A New Orleans Wedding

Beautiful Bride, Lesley

A couple of weeks ago, we had a wonderful opportunity to attend the wedding of Lesley Simpson and Stephen Malancon in our favorite town, New Orleans.

Lesley is the daughter of our good and long time friends, Lois and Martin--we have known them for more than 40 years and Lesley since her birth. She is as dear to us as a niece.

We, of course, would not have missed her wedding, even if Charlie had not been included as the ring bearer.

Lesley and Dad, Martin

Lesley was a lovely (and serene) bride; Stephen a handsome (and composed) groom.  Martin and Lois were proud and happy parents, and we felt so honored and blessed to be part of the celebration and fun.

Martin made a dignified and proud father and Lois was beautiful as the mother of the bride. (Regretfully we don't have a picture as proof--but take our word for it.)

The church and service were beautiful. One of our favorite parts of the service, however, was when Charlie, as ring bearer, sauntered down the long aisle, looking right and left, until he spotted his mom, Bryn, way up front, and then made a fast dash to her pew.

After-Reception Salute

Stephen watched and smiled, and when Charlie got to Bryn's pew, he stepped down from the altar and gave him a high five. It was a sweet gesture and one we'll remember always.

After the ceremony, all of the guests "second lined"--a New Orleans tradition-- down the street behind the Treme Brass Band to the Reception venue.

Ring Bearer Charlie and Flower Girl with her Mom

The younger members of our group partied all night, but Oma and Opa along with Charlie left the reception early--we were tired and Charlie was having entirely too much fun "helping" the photographers whom he thought had light sabers--their lighting aids.  They were so nice & even let him hold the expensive equipment a little while.

Lesley, Stephen, Charlie and Oma at Desi Vega's

Charlie among the Live Oaks

Before the wedding, we were all invited to the Rehearsal Dinner, which was held at a fantastic and famous steak house, Desi Vega's.  Another Charlie memory--flirting with the pretty bar tender the entire evening.

A day or so after the festivities, Oma, Opa and Charlie visited Audubon Park, a lush and beautiful park across from Tulane and Loyola Universities.  The huge, old live oak trees with branches brushing the ground made a great place to climb.









Afterwards a walk on Tulane's campus allowed us to glean some Mardi Gras beads from low hanging  branches on one of the campus trees. Seeing all the hanging beads as we rode the Street Car was also a lot of fun. Now Charlie thinks that beads grow on the trees in New Orleans.

Helping "Monkey Bear" climb

Bryn, Erin & Kerri

Bryn, Grant, Erin, Johan and our good family friend, Kerri, enjoyed dressing up and going out on the town each night.  Johan and Erin have been dating for about six months.  Kerri is a friend from our Boone days, who now lives in Denver.

We all stayed in the same house, so, needless to say, when Charlie woke up at 6:00 am, some of us got up and out and let others sleep.

Erin & Bryn on our AirBnB porch

Some delicious NOLA food was enjoyed by all of our family group. Everyone agreed that Jacques-Imos is the best restaurant around--and since it was just three blocks away from our AirBnB house, we dined on their specialties several times.

The younger crowd also went to The Maple Leaf Tavern, right next door to Jacques-Imos, to hear some great New Orleans music.  With shows beginning at 10 or 11 pm it was a little late for the elder and younger elements.

Bryn, Grant, Johan & Erin

Charlie & his Dad, Grant, on the Streetcar

Early one morning we took the St Charles Street Car down to the French Quarter.

Oma, Opa, Charlie and Grant had fun walking through the Quarter and along the Mississippi (or MI-crooked letter, crooked letter, I-crooked letter, crooked letter, I-humpback,  humpback, I --- as Opa taught Charlie).

We rode the Ferry across the river to Algiers (the Ferry which takes 5 minutes used to be a great free attraction, but now, sadly, costs $2 each way).

On the Algiers Ferry with matching T-shirts

Afterwards the late risers joined us for a Birthday Lunch (for Sue) at Acme Oyster House where we feasted on raw and grilled oysters, po' boys and gumbo.

Listening to Music at the Live Oak Cafe

Many mornings we  had breakfast at the Live Oak restaurant, just around the corner from where we stayed.

 On Sunday we had live music.  Charlie and "Skittles" listened intently.

Oma (aka Princess Leia) and Charlie ( aka Luke Skywalker) at "home"

Luke defending Princess Leia from Darth Vader (aka Opa)

 Later that day, on another trip to Audubon Park, we became the actors in "Star Wars". While Princess Leia stayed "home" to cook (how sexist is that for a three-year-old ?), Luke defended her from being captured by Darth Vader.

