1st of the Month

Have you ever heard my displeasure of  the first of the month?

There is always so freaking much to do.

We might have just added to our already TOO MUCH TO DO life.

The deal for moving the Kuykendahl store is starting to look like it might happen.  They gave us an awesome offer if we move.  There is so many good things about making this move.

But......there are so many things to do to make this move happen.

And we already have way too much to do.

So the time has come to get organized, get motivated, and get busy. 

I sure am going to miss the traveling for awhile :-(

*the new proposed location will be in this center

P.S.  Sometimes it's scary the way things just magically fall into place sometimes.  Makes you afraid that there's an earthquake waiting for you down the road!

We really are not ready to go home yet!

We began this last morning filling our little bellies full of the awesome breakfast the hotel offered.  We still weren't quite sure of which direction we were headed.  But we checked out and made the plans as we were leaving (you know how spontaneous we are)

Since we had an invitation to visit the PMQ Pizza Magazine headquarters in Oxford, Mississippi...and it would only take us a little way off our route.....we decided to stop in and take them up on their offer of a free tour.

They were approximately 1 hour south of Memphis so our GPS was programmed in that direction.  We were welcomed there and ended up spending about an hour meeting everyone and being photographed, videotaped, and engaged in a lively discussion about the pizza industry.

(note to self: make sure you don't wear glasses on top of your head during pictures.  Or even wear them clipped to your shirt like an old lady)

 

It was time to get back on the road again, but as we began our journey home.....Paul made the brilliant suggestion to stop in New Orleans before we headed home.  It really wasn't going to be very much out of our way......and since I wasn't ready to go back home yet either.....we said "GO FOR IT"!!  I do have to report that he really had to twist my arm for me to go along with that discussion.  I think he twisted for about .000001 seconds!

 

Our plan had been to stop again in Jackson, Mississippi and eat at another pizza shop.....but we weren't quite hungry yet and decided to save our appetite for some good old Cajun food.  Gumbo, Muffalettas, Po'Boys, and Red Beans and Rice were the topic of discussion as we travelled South down that Mississippi highway.

 

Paul made good use of his free time (since he had the luxury of being the passenger at this particular time) and was scouring the internet for a hotel in New Orleans.  This would be our 4th trip to New Orleans and each visit we had stayed in one of the towns outside the city.  This time we decided we were going to find an awesome authentic New Orleans hotel in the Quarter.  And what a great job he did finding the perfect place to stay!

 

We pulled into New Orleans about 7:30pm and headed straight for the hotel.  We didn't want to waste any time getting to enjoy all there is to love about Bourbon Street.  We pulled up in front of the hotel and were so incredibly excited to see this fabulous old hotel right in the heart of the French Quarter.

 

 

 Our room was in a tiny alcove facing the courtyard.  The handles were about 2 1/2 feet above the ground and we had shutters that we could close and latch shut when we were in for the night (they are the black shutters on each side of the door).  It was incredibly awesome!

 

 

 

 

You can see Paul in the window of the doorway to our room (slightly left of the fountain).....or was it a ghost?  We laughed as we were going out for the evening, as we kept seeing the ghost tours gathering near the hotel.  We are happy to report that we never spotted any......but then again we were so tired when we finally went to bed we didn't notice.

 

Because there is no real parking in New Orleans except for valuable street parking which is extremely difficult to get......we paid $26 extra to park in a tiny (so tiny that it only fit about 10 cars) little lot a half block down the street in a courtyard behind some buildings.  I have no idea why Paul took this picture, but now we have the proof of how small the lot was.  You can see our little travel mobile on the left.

 

 

It was definitely different.

 

After getting settled into the room......well more like throwing the suitcases in the room, freshening up a little, and making sure we had enough money.......we headed the 1 block walk to Bourbon Street!

 

The first thing we needed was FOOD!  We hadn't eaten since breakfast and had been saving our appetites for southern food.  Ha Ha....we found this place.....but didn't eat there and instead found a place to devour a Muffaletta and a Sausage Po'Boy.  Our bellies were nice and full once again and it was time to find the best place was for music that evening.

 

 

I must confess that New Orleans is truly one of my favorite places to visit.  I LOVE the French Quarter with the buildings, the small streets, and just the feel of the area.  There is nowhere else like it.  Bourbon Street can be a little raunchy in places but it is so much fun to walk up and down the street and hear amazing music coming from so many places.  It's so much fun to hear a great song, run in, dance a couple, and then move on down to the next place.  There is always so much going on. 

 

 

Not only that.....there is always extremely interesting people on the street and very creative ideas on how you con a tourist out of a buck or two.  This genius got Paul to perform a duet with him of Come Together right in the middle of Bourbon Street.  I was laughing so hard.....it was difficult to snap the pictures!

 

 

I was supposed to be shooting a video of this, but screwed up. 

Now we only have the still pictures of this hilarious memory!

 

We finally called it a night and headed back to the hotel.  We randomly walked down this one street towards the hotel and saw this amazing sight!  This gave me a peaceful feeling and I just had to have another picture of it.

