Texas and Louisiana - May 2025

In between DC and CO, we spent three weeks in TX and LA to spend time with our parents. 

Louisiana

Shawna drove by herself to spend 10 days with her mom while Keith stayed in Texas for his dad's back surgery and then Keith joined her about half way through.

While in Louisiana, we did the following:

Day in Lafayette - Shawna took her mom to the dermatologist in Lafayette and while there, we had lunch at Don's Seafood and ran a few errands.  We also picked up some pastries at Poupart's to take home - some of which we brought to Lydia and Mark.

Lunch with Hope - We met up with Hope for lunch at La Petite Affair Cafe in Marksville.  It's a cute place with a menu that changes daily.

Evening in Alexandria - Keith got a one way rental car to Alex where Shawna had to pick him up.  So Shawna and her mom made an evening of it - going to Dillard's to get a few things for Shawna's mom and then having dinner at Verona Italian Restaurant - cute place with tasty Italian food.

Day in St Francsisville - Shawna bought tickets for a tour of gardens where we got to walk around the gardens of six homes and we were also able to go inside two of the homes.  There were a couple of gardens that were quit nice. We had a bit of time before lunch so we also stopped to walk around Afton Villa Gardens and Rosedown Plantation.  We lucked out with the weather as it turned out to be sunny but not too hot.  We then met up for lunch with Brenda and Joe at Restaurant 1796 which is at the Myrtle's Plantation - the place is very nice.  We shared a salad and a great steak.  

Rosedown Plantation

Mother's Day Lunch - We went to Little Big Cup for Mother's Day lunch in Arnaudville - they do a massive buffet which turns out was just OK.  Shawna and her mom had been here a couple of times before and it had been good but this time we were a bit disappointed.  

Mother's Day Lunch at Little Big Cup

Rocky's - We went here for dinner our last night so we could get our fill of crawfish.  Crawfish was great, decor was not as great.  

Texas

Keith stayed behind in TX for four days to be there for his dad's back surgery before joining Shawna in LA.  Graham also flew in for a couple of days.  During this time, he did the following:

Outback Steakhouse - Shawna, Margaret, Keith, Jean and Dick went to dinner here the night before Dick's surgery.  We shared a salad and pork chop.

Visited his dad several times in the hospital - Dick was there for three nights to recover.

Family gathering after Dick's surgery

Nanglo Indian - Jean, Keith, Graham, Margaret and the four kids went here for dinner after seeing Dick right after he got out of surgery. Keith had the lamb vindaloo and it was as delicious as ever. Dick texted the family to bring him butter chicken which he ate half but then was told the next day to stay away from spicy food for a bit!!

Dodds Family Dinner

Uncle Julios - Margaret, Graham, Keith and Jean went here for Mexican dinner where Keith had the chicken fajitas and way too many chips with salsa.

Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers - Keith and Peter went here for dinner - Owen was not working this evening.  The beers were cold and the cheeseburgers excellent! It was great to catch up.   They both stopped by the hospital right before dinner to see Keith's dad.

Keith and Peter at dinner

After our time in LA, we both drove back to TX to spend a week before heading out to CO for the summer. During this time, we did the following:

Parker Cemetery - Keith had organized a clean up of this cemetery for his Eagle Scout Project in 1985. We stopped by to see it - it's in great condition but sadly you cannot go inside without scheduling an appointment.

Parker Cemetery

The Mexican - Keith, Shawna, Jean, Dick and Margaret went to dinner here as a belated Mother's Day / early Father's Day celebration.  We shared several appetizers for the table: guacamole, lobster elote, and sea bass ceviche.  Then we both shared the beef enchiladas.  Everything was very good.

Family Dinner - Margaret, Owen, Kaitlyn (Owen's girlfriend), Josie, and Lily came over for dinner.  We grilled some steak and made corn on the cob and potato gratin. We also made a lemon almond cake for dessert. The dinner was a success - the kids were engaging and the food was great!

Dodds Clan

Visit with Bob - We stopped by one afternoon to catch up with Bob and had a glass of port with him.

Mi Cocina - Keith met Rick, a former Livcor colleague for dinner. 

Mi Cocina with Rick

Full City Rooster - Keith met Rebecca and Thad here for lunch in between doctor appointments. 