Exploring the "Galaxy" in Audubon Park

Happy Trio: Opa, Charlie & Oma

Stephen, Charlie and Skittles

On one of our last days in NOLA, we met the newlyweds at Parkway Bakery, where some of the best Po-Boys in town are served.

Charlie and the Model A at the Parkway

At the Parkway Bakery & Po-Boy Restaurant

In fact, legend has it that the proprietors of the original bakery coined the term "Po-Boy" when they served the street car drivers who were on strike, and the female owner wanted to serve those poor boys.

Lesley & Charlie

We all ate one of the famous sandwiches and shared quality time with Lesley and Stephen--so nice to have them all to ourselves after sharing them with a couple hundred others during the wedding festivities.

Charlie, Lesley & Stephen

Erin & Johan on the Street Car

With a final ride on the Street Car, the day Erin and Johan had to fly back to DC, we ended a truly memorable few days celebrating the marriage of two of our most favorite young people.

Our family left and we were joined by Larry's High School buddies, which we wrote about earlier.

What a wonderful week in NOLA !!!

High School Buddies--49 Years Later

Larry, Jay & Ted at WWII Museum

We recently got together with two of Larry's high school buddies, Jay Field and Ted Moore, and their charming wives, Laura and Linda.

Over the years, we have visited with one or the other, but thanks to Jay's perseverance and determination, the three finally reunited all together in New Orleans.

(We were in NOLA to attend the wedding of Lesley Simpson, the daughter of our old and dear friends, Lois and Martin--we are working on a posting about that great party.)

Larry, Jay and Ted graduated in 1966, almost fifty years ago, from Norview High School in Norfolk, Virginia.  From a class of over 1100, not one of the three have managed to maintain contact with any of their other classmates.

The Norview Boys and wives.

Best friends during their junior and senior years, they went their separate ways upon graduation: Jay to Virginia Tech, Larry to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Ted to the US Army. All too quickly, the years seemed to pass with long stretches of being out of touch.

Since only Jay had family and ties to Norfolk, the other two never had reason to return or get together there.  Twenty-five years ago, Jay and Larry, along with Sue and Laura, attended the 25th Class Reunion which was held in Virginia Beach, VA, but Ted, unfortunately was absent.

New Orleans Street Car

With the help of the Internet, Jay finally found Ted a few years ago in Columbia, SC where at the time he was Provost of the University of South Carolina.

Jay tried to pull our disparate schedules together and plan a reunion several years ago, but it never seemed to work.  But 2015 was to prove the year we succeeded in getting the three back together.

Iconic NOLA water meter

Although we had only a couple of days in New Orleans, we managed to catch up, reminisce and share events from our lives during the past half century.

Our AirBNB Home

The boys enjoyed a day at the WW II museum, while Sue, Laura, and Linda had a day of exploring Magazine Street, an area of shops and restaurants.

Food, per usual in New Orleans, was a big part of the get together. The first night we all took the street car (not the trolley) to the French Quarter for dinner at the Acme Oyster House, one of Sue & Larry's favorite dives.  After more than a half hour wait in line we all enjoyed some typical New Orleans delights.  Acme Oyster House has been operating in the same location for over 100 years and should not be missed on a visit to NOLA.

Jacques-Imo's, a NOLA favorite

Our AirBnB accommodation was on Dublin just off Oak Street, a happening area in the Uptown Neighborhood. Besides sleeping all six of us comfortably, it had plenty of communal space, including a lovely patio, for visiting and imbibing.

The Live Oak Cafe, just around the corner from the AirBnb house, provided a great breakfast experience,  but the gustatory pinnacle proved to be Jacques-Imos: a not to be missed restaurant in the same neighborhood that features "Nawlins" style dishes. Wow!

The wait staff were incredibly good and knowledgeable--they didn't blink when we all wanted to share our entrees--and all came separated and on their own dishes.  At the end of our sumptuous and delicious meal, we ordered one dessert--bread pudding. What a nice surprise when three desserts (the bread pudding, creme brulee and a brownie/blondie plate) showed up, and we were charged for just one.

Our breakfast headquarters

After successful careers, all three of the high school buddies are now retired, and we are looking forward to more opportunities to get together.

Jay and Laura and Sue and Larry think that an Alaskan or Mediterranean Cruise would be just the ticket; Linda, Ted's wife, does too.  Now all we have to do is convince Ted.