FRIDAY - Adventures in Houston

Visiting with Uncle Jimmy and Stephanie

We drove up to see Uncle Jimmy that morning. He was happy to see us and visit. Marc and Uncle Jimmy got into a discussion on golfing; Marc has been going to the golfing range and hitting balls lately. Uncle Jimmy even showed us his golf ball collection. He showed us his and Aunt Bert's Wedding Album. I was amazed to see Mom and her sisters looking so young. I was also surprised at how normal Aunt Ta looked. I only recalled her from the 70s on, when she had health problems and was not looking so good. Uncle Jimmy talked about meeting Mom and her sisters at the legendary EVANGELINE CLUB® back in the early 1950s. Lots of sisters to remember! When I asked him about speaking French, he told us about the time he and Aunt Bert had their engagement solemnized. She could sure speak French when the occasion called for it! Uncle Jimmy does not speak much French anymore. He also told us a story about Aunt Bert's battle with a Par 4 golfing hole, and how the lady golfers put a plaque to for Aunt Bert at that hole. He also talked about flying and working for SUPERIOR OIL down in the Rockefeller Refuge back in the 1950s. And flying to Australia when he was a pilot. Marc talked about his paragliding adventures, which got Uncle Jimmy talking about a glider that he bought back in the 70s or 80s.

After a while Stephanie arrived. She and her brother Andy are living in their Mom (Susie) and Dad's (Phil) house for the moment. Stephanie recently graudated from college and is looking for a job. Andy is working and planning to finish his fireman traning this Fall. Stephanie talked about visiting Italy and her semester in Rome, which she loved. She has visited Italy 3 times so far. She also visited the Prague in the Czech Republic and loved it. When we told her that Julie and Rusty's son Kevin was in the Prague, she wished she could join him. Stephanie sure has the travel bug and wants to see the world.

Hanging out at SOUTHPAW'S® Guitar Shop

After saying goodbye to Uncle Jimmy and Stephanie, we drove back to visit SOUTHPAW'S® Guitar Shop. Marc wanted to play a couple of custom made Fender STRATOCASTER® guitars that were in stock. Specifically, a Stevie Ray Vaughn model and 2 Eric Clapton models. I preferred the Eric Clapton models, as did Marc. They played beautifully, like butter.

After hanging out and playing for a while, we went to the Houston GALLERIA® for dinner and a little shopping. The drive from the guitar shop to the GALLERIA® which normally (like last year) takes about 30 minutes, took an hour because of the traffic. Houston traffic has definitely gotten more congested since I lived there! After eating and shopping for a little while, we drove by my old apartment complex on Greenbriar Street only to see that it was torn down. A sad day indeed. We then headed back to our hotel and crashed for the night.

SATURDAY - Visiting with Aunt Lou, Felix and Gai

Saturday morning we checked out of our hotel and drove to Lafayette. We then went over to Aunt Lou's and visited for a while. She was happy to see us and sharp as a tack, as always. We caught up on Pitre family news. Then we took her to dinner at the BONEFISH GRILL®. We enjoyed the food, but they seemed a little confused about how to brew hot coffee, emphasis on the "hot".

After dinner we went over to Felix and Gai's and visited. They told us about their recent visit with their Grandbaby, which they enjoyed. They even taught their granddaughter some new words. Gai told us about her brother in the Air Force and his recent physical exam. Felix and I briefly discussed my Panasonic LUMIX® DMC-GH2 digital camera. I find that the camera is good but not great. I wish that Panasonic or Canon or Nikon would make a mirrorless or compact digital camera with a large (like 15mmx20mm) 3x4-sized sensor. Right now the Canon PowerShot® G1X is close to what I want, but lacks a wide angle focal length (<24mm focal length on a 35mm full frame sensor DSLR) and/or interchangeable lenses and is pricey (over $700). We talked about the economy, state and federal, for a while as well. After visiting for a couple of hours, we said our goodbyes, took Aunt Lou home, and crashed for the night. And that was our Saturday.