More pics of Bourbon Street

Easter in "The Big Easy"

We arrived at our hotel in New Orleans after only a slight snafu with the GPS. (Someone had programmed the wrong address in. Oh wait! That was me...) I had read about the Prince Conti Hotel (pictured right) online, and I was more than a little suspicious that a hotel with such rave reviews as this one could be so affordable. But it was all true! The Prince Conti was everything you would imagine an upscale hotel located in the heart of the New Orleans French Quarter to be. The rooms were beautifully appointed, the staff friendly, and the entire hotel smelled of fresh-cut flowers. Plus, they had valet parking in an internal parking lot with a 24-hour guard, so there was little worry about break-in.

What can I say about New Orleans? It's fun and filthy! The architecture is neat, and the sewer really stinks! Easter Sunday is a great day to be there. There are parades and costumes, but the streets are nowhere near as crowded as Mardi Gras. New Orleans happens to be the only city I know with a Gay Easter Parade! Just imagine, if you will, these queens in their taffida gowns, enormous plumed hats, and dainty parasoles. What a riot. Somehow I didn't have my camera with me, so I'm sorry I don't have any pics of that.

We spent the afternoon and evening strolling the French Quarter. It truly is beautiful, and we were once again blessed with agreeable weather. Michael and I were both only expecting the French Quarter to be one, maybe two streets long, but it goes on and on for blocks. It's also a very adult-oriented place. Michael and I were a little shocked to turn the corner and come face-to-face with Larry Flynn's Barely Legal Mens Club. But the blues music was blasting and the evening warm, so we ordered drinks from a sidewalk stand and wandered.

OWWWCH!

Sunday morning we woke up exhausted and in pain. I guess driving 15 hours the day before will do that to you. I was tempted to waste the day away in that Super 8 just south of Shreveport, Louisiana, but it was Easter Sunday and I could hear the music of New Orleans calling! So, I forced coffee down Michael's throat and we were up and moving once again.

The 15 hour drive on Saturday paid off as it only took us 3 hours to drive to New Orleans.

Get your kicks on Route 66!!!

After leaving Sedona, we set out on I-40 across Arizona and into New Mexico. If you don't know, I-40 is Route 66! Well it is most of the time. Occasionally the "Historic Route 66" breaks off from I-40, where it becomes a narrow, 2-way road winding through the desertscape. I couldn't help singing that famous song as we passed through "Gallup, New Mexico!"

Unfortunately, I developed a splitting headache this day and was unable to take my shift driving. So, we stopped off early in a scary little town on the eastern outskirts of Albuquerque called Moriarty.

Saturday we got up early to see a menacing wall of black thunder storms racing our way. So, with that threat of imminent doom looming at us, we got our butts in gear and on the road. We were able to outrun the storm most of the way through New Mexico and Texas, but it caught us in Amarillo when we were forced to refuel. Man, can it rain in Texas! We outran the storm again, and it was gorgeous sunny weather all the way until we hit Dallas, where a massive traffic jam brought us to a complete stop on the freeway. Luckily, Dallas is full of beautiful and unusual skyscrapers to look at. We made it through Dallas just as the giant raindrops started coming down and with the lightning flashing in the rearview mirror headed for Louisiana.

Sedona, Oh My!

On Friday morning with the breathtaking vistas of the Grand Canyon still fresh in our minds, we drove south to Sedona. We left the ponderosa pine forest of Flagstaff and descended 2000 feet down a winding, switch-back road into the Oak Creek Canyon.

For the past three million years, Oak Creek has carved a 12-mile-long, 2,000-foot-deep slice along the fault line. At the bottom lies Sedona. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. The town is built of dazzling red sandstone found in the surrounding rocks. There is an original sculpture every ten feet and even the buildings are sculptures in and of themselves. We stayed for 2 hours, drinking fantastic coffee and eating homemade pie for breakfast at the Black Cow Cafe.

Yabba Dabba-Doo

We had to stop and see Fred! This campsite is just outside of the Grand Canyon Park.

Check one item off the BUCKET LIST

Michael has a bucket list. And one of those items of things he wants to do before he "kicks the bucket" is see the Grand Canyon. Well, today we did it.

The drive on I-40 from southern California to Flagstaff, Arizona, is to me very beautiful. Yes, it is high and dry desert (boring), but the colors of the stone and grasses and the windswept canyons are very striking to me. I especially enjoy the names of the flash flood washes along the way. There is the "Rattlesnake Wash", the "Old Man Wash", and (my favorite) the "HOLY MOSES(!) Wash".

We made it to the Grand Canyon about 2 hours before the sun set. It wasn't terribly crowded, which was great. We were able to drive along the South Rim and stop off at the numerous viewpoints and find parking. Plus, it wasn't so crowded that you thought you were going to get knocked off the ledge by some other tourist desperate to get their picture taken! The Grand Canyon is truly awe inspiring. I felt thrilled to be able to share it with Michael who was seeing it for the first time. We stayed until the sun set and the cold set in. We took lots of pictures but I'll just post a few on here. Oh! We met 2 ladies who were on a cross country road trip of their own. One lady was from Ohio and had driven down from Ohio to pick up her girlfriend in Tennessee and then out to the Grand Canyon. We chatted for a little while and then they took our picture.

