Louisiana

Today was to be a full day, with tomorrow being the start of the trip west towards Carlsbad. But with the winter weather that has swept through the south and along our route, we pivoted. Original route was Hammond to Waco to Carlsbad, so we planned a more southern route through San Antonio to avoid as much of the bad weather as possible.

We were also worrying about dealing with Baton Rouge rush hour traffic and the tall bridge over the Mississippi in sub-freezing weather; we snuck out this afternoon and drove a hundred fifty miles west in the dry, above-freezing weather. This move has an additional benefit in that we now have a couple of shorter drives to get to Carlsbad. And we might just need that extra time because some of the roads along the route, even this far south, might be hazardous and slower to travel.

But before Sally and I left Hammond, there was one last birthday present she needed help with: spending the gift certificate to a local restaurant she received as a present yesterday. We had a very nice brunch at Tope La. I finished my whole omelet, but both ladies boxed up about half of their meals for later consumption.

This was it, the Main Event! Adele’s birthday was actually yesterday, but the party was scheduled for a Saturday so more of the family could attend. There were a couple dozen attendees in person, from longtime friends to all three kids, with some of their kids and their kids’ kids, AKA great grandkids. There was also a FaceTime call with the missing grandkid in Alaska and a niece with the new grandniece in Wisconsin, and someone else in Hawaii.

It was at the house of Sally’s older sister and her husband, and they went all out on the 99 stuff. She got the shirt, and the banner behind her had “99 & Fabulous” on it. She is also sporting a sash with that same sentiment and a tiara with 99 in the middle. They also got a 99th birthday card and one of those trivia pamphlets all about 1927.

Food was potluck, with every guest bringing something to nosh on. Someone brought the large birthday cake, and because it is Mardi Gras season, the hosts bought 2 King Cakes from 2 different local bakeries. There was also champagne. The party wound down after about 4 hours, but not because of the birthday girl; she was still kickin’ and it was the generation below with tired eyes that wanted to head out…

Disclaimer: The events depicted below actually occurred on Day Two.

 
Birthday girl Adele used to work at a church-run thrift store (since gone out of business); she was the point woman for getting jewelry items that had been donated evaluated to ensure they wouldn’t be worth millions unknown to the donater.

Well, with the price of silver being so high, Adelle was going to cash in a bunch of silver spoons that had been in the family for years that were stuffed in a closet. So she asked Sally, “Why don’t you bring all those pieces of silver from the defunct wedding that are lying around and bring them down and sell them to my favorite pawnbroker too?” When I heard this, I said, “I’ll bring a bunch of stuff that I have too.”

Wednesday, we headed over to Bayoupawn & Jewelry to cash in. Adele went first and managed to get a few hundred dollars for her cache. Sally went next; after going over about 15 bowls, platters, and whatnot, he told her the bad news: it was practically all silver plated. She also had her high school class ring and the gold wedding rings from that same defunct betrothal and ended up with a couple hundred more than Mom got.

I had brought a pair of old cufflinks, an antique shaving set in its plastic box, a pocket watch from my grandfather, Donna’s class ring, her engagement ring, my wedding ring (Donna lost hers; story here) and a second set of matching wedding rings we purchased after that incident. The cuff links and shaving kit were brass, and the pocket watch would have been worth a few hundred if it ran, but to fix it, it would cost more than it’s worth. But because of more gold, I ended up the big winner; my total was larger than their two combined.

Really exciting day. Upon awakening, I went into Hammond to get my usual caramel latte. I went to a 7Brew drive-thru. I gave my order, and when I got to the place to pick it up, they handed me an iced version. Totally forgot where I was; these guys default to iced drinks. I took it and drove off. Not as good as the hot one, but it wasn’t half bad.

After breakfast Sally headed into NOLA to get her State Department ID squared away while I lazed around the VRBO. When she got back from the big city, we headed over to B & J Seafood in Hammond for fish poboys. Craw for her, Cat for me. Then for a quick visit with the birthday gal before settling in for the evening. Try and contain yourself.

While taking a walk in a park near the VRBO, Sally heard a faint motor sound. Turned out it was a powered paraglider in a field east of the park. There was a nice pink and orange glow to the clouds in the southwest sky, so I was hoping it would come our way so I could take a photo of the paraglider with that sky as a background. He seemed to be staying over where he was, so I forgot about it. Suddenly the motor sounded like it was getting closer. I quickly opened the camera app and followed its progress. It was coming our way. Sadly, he came closer on the wrong vector to get the really good sky…