A Little Taste of NOLA!

Last night, while I was sleeping, I dreamt of a vacation. I dreamt of sleeping until 9:00am in a plush, hotel bed. I envisioned myself sitting at a cafe all alone but surrounded by people while nibbling delicious pastries and  sipping coffee. In the dream, I was mingling with other adults who actually wanted to talk about things other than kids, and homework, and calendars. They called me by my name instead of yelling out "Mom!". I imagined spending time with my husband and without my kids. 

Wait.

It wasn't a dream. It actually happened and I have pictures to prove it!!

Every other year, my husband attends a business conference in which spouses are invited to tag along. Two years ago it was in Las Vegas and this year it was in New Orleans. My in-laws attend with our daughters so I could travel with David. We left on Saturday afternoon and came back on Wednesday. 

I knew I needed a break. I was tired, stressed, and, honestly, hanging on by a thread. I had been counting down the days until the trip and, as we drove to the airport, I felt the tension melting away. 

We arrived on Saturday night and hung out with some of David's colleagues for a while. After a good night's sleep, we got up Sunday morning and joined our group for an Airboat Swamp adventure! It was a beautiful day and lots of fun.

That afternoon, we walked around the French Quarter before heading back to get ready for the opening conference reception.

Monday and Tuesday I was on my own as David was in meetings during the day. On Monday, I slept in until 9:00am!!! It was heavenly!!!!! After a leisurely morning, I headed out int he afternoon. I walked along the riverfront and did some shopping. I also went to Cafe DuMonde for a second time. I sat at a table by myself, but surrounded by people, and enjoyed the beignets and a delightful cup of coffee before heading back to the hotel for the evening conference activities.

Tuesday, I took a three hour bus tour of the city. It was a very tourist-y thing to do, but I got a great overview of the whole city. The weather was rainy, too, so taking in the sites on a nice, dry bus was a perfect thing to do. The tour guide was very entertaining as well. When the tour was over, I stopped in at a little cafe in the French Quarter and enjoyed some jambalaya and bread pudding while watching the people go by. 

That night was a "fancy" dinner at the conference and packing up to head home. 

Wednesday was back to reality, but I was just beginning to miss my girls and was almost ready to come home anyway. 

We all need an opportunity to get away from time to time (more on that in a future blog post) and I think that maybe, just maybe, that little bit of respite and relaxation was enough to get me through the next three weeks as my girls finish out the school year. 

When is the last time you had a vacation? Where did you go?

If you go go anywhere on vacation tomorrow, what place would you choose?

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This post if part of the Finish the Sentence Friday Linkup hosted by Kristi of Finding Ninee. This week the sentence was, "While I was sleeping, I dreamt . . . . "