Hello to everybody! This is Michael. So we are now in New Orleans. After hours and hours, and hours, and hours, and hours of driving. We had an AWESOME time in LA and we both agree not enough time there. It was so cool to spend some time with Kathi and Geoffrey, they made us feel totally welcome and I hadn't seen them in years. We are hoping to make more time for them on our return trip, if they will have us. :) Ernest got great joy in taking me on all the crazy roller coasters at Six Flags, and on top of me being scared shitless, it was raining, for me it seemed to make them even more terrifying. Could lighting strike the track and throw us off .........or something. LOL Anyways, so,so,so much fun and definitely nice to see family I haven't seen in awhile. Love to you all and we will keep you posted.

Is that an EMMY AWARD?!?!?

Kathy and Geoffrey are a riot. We had the best time hanging out with them and swapping stories. They both have so many tales about living and working in Hollywood. And they're so down to earth. I love that! It turns out that Geoff has been editing for film and TV for years. He's a member of the Academy and gets to vote for the Oscars! He worked on "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind", "Rocky", and (my favorite) "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. But perhaps the coolest thing to Michael and I, is that he has an EMMY! He received it for Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie
for: The Path to 9/11 (2006) (TV) You can check out Geoff on IMDB: Geoffrey Rowland

Taking these pictures was fun....I think we got a little carried away....

Our Big Hollywood Screen Test

Wednesday morning we took the subway to Hollywood. We strolled up and down the walk of fame looking at the stars and stopping in front of the Kodak Theater and Grauman's Chinese Theater. There were so many people though that we had difficulty seeing many of the hand prints and footprints. We were almost in a commercial! We were asked to participate in a taste test for Hardees (Carl's Junior) that was going to be a national campaign. We didn't get it, but we did get paid $1. So now we can say that we were working Hollywood actors! At least for one day.

Before we headed back to the subway, Ernest got his name immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (see video).

Tumbleweeds and Dust Storms

We said goodbye to Charlotte, Cole, & Reece on Tuesday morning. I must admit, I felt some trepidation about spending 3 days with the boys...but we had a lot of fun playing Iron Man and Spider-Man. I especially enjoyed getting to know Charlotte. She has such a fun sense of humor.

So...Michael and I climbed back in the van and headed south to LA...straight into some crazy weather! We hit several huge dust storms where the visibility was sometimes down to 10ft. Then, in between the dust storms, we were dodging enormous tumbleweeds. You remember the "Frogger" video game right? Where the frog tries to make it across the road without getting squashed? Well, imagine that game, except with tumbleweeds 3 ft in diameter. Michael was screaming for the weeds to get out of the way...and I could not stop laughing.

We did make it to LA safe and sound...but not before stopping at Six Flags Magic Mountain. This was not in fact on our plan of events but we could see it from the freeway and couldn't resist the urge! We rode a few coasters, and then I got in line for the one that I have been wanting to ride for over 10 years -- The Superman! But in a cruel twist of fate, it rained and the ride was shut down. Blast!

At last we found Kathi and Geoffrey's place (Kathi is Michael's cousin). She and Geoffrey have a gorgeous house just north of Hollywood. Kathy seemed quite happy to see Michael, and we stayed up late chatting.

An Evening with Tara & Lance

Tara & Lance & Tayen & Legend happened to be in the San Francisco area for a huge conglomeration of garage sales. We met up with them for an awesome dinner at Chevys Mexican Restaurant (If there is one in your neighborhood...go. Go now!), and then we spent the evening at their hotel.

For the ladies at the Gingerbread Factory!!

Daytripping in San Francisco

Charlotte is a native-born San Franciscan ... lucky for us! She drove us into the city today and took us on a very fun tour, showing us the best spots to see the Golden Gate Bridge and the city. We saw Robin Williams' house and also met her mother and saw her beautiful home. After that, Charlotte dropped us off at Ghirardelli Square (mmmmm, breathe deeeeeeep) and we puttered around the Fisherman's Wharf for several hours. It was a gorgeous sunny day and here are pics:

Look out! Here come's the SPIDER MAN!

Awesome gift from Tara & Lance:

More pics from the birthday party

Happy Birthday Dear Reeceeee! Happy Birthday to youuuuuuu!

Reece's 3rd Birthday Party:

We stopped at 7 Feathers Casino

7 Feathers Casino in Cannonville, Or:

Watchin' TV with Charlotte, Cole & Reece

We made it to sunny California!!! It's Saturday afternoon and Michael, Charlotte, Cole, Reece, and I are watching TV....which of course involves lots of wrestling.

Thursday we spent the day out in the boonies of Issaquah with Michael's friends Tammy & Kevin Patton. Tammy has been a good friend of Michael's since the mid '80's, when all three of them graduated high school together in Alaska. Tammy was full of crazy stories involving Michael...as you can imagine!

Friday morning we said goodbye to Seattle and headed south into the pouring rain. The weather was terrible all the way through Oregon and we saw several accidents. We made it to Redding, CA safe and sound and spent the night there. Now we're at Scott & Charlotte's for the weekend. Luckily, we get to attend a birthday party while we're here. Reece turns 3 tomorrow.

Cheers,
E

Everett (Part 1)

Here we are in Everett!

Everett (Part 2)