We left on Thursday morning, since we were driving; my cousin and her husband decided the day before we weren’t going to travel with the rest of the family. They had made plans and basically figured we would all go along with it, but I called bullshit on leaving at 8 am when our check in time was 4 and the drive was a little over 4 hours from my house to the rental home. I basically was like I am not eating at a damn Shoney’s for breakfast it is a waste of money. I dislike buffets and my folks have this uncanny ability to find a Shoney’s on all road trips. No and no. So my cousin and her husband decided on 9:30 am, but you know folks we left at 10:20 am, actually this was pretty good timing because my sister was 2 hours behind us and my cousin’s son was arriving on the Megabus at 2:30.
We had a wonderful, quiet and no stopping trip from Montgomery to New Orleans. Seriously, there was little traffic and it was so peaceful. I was good with my Dramamine and was able to keep my cousin’s company as his wife slept.
We arrived in New Orleans a little after 2 pm. No joke. That is how great the ride was. My other cousins were already in town and decided to do some sightseeing prior to check in.
As we were trying to locate the Megabus drop off point, my other cousin (keep up we are all family) who took the Megabus from Atlanta to New Orleans told us exactly where the drop off was and warned us. She told us that a bicyclist had been hit and killed near the drop off point and the traffic was crazy in the area because of all the police, fire medics and spectators. Seriously, I was a bit taken aback because I saw the body lying in the street covered in a white sheet, I saw them cover the area with sheets as they placed the body in a body bag and watched as they heaved dead weight onto a gurney for the coroner’s office. Not the visual of NOLA I wanted to see upon my arrival. What is sad is the number of folks just gawking and watching. Seemingly, the person was clipped while riding his bike by an 18-wheeler, and as he was trying to get up another car ran right over him. Yeah…Sighing.
We left the scene after we packed my cousins bags and headed to the house just to get a glimpse of where we were staying. Gorgeous, except for all the construction, but hell we were hungry too, so we went to a Popeye’s. You know the ones here in Montgomery don’t taste the same. Anyway, it was not far from the house and gave us enough time to eat and then head back just in time for check in.
Since I am known as the enforcer and the responsible one, I was given the task of getting the keys and getting everyone to their respectful rooms for the beginning of our family vacation. Let me tell you, my sister owes me big. The damn steps especially at the condo across the street almost took me out. Geezus! I was sweating after getting the condo open and giving the keys to my cousin and telling him I ain’t coming back because those damn steps are the devil, not realizing Satan wasn’t too far away in our unit. When I got out of the condo, I see my niece, my sister’s best friend and stepmom on the steps waiting on us. Lawd, more steps but I did it and got folks in, but baby I couldn’t carry my bags up the steps and the steps in our unit were winding. I just stood at the bottom step until my cousin Lucky and his son took my bags. I of course was more concerned about my wine bag being handled wrong. Don’t judge me. I felt wine was needed.
After I gave them their room assignments, folks were still confused and some were unhappy. Say what? First, first of all, I was like do not ruin my sister’s birthday because you are not happy with your accommodations. We can’t make everyone happy. One was unhappy with the bed situation in the condo, but guess what? It wasn’t an issue because the kids didn’t stay there but one night, which really wasn’t cool for those they inconvenienced. They were also fighting over the king room in the bottom unit, which was for my sister. Anyway, when it was all said and done, my sister got the least desirable room. Her room was a king, with no television; no On-suite bathroom and she didn’t know how to control the air conditioning. The cousins who got the queen rooms better thank their lucky stars. And I hope they enjoyed this family vacation because…this was my last one.
My sister gave us all a folder of our itinerary, things to do, restaurants information (courtesy of me) and we were also given a family scavenger hunt to do while we were in NOLA. Her booklet was really very nice and it gave everyone all the information they needed for the more coordinated events. Why didn’t they read them? Reading is so fundamental.
You read my review of our unit right? Cool. We chilled that night. We went to Wal-Mart. I have never been to a Wally World in NOLA and ate pizza that night because the next day we had community service and a date on Bourbon Street.
Rules for Family Vacations: You will not please everyone. We had over 26 people with us on this trip. Trying to get things done was like “corralling cats”, almost impossible. Some of my family members are selfish, be prepared for that and attitudes. A lot of children in one area means a mess. No access to Wi-Fi is aggravating for all family members. When folks irritate you walk away. No walk away. I did it many times. I love my family, but…yeah.
P. S. The Guy didn’t come so I had a room to myself. Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t happy he couldn’t come at the last minute, but I wasn’t mad either. What? I had a bed to myself. And Thursday night I had a wonderful Jacuzzi bath…don’t be jealous!
Cashanamusings...On Life... 