Rebecca and Thad at Full City Rooster

Margaret Dinner - Margaret came over on our last night and Shawna made a fish dish with polenta.  

New Jersey and New York - May 2025

After our month in DC, we decided to spend a week in NJ/NY to see friends.  We originally had planned on going straight to NY from DC but we had to go back to TX for a couple of days to attend Ginny's (Peter's mom) Celebration of Life.

New Jersey

We arrived in Newark on Sunday mid-day - Tom picked us up at the airport and then we had lunch at Coniglio's in Morristown, sharing a pizza and salad among the three of us.  Kim was working at a track meet so we stopped by to see her and Riley.  We then went back to their house and had some wine before going out to dinner at Huntley Taverne where we shared a great salad and fish dish.  We stayed the night and then Riley dropped us off at the train staton the next morning to catch the train into the city.

New York

We spent the next six nights at Mark and Alicia's apartment. While in NY, we did the following activities::

Central Park - We walked around Central Park, checking out the newly renovated Conservatory Gardens which had beautiful tulips and the newly constructed Davis Center in Harlem which will operate a pool in the summer and ice skating rink in the winer.  The park was heaving with people - more than what we would have expected for a Monday.

Walking around Central Park

Good Night and Good Luck - We went to the matinee performance of this play with George Clooney. The play was a little show at parts but overall very good and funny.

Good Night and Good Luck

9/11 Museum - We spent a little over two hours here and wish we had more time - we could have easily spent three hours.  The museum is very well done - excellent exhibits and cool how they did the layout.  The museum is underground surrounding the original footprint of the towers - you could see the original spots where the columns were.  We would definitely go back to do it again.

9/11 Fountain Memorial with World Financial

Hell's Kitchen - We went to this Broadway musical that is based on Alicia Keys early life and includes all songs from her.  The music and dance was spectacular!

Hell's Kitchen

And ate/drank at the following places:

Lava Shawarma - Had lunch here - we each got a beef and lamb shawarma - Keith had his in a pita and Shawna had hers in a wrap that they crisped under the grill.  Very tasty. 

Buceo 95 - We met up with Helen and her husband, David, for dinner at this tapas restaurant on the Upper West side. We shared several dishes for the table - all good.  We then went back to their apartment to meet their kids.

Dinner with Helen and David

Masa - We had lunch at this three Michelin Star Japanese restaurant.  We sat at the counter and the decor was minimalist.  We were not allowed to take photos. The wine pairing was excellent.  Every course except the first and last was nigiri, which Shawna had not had before, and it was made by hand in front of us.  We enjoyed every piece except for the sea urchin. Overall, it was very good but probably not worth the money.  

Masa

Chez Mark/Alicia - We had dinner at Mark and Alicia's place.  We started out with Aperol spritzes out on the 3rd floor outdoor space.  Then we had a couple of bottles of wine.  Mark made a very yummy salad and chicken parm.

Fushimi - We had dinner at this Japanese restaurant before our Broadway show. We shared a few appetizers - all very tasty.  The restaurant was a bit of a scene but not bad for a pre-Broadway place. 

Baccarat Hotel Bar - We met Rak (who was in town for work) and Mark here for a drink.  The drink prices were outrageous but was nice to see Rak for a bit. 

Drinks with Rak and Mark

Black Iron Burger - We met Guy for lunch here in the Theater District - Mark joined us.  We each got a burger - very good.

Lunch with Guy and Mark

Chez John/Edi - We drove out to NJ to have dinner at John and Edi's House. Mark and Alicia also joined us. They ordered in Mediterranean which was really good so we had that for dinner with a few bottles of wine.  It was great to meet Edie and their two girls.

Dinner with John/Edie and Mark/Alicia

Bar Hugo Rooftop - We had drinks at this rooftop bar in Soho with Mark/Alicia and Kim/Tom and Kaley prior to dinner. The place was packed.  We lucked out with some nice weather - views were nice.  Service took a while but drinks were good.

Night out with Kim/Tom and Mark/Alicia

Altro Paradiso - We had dinner at this Italian restaurant in Soho with Mark/Alicia and Kim/Tom - cute place and pretty good food.  We shared a few pastas and appetizers for the table and then the two of us shared a pork chop.

Cork Wine Bar - After dinner, we had one more drink here - we shared a bottle of bubbly among the six of us (Mark/Alicia, Kim/Tom).