ST. TAMMANY TRACE

Time for a bike ride on the St. Tammany Trace.  Here we go...

First, we had to head across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway towards Mandeville...

Husband and bikes in tow!

Also had to make a quick stop at the Bike Path before starting our ride.  The Raleigh needed a hub adjustment (?).  The staff were friendly and fast.  Thank you Bike Path!

"Used by the U.S. Postal Service for over 30 years."

We arrived at the Mandeville Trailhead and started to unpack the bikes.

Look at J...  so nice having my very own bike mechanic!

Halfway through the ride we stopped at the Lacombe Trailhead to admire the view and take some pics.

Beautiful Louisiana!

After biking 19 miles (yes, yours truly biked 19 miles!) we went to Barley Oak on the Mandeville lakefront and enjoyed some drinks, pretzels, and Cajun sausage.

We also stopped at Saia's Meat Market and bought some steaks to grill for dinner.  Then walked next door and bought some sweet treats from Krummel's Bake Shop.  It was finally time to head home.

The aforementioned sweet treats...

Thanks for such a fantastic Friday babe!  Loved spending the entire day with you on the Northshore!  Let's do it again soon :)  Maybe I'll be up for 25 miles next time?

WAIT WAIT DON'T TELL ME

J in front of the Baton Rouge River Center

J and I had the most fun night!  We had tickets to the Baton Rouge taping of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.  Thank you Mom and Dad for the great present!  I love the show!  Love Peter Sagal!  Love Carl Kasell!  James Carville was the guest and Tom Bodett, Kyrie O'Connor, and Brian Babylon were the panelists.  I was hoping for Mo Rocca and J was hoping for Paula Poundstone but we don't always get what we want now do we.  The taping started at 7:30pm and finished shortly before 10:00pm.  2 1/2 hours of laughter!  Peter was nice enough to stay afterwards and answer any questions the audience may have.  Someone in the audience brilliantly asked, "what's your favorite color?"  Red was the answer in case you're curious.  When asked about where he dined in BR, Peter commented that Poor Boy Lloyd's deer sausage po'boy was a must.  J and I have never been to Lloyd's before so we'll have to try it next time we're up there.  Really and truly an awesome night!

We had dinner and drinks beforehand at Lucy's... The Lucy's in New Orleans is where J and I had our rehearsal dinner.  Neither of us had been to the Baton Rouge location before.

Louisiana's Old State Capitol

Downtown BR...

Downtown BR...

Downtown BR...

Look who we ran into outside the theater?!  Some LSU cheerleaders!  They were there to cheer Peter Sagal on before the taping.  Nice as could be.  They, along with the rest of the squad, looked SO young.  Like, not even old enough to be in college.  Did I really graduate that long ago?!

Mike the Tiger booty anyone?

"Geaux Peter Geaux!  Geaux Peter Geaux!"

I apologize for the horrible quality of this photo.  That's a blurry me and J if you can't tell.  I've asked Santa for a Canon EOS Rebel T3i for Christmas.  Let's hope he comes through....

NEW ORLEANS SCHOOL OF ART & CRAFT

I signed up for a few art classes today at The New Orleans School of Art & Craft. The school offers classes in mosaics, metalsmithing, jewelry making, sculpture, stained glass, mixed media, printmaking, puppet making, papermaking, bookbinding, calligraphy, drawing, watercolors, acrylics, and oil painting.  Whew!  That's a lot of stuff!  My two classes in October will be handwriting focused.  Anybody want to join me?  I'm taking the Introduction to Calligraphy: Copperplate class and the Playful Lettering/Neuland Hand class.  I'm really excited!  Both classes are taught by Eugenia Uhl.  The website says she is a calligrapher and photographer from New Orleans who has practiced the art of calligraphy for 12 years. She also served as President of the New Orleans Lettering Arts Association from 2008-2010.  I didn't even know there was such an organization.  I'd love to take a printmaking class as well but nothing is currently offered.  Perhaps down the line...  Anyway, here are some images from the school website about what I can expect to learn in the classes...