Denise and Rick Cunningham

Like many boomers we're planning the "next chapter". We live a fairly chaotic life in Georgetown in Washington DC. I'm a former fashion executive and journalist. Rick's an engineer and computer scientist. We're about ready for a little change of pace. Travel... perhaps moving to warmer climes ...and definitely savoring more moments. We never set out to buy an RV...matter of fact, we had never even been in one and I definitely don't camp. But, now, with more time and a growing aversion to the insults of air travel, we bought a 40' motor coach. Our grandson, Ian, named it Gigantor. We call it Tor for short.

We're seeing things you just can't from the air and finding that we've so much to discover on this continent. In the past two years, we've taken three marvelous six-week trips. This time, we're "chasing the sun for as long as it fun". We left on October 5, 2009. We'll see how long we last!

We're searching for great places to stay, sights worth seeing, golf courses worth playing, great restaurants, shopping, farmer's markets. We're on the road in search of the high road.


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The New Orleans Cooking Experience & Mini Mardi Gras

October 24


The New Orleans Cooking Experience, neworleanscookingexperience.com, is today's adventure.  I booked a half-day luncheon cooking class as one of Rick's birthday presents.  Classes are held in a charming inn called The House on Bayou Road and today is being led by Chiqui Collier, a local caterer.  She is a barrel of charm and energy!

There are 11 people in the class coming from all over the country and the world. The menu is Oysters Brochette, Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, Red Snapper Imperial and Banana Foster Napoleans. The cooking is done in the inn's wonderful kitchen and eaten in the dining room.  Wine and beer flow from the moment we arrive!


Rick prepares the Oysters Brochette and does a marvelous job.  The dish is greeted by our fellow students with applause and rousing rendition of Happy Birthday!




It's a  very congenial group ...we find one couple from Australia, another from Syracuse, two couples from Chicago and Minneapolis who have been to class here several times before and a local who apparently comes quite often.

We leave four hours later just as a food coma is about to set in!  It was fabulous and we swear we will never eat again!

We certainly don't want dinner, but about 8 p.m. we decide we have to get out and at least walk around.  Well, we stumbled onto a great, fun surprise! Crowds are gathering on the curbs all over the Quarter...we ask a policeman what's up and find a Halloween Parade is approaching. 

It's a mini Mardi Gras kind of thing...I must've gotten 5 lbs of beads by the time it's over!


This was exactly the evening we needed and an extra added benefit was we ended up walking at least 2 miles and felt all the better for it.


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