 

 

It was a late night and we had to get up reasonably early to start the 6 hour drive back to Houston and back to our real life.  Before we left I snapped a few more pictures of the area surrounding our hotel as a lasting reminder of this great city!

 

 

 

 

 

I even got a snapshot of this great looking tourist outside the hotel!

 

The drive home was spent talking and recapping our 2013 Road Trip.  We both had to admit it was probably one of the best trips we had ever taken.  The weather was perfect, there was so much to do, and we really enjoyed just hanging out with each other and getting away from our real life.  As is always the case, we left another city with lots of things to come back and do in the future.

 

We stopped in Lafayette, Louisiana for one more bite of Louisiana cooking and Paul found us a Creole place that had lots of rave reviews.  We weren't too sure when we pulled up in front of the Creole Lunch House:

 

And the inside wasn't exactly a 4-star restaurant

But the service was fast

And the food was SO delicious.  Paul got the Red Beans and Rice and the Stuffed Bread (stuffed with sausage, rice, jalapenos, cheese) and I got the Cabbage, Pork Stew, and Baked Beans. 

 

With our tummies nice and full.....we hit I-10 West and finished the rest of our long journey towards home base.  We pulled into our driveway about 6pm and were thankful for all the love, fun, friendship, and safe passage we had experienced the last 5 1/2 days!

And now the rest of the story......

After our awesome lunch with Greg and Jean......it was time to cram in as much tourist things as we could since it was really our last day in Memphis.

We still had a few hours to fill before the highlight of the trip.......The Eagles concert!

Since we  hadn't seen the Mississippi River yet.....we decided to take the trolley and do some sightseeing.  The trolley made a loop through downtown along the river and the cost was a whopping $1 a piece.  So off to the trolley stop we went.

I love riding trolley's!

 

We enjoyed a nice and relaxing ride and even learned a little more history about the area. 

We took this great "selfie" of us along the way.

The views were fantastic and the weather was perfect.  In fact, the weather the entire trip couldn't have been any more perfect than it was.  It also helps to have such a great travelling companion!

To me, there is nothing more beautiful than oceans, rivers, and lakes.  I love the water!

We exited the trolley at Beale St. and walked a couple of blocks over to the Rock and Soul Museum.  This was a museum filled with everything music.  What an awesome time we had and we learned so much about the birth of one of our favorite things........music!

The Rock and Soul Museum was conveniently located right next door to Fed Ex Forum, which is where we would be attending the concert.  But we needed a quick trip to the hotel to change into our "night time" clothes.

Then it was finally time for the magical moment.  We had spent a lot of money on our seats and when we walked in and saw how close we were......we were so excited!  The Eagles did not disappoint and it was truly one of the best concerts of my life.  A big thank you to my wonderful husband for really going the extra mile to grant me one of my wishes.

The concert finished up around 11pm and once again we ended up on Beale St. for our final evening. 

After a little bit of souvenir shopping and walking up and down Beale for awhile.....we chose to go to the Jerry Lee Lewis club. 

This particular evening they had an Elvis impersonator and that was exactly what we needed for our last night in Memphis.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat, a cold drink, and even managed to get in a dance or two before it was time to call it a night. 

The next morning our plan was to head out of town.  But where we were going and what direction we were headed were still undecided!

Stay tuned...........................

Music, Old Friends, Music, Music, Music

Now is the time of the day that I love best.  The time when I stop doing something I am supposed to be doing and working on something that I shouldn't be.

There is still so much story left to tell from Memphis and I want to get it down before I forget the way it happened.

The day started with breakfast at the hotel.  They sure did have a nice breakfast buffet every morning.  It was nice to sit down there by the windows, read the paper, and chat while we ate our breakfast and Paul drank his coffee.  Nice way to start the day.

 

After breakfast, we headed for the trolley that would take us to Sun Studios, the recording studio that started the careers of Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis just to name a few.  While waiting for the trolley, we met a couple from Australia who just so happened to be going to the same place we were.  On the way there.....we offered to snap a picture of them......

.....and they did the same for us.  (*my favorite pic from our trip)

 

After navigating our way to the studio together with the Australians.....we finally made it to Sun Studios (about a couple of blocks away from where the trolley stop was).  In fact, if you look at the couple just in front of us (on this next picture).....that's them!

 

We did the studio tour and really enjoyed the guy leading us through the joint.....the history of the building was really fascinating  We took quite a few pictures to remember our visit.

 

There were photos on the wall showing some of those famous people recording there

 

This was the recording booth.  The building and studio is still the exact same way it

was when it first opened in the early 1950's

 

We even got to take a turn singing on a microphone used by Elvis

 

Some of us put a little more energy into their performance

 

After our amazing tour it was time to walk the few blocks back to Beale St. to meet up

with Greg and his wife for lunch.  We met at the Blues City Cafe.  Greg said it was

one of his favorite places to eat on Beale St.

 

 

It was delicious.....we feasted on fried catfish, BBQ ribs, cole slaw, baked beans, Texas Toast, and french fries.  It was a wonderful reunion and we all talked about old times, current times, and future times.  After sitting in the cafe for about 90 minutes, we wandered on down Beale St. and eventually found a nice quiet bar where we could sit and drink a cold one and continue with the good discussion.

