Bisbee, Arizona - January 2019

A new year and a new Arizona adventure. Many times I have shared the accolades of a road trip. Planning, preparing, packing and every step of a road trip somehow feeds my soul. Friendships are certainly another important soul energizing aspect of life. I was fortunate to take a road trip with a great friend for my first adventure in 2019! We have known each other for over 35 years and enjoyed career and parenthood milestones as our friendship grew.
Find your sunglasses-we'd love for you to join us!

Bisbee is in Southeastern Arizona and was a mining community until the mid 1990s. Now you will find a town full of creative people, fun shops, excellent restaurants, museums, and galleries.
Learn more: Bisbee History

The most noticeable and visible site that lets visitors know they have arrived in a mining town is the Lavender Pit. The pit is not named for the color but for one of the general managers of the mine.

Towns and cities that I visit where I can find street art seem much more real, creative, grounded to me. I enjoy searching for it and photographing the creative designs. 

Exploring a small town might seem a bit limited but we managed to find a unique neighboring town. Lowell is just a few turns down the highway. Like Bisbee, Lowell is an old mining town. It has one main street-and what a street it is! When you visit be sure to have breakfast at The Bisbee Breakfast Club!

Lowell, Arizona

My road trip traveling companion and partner in crime! 

Here are a few more photos from Bisbee, Arizona!

Bisbee's Library is the oldest, continuously-operated public library in Arizona. 

Statue dedicated to the virile miner. 

Our home for the weekend was a comfortable cottage on the main street. The home was built in 1905. My friend took a few photos of our Airbnb property. 

"So much of who we are, is where we have been."

~ William Langwiesche 

New Orleans - December 2018

Destination Christmas!
Holidays are celebrated with traditions, families, friends and destinations! At least for 2018 my celebration included a destination.
My son and daughter-in-law invited me to spend Christmas in one of their favorite cities-New Orleans!
I was excited to explore the city with my personal tour guides.
We stayed in the Irish Channel
Near the Garden District
Rode the oldest running streetcar
Visited the French Quarter
Enjoyed a wild night at Kermit's - I can't even begin to explain!
Experienced Frenchman Street
Toured Oak Alley Plantation
Drove through the 9th Ward
Walking tour of Treme Neighborhood
Brewery tour of Abita Brewery
and so much more....what a Destination Christmas!
Pour an eggnog and enjoy a photo tour of NOLA.

No, this was not our Airbnb but this beauty was in the neighborhood where we stayed!

The oldest operating streetcar on St. Charles Street. Just a short walk from our Airbnb. You might notice the Mardi Gras beads hanging from the tree. Considered good luck when they are left behind in a tree branch.

My personal tour guides getting ready for a day of adventure at French Truck Coffee on Magazine Street.

First taste of beignets.....and there will be more tastes during my stay!

Music is everywhere! In the clubs and on the streets.

Kermit's Treme Mother-in-Law Lounge-music, fun, locals, fun and more fun!

Oak Alley Plantation in the community of Vacharie, St. James Parish, Louisiana. 

Architects; Jacques Telesphore Roman, Richard Koch 

More touring around the city including a guided walk through Treme Neighborhood.  America's oldest African American Neighborhood. 

A tour of Abita Brewery near Abita Springs, Louisiana. A brewing system from Germany that is very efficient. Great tasting room plus a huge beer garden.

NOLA was decked out for Christmas. Hotel lobbies were gorgeous. Restaurants were decorated beautifully with lots of lights. 

My daughter-in-law learned about an exclusive antique store with a secret room! We found it and we were asked if we wanted to see the secret room. Did not need to ask us twice! There were actually several secret rooms with original art from artists such as Rockwell, Renoir, Pissarro, etc. We understood why there was an armed guard at the entrance!

A few shots from our adventures and a visit to the Tree of Life. 

This house was in the 9th Ward. If you look closely you'll see an X painted on the door. This was one way that buildings were marked after hurricane Katrina. 

Thanks for the invitation to the Destination Christmas! Destination Anytime has a nice ring to it! 

"People don't take trips, trips take people."

~ John Steinbeck