One of the highlights of our winter travels is an annual visit to New Orleans! It is a city like no other and it has captured my heart and my imagination. New Orleans never fails to provide us with memorable experiences and lively stories!
The drive from Alabama was a bit longer than we expected and our arrival was after dark, which we do try to avoid. Fortunately, we were returning to a familiar park so finding our assigned space was fairly easy. Our site was not as level as we prefer and attempts to get that bubble between the two lines was wearing on both of us. We were tired and I admit, a bit cranky after the first few attempts of me pushing buttons to raise and lower the leveling legs and Tim “guiding” me from outside. “Damnit, this is my job! Go plug something in”, I hollered to him through the window when I saw some woman out there talking to Tim. That did not help my frustration level. Here I was trying to get things done and Mr. Social Director was visiting with some strange lookie loo from another site.
Then there was a knock at the door. What the hell? We don’t know anyone in New Orleans. It is a cardinal rule among our fellow nomads that you do not disturb people when they are setting up their RVs upon arrival. Since Tim was still visiting with “that woman” I reluctantly abandoned my leveling chore to answer this unwelcome summons. Squinting into the darkness through the slightly opened door I saw the form of yet another woman standing at the bottom of the steps. She didn’t say anything at first and by the time my eyes and my attitude adjusted I recognized Tim’s sister Sharon standing there!
“You better close your mouth before the flies get out”, she quipped and there was no doubt that the intruder was Sharon. Then I heard another very familiar voice, “Hey, how’s the honeymoon going?” That was Patricia, Tim’s younger sister. Nothing left for me to do but start squealing like a pig with an empty trough. “Oh my god, what are you two doing here?,” followed by squeals all around, even coming from the phone that Patricia was holding up to catch the occasion for Paula, an official third sister to the Bookhout clan.
Tim’s family love a good prank and if you do get one over on one of them, the pay back is sure to top it. Tim and I had kept our nuptials a secret so we could surprise them with the news at Christmas over a Zoom call. Patricia lives in California and Sharon lives in Pennsylvania but in only a few days they had hatched and executed their payback prank. They even brought a bottle of sparkling rose to toast our sneaky nuptials.
The following week with Sharon and Pat was filled with fun, adventures and incredible food! We had dinner at the Acme Oyster House one night. Another night we all dined at Cochon in the warehouse district. We ate Muffalattas in the French Quarter and Benets on a night time Ghost tour. It is difficult to select the most special meal, but Sunday Brunch at Commander’s Palace is near the top of the list. The last meal before leaving NOLA was at the Pelican Club. I never thought I would see Mr. T sitting at a table with a white table cloth but there he was with his two sisters and his new bride drinking exotic drinks and eating foods we could not pronounce. And laughing! A solid week of laughter.
Most new brides might resent having their honeymoon crashed by two sisters-in-law, but not me. Not after spending twenty five years with them as their brother’s girlfriend. I don’t care what anyone says, that ceremony, that ring, and those vows DO make a difference. Not only in the way we see each other, but in the way others see us. As Tim’s father Bookie used to say, “Happy, happy, happy.”