 

Soon it was time for them to leave so we stopped and snapped a couple of pictures

to celebrate the event of meeting up again after 33 years!  Both Paul and I really

enjoyed meeting up with both Jean and Greg.

 

 

A quick walk back to the hotel and we lined up our game plan for the rest of the afternoon. 

 

I think we'll just continue with this on the next chapter of Paul and Debbie go to Memphis. 

Dark corners and scary places in Memphis

Well the last time we were working on this Memphis blog.....we had taken a small nap and were ready to see what fun we could have that evening.

Paul had been doing some research on the laptop and found several options for live music (other than Beale St.).  His first option was to drive to Mississippi and see a band there.  The drive to Mississippi was really only about 20 minutes.....because Memphis is right on the border.  This was not my first option since I really didn't want to have to drive anywhere.  The fun of staying downtown is to walk everywhere!

But after checking around some more.....he found an 80's-90's rock band that played cover music.  And it was only a block or two away from the hotel.  Yay! 

Our first destination was to walk up and down Beale St. a couple of times and check out what kind of music was on for a Sunday night.  The crowds were considerably less and there seemed to be more people around our age.  We walked awhile and stopped in at a couple of places while we enjoyed our first beer of the evening.  But then it was time to get moving to Huey's.

The band was great and the beer was cold, but Paul was getting restless and had another great idea on his mind.  He had found a female singer from Austin that was playing at another bar.  The only part of this equation that didn't work was that it was about a 15 minute drive from where we were and walking was not an option.  But he put on his thinking cap and said "let's take a cab!".

So off to the place where all the cabs were and found us a driver.  The only problem was -- he had no idea where this place was.  So between him and Paul using the GPS on their phones.....we were quickly dropped off in a quiet and dark neighborhood near downtown Memphis and we had absolutely no idea where we were.

 

The Buccaneer Lounge doesn't look so dark and shabby in the daytime.

 

Paul paid the cab driver and off we went to hear this Texas band.  As we were walking up I mentioned that I didn't hear any music playing (seriously there were only about 5 customers in the whole place).  We walk through the really dark bar and find a stage......with no band on it.  We were told that the band was on tour somewhere and there was a miscommunication.  (The only miscommunication we found was the fact that when we called they told us the music started at 9:30pm.  I guess they failed to mention that it was when they turned the juke box on).

 

So here we are with no idea where we are located, a dark Memphis neighborhood, and our cab driver just left.  Luckily, Paul had been smart enough to get the driver's phone number and we quickly called him and asked him to come back and pick us up.   Luckily he knew where to go this time and we only had to wait about 5 minutes.

 

He ended up taking us back to Huey's and we found our old familiar table and laughed about our wacky adventure.  After listening to a few tunes and eating some burgers and appetizers....it was time to head back to the hotel. 

 

 



Thanksgiving in Tucson sounds nice

After having a chat with my favorite sister the other day (haha....the only sister), we conspired together to try and get us to Tucson for Thanksgiving.

I even went as far as checking into the price of tickets.....they were expensive ($500).  But that didn't deter me, I was going to keep searching until I found cheap tickets.

But then a catastrophe last night brought our whole life back into reality check.

The ceiling in the living room started dripping and upon further investigation we found a pipe leaking in the ceiling upstairs.  It looked something like this:

And that got us thinking.  We are so so so so way behind in everything in our life.  We are completely overwhelmed and spend all our time doing stuff for PZ....that nothing gets done at our house (despite our best efforts).  Whenever we get a free moment -- we take off because we need that mental rest from the business.

We're sick and tired of living like this.  Here's a small sample of what we have to deal with:

 Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork just clutters my desk from everywhere!

 There's a bunch more of it on this side too!

 

 There always seems to be clean laundry on the kitchen table, along with whatever Pizza Zone junk that makes it home (until I get sick of looking at it and go cram it in another pile!

File boxes that need to go to the storage shed (and are still sitting in my dining room)

 Here's some more boxes on the other side of the dining room. 

I'm just trying to keep the room balanced!

 

And this happens to be our dresser.  I've discovered it's a lot easier and faster if you don't

put the clean clothes in the drawer.  Choosing the perfect ensemble works better when

everything you own is stacked up on top of the dresser.

 

 

You're probably looking at these pictures and thinking.....wow she does have a ton of things to do.  Well you're not seeing the whole picture.......these are only the pictures that I'm willing to reveal....the rest of the house shows evidence of tornadic activity as well.

 

So in the best interest of our sanity and our attempt to get back to a more normal living environment....we have made the decision to stay home for awhile and get our life together.  There are several contributing factors that helped us with that decision:  it's the busiest time of the year at Pizza Zone, we are in the middle of a million things which involve the relocation of the Kuykendahl store (and all the stress that goes with that), our house is in desperate need of decluttering and cleaning, and we need to get our butts in gear and get all the PZ work done that still needs to get done.

 

And so it is with great sadness that I report we won't be making it to Tucson this year.  Instead, I'll try to find the motivation to get all my tasks done.  In the meantime, now that the leaky pipe has been repaired.....it's time to finish cleaning up the mess that ceiling made!