

and who knows what you might see...(on the streets of New Orleans one afternoon...CREEPY!!)

We  also found our way to Memphis and to A.Schwab (Est. 1876)...a classic soda fountain made my day...love those!!

The famous Beale Street was alive and kickin'...not exactly my scene but worth a look for a minute.

Of course, Elvis memorabilia was everywhere...

My husband is a barbecue "foodie"...and had to make a stop at  Charles Vergo's famous "Rendezvous"...and since I am almost a "veggie" he did that on his own with one of the kids.

Then we wandered through a bit of Arkansas and a lot of Mississippi before landing in Louisiana...

We stayed in New Orleans and explored the French Quarter, Magazine St.,Tulane University and the surrounding "parishes"..aka "counties. I have been to New Orleans many times but not since Katrina hit...nice to see so much improvement!

The sites and sounds and sometimes smells of NOLA are always interesting...here is what caught my eye and camera lens this trip....

Can you see my obsession with these French urns? Faboo!!

My favorite thing about New Orleans' French Quarter is the courtyards...such gems behind every building...

My family knows I am obsessed with gas lanterns...I "ooh and ahh" every time I run across them...this shop had artisans making copper gas lanterns in the courtyard and I had to stop!

 

Talk about the "Big Easy" ...in a local art gallery...

This was one of my favorite images from the trip...the patina...and all the texture in this vignette makes me swoon...yes...I'm weird! I get excited by things like this...

more texture...

On one street we happened upon a photo shoot...lovely, no?

On the way home I stopped at a few wonderful antique shops in small towns in Mississippi and Louisiana...I could have stopped at a dozen but I knew the limits of my husband and children...

I found some wonderful treasures though...

 

 

I hope you enjoyed our little adventure...and you head out this weekend...for a little adventure somewhere yourself!

                               XO Emily