Tuesday morning we checked out of our hotel and drove over to Aunt Lou's to say goodbye. We enjoyed visiting for about 2 hours with her and Eric and Lynne. We talked about Nova Scotia and the Acadians, and how the English/Canadians treated the Acadians. Also, how the Acadians set up dams and drainage systems which the English colonists did not maintain, at least initially. We also discussed the Mark Knight and Mike Garber scandals, along with our old friend Edwin Edwards and his involvement in the Lake Charles Casino (he got a percentage of every contract to build the casino). Eric told us about the Indian Casino in Marksville, where everybody is now trying to join the tribe because the Tribal Council chose to distribute the profits to every member of the Tribe. Eric also talked about organizing another cousin reunion next year (June 18-20) for Father's Day Weekend. Only 11 years after the last cousins reunion: sounds great! After a fun visit, we finally said our goodbyes and drove to Houston in almost non-stop rain.
We arrived at our hotel on time and checked in and got on the road to PAPPADEAUX'S ASAP. However, this time the traffic was so bad we took 90 minutes to get to PAPPADEAUX'S from our hotel :-( Susie and Phil managed to get there 1st, that's how late we were. Fortunately, the food was fantastic again. However, I made the mistake of ordering fried crawfish tails with my crawfish étouffée and eating buttered bread with it. It tasted magnificent, but seriously upset my stomach that night :-( Ah, well; now I know.
Phil told us some fun stories about his Dad. Phil's Dad was on Patton's staff during World War II. According to Phil's Dad, Patton really did believe in reincarnation. Patton specifically felt that he was a Roman General in a previous life.
Susie and Phil also told us more about when Phil was in Iraq. Phil met an Iraqi General working as a translator for the U.S. Military during his time in Iraq. Susie took the kids to San Francisco while Phil was in Iraq, and they all loved it (they should have called Jackie and Carol).
Then we shifted back to current events. For a while Phil was working in the Woodlands for ColdPlay and got Gwyneth Paltrow to call Susie and wish her a Happy Birthday. Stephanie is now talking about moving to the West Coast (probably LA) because her friend in New York City moved out there.
After about 2 hours, Susie and Phil needed to get up and walk around. So we said our goodbyes and drove back to our hotel. And that was our last day of visiting with our Pitre Family.
The morning started out great. We had an easy drive to the car rental return. An easy drive from the car rental return to the airport. An easy walk through security. An easy boarding process. Then the fun began.
We were delayed because the plane's radio had an issue. Then the weather got too windy to take off. So we sat waiting for almost 2 hours before we finally took off. I felt so frustrated that I drank 2 scotches waiting for take off. When we finally landed in Phoenix I felt extremely hungry. Marc and I made a quick stop at TEMPE CAMERA REPAIR Photo Imaging Center so I could drop off my film for developing. Normally an instantaneous process, it took nearly 15 minutes as I waited behind 3 of the slowest customers ever. Then Marc zoomed to PAPPADEAUX'S for a really late lunch, almost dinner really. We again got stuck in traffic on the 202 Loop and I-10 West. When we finally got to the restaurant I was ready to eat. I wolfed down my veggies, blackened Alligator Tails, and Crawfish Étouffée (I ate a lot of this food on my trip!), and my stomach finally felt satisfied. On the drive home I dozed off a couple of times. Fortunately, the remaining drive home was peaceful and uneventful.
Sedona was pleasantly temperate when we arrived. And the dogs were happy to see me again when I got to the back yard. And such was our Pitre Family Visit for 2015.
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