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2024.01.01 Recap of 2023

Norma, Peter, Chris, Agnes, D'Arcy and CarolWe had a busy year in 2023.  We started out in Arizona where we visited our sisters and their husbands.  We had a great lunch with D'Arcy's sister Agnes and her husband Chris at Valle Luna Mexican Food and Cantina.  Had fun at Organ Stop Pizza which Norma and Peter told us about. 

Carol and D'Arcy showing some shelfishnessThen off to New Orleans where D'Arcy plays a lot in the Bars on Frenchmen Street and other places. I take lots of pictures.  We go to a lot of Festivals.  It was there in the French Quarter that I had my first Crawfish.

St Patrick'sDay parade in the French Quarter 2023 They have so many parades here.  We heard that down here they would have a parade to celebrate the opening of a pizza box.  Besides the many Mardi Gras parades, on St. Patricks Day we went to the parade in the French Quarter.  One year D'Arcy got an onion from one of the floats.  This year I got a few silk flowers which I still have on our dining room table.

Rhythm Festival at Congo SquareIn March we went to one of the many festivals they have, the Rhythm Festival and Creole Gumbo Festival held in Congo Square which is part of Armstrong Park named after Louis Armstrong.  Congo Square was the place where slaves and free men of colour would gather to dance, sing and play.

Dave and D'Arcy on stage at Café NegrilIn April our friend, Dave McManus, came to town.  We joined him for the French Quarter Festival held on the Riverfront.  He also came to Café Negril for John Lisi's "Super Most Fantastic Blues and Such" jam.  D'Arcy got to play with him.

Easter Sunday in the French Quarter 2023We celebrated Easter Sunday by going to two parades in the French Quarter.  One of them was a drag parade.  A very famous person, Chris Owens, had just passed away.  Chris owned a drag theatre on Bourbon.  She normally is the Queen of the parade.  Lots of colour for sure. 

Getting ready to leave Chalmette, LA - April 2023

Around mid-April we packed everything up, tied everything down and left out spot in Chalmette Trailer Park and headed back to Canada. We took our time.  Along the way we stopped at the Heartland plant to pick up a few parts that we needed.  Then we headed to the Canadian border.  We crossed over on Apr 18, 2023.

Our new gazeboWhile we were down south an ice storm destroyed our gazebo.  Thanks to our friend Mark for removing everything from our lot.  Once we were back we had a brand new one installed on the same spot.  This year we won't wrap it.  We will store everything in our shed and leave it open so that the wind can just pass through.

Carol and D'Arcy celebrating D'Arcy's 73rd birthday at the Red LobsterHappy Birthday to D'Arcy.  You finally caught up to me. Ha! Ha!  Our life together is a great adventure and I would not miss a minute of it.  Any place we go to celebrate would be nice if I share it with the man I love.  So we went to Red Lobster and had a great evening.

Jimmy G and D'Arcy at the Springwell July 21 2023In September D'Arcy got a gig at the Springwell Bar in Windsor and invited Jimmy G to join him.  D'Arcy and Jimmy played from 6 till 9.  They were very well received.  In fact, D'Arcy handed out some cards and someone in the audience called and left a message about how much they enjoyed the show.  I am glad for D'Arcy because that's what he loves to do. It was so nice meeting Jimmy G.  Our night was not finished.  After the gig we went to La Rocca to see Crowbar Hotel where D'Arcy played bass for a while.

D'Arcy handing the keys to the Columbus to DaveIn October D'Arcy and  I sold our Columbus.  We had bought it last year but decided that we really liked the Landmark so we fixed it up and kept it.  We also bought Vybe Networks Inc.  At this point we are considering taking on a very experienced partner with a great track record that brings many new features to Vybe.  The company is doing better than it had in a long time.

 

Leave Those Kids Alone - Wildwood RV - Sept 16, 2023Also in October we attended a benefit for Julien's House.  We attended this show last year and had such a great time that we decided to return this year.  They had another performer this year.  Her name is Hayley Doucet.  Also new this year there was a Magician.  The main attraction was a band of kids called Leave Those Kids Alone.  The drummer is only thirteen years old and she is fantastic.  Everyone in the band is incredible.  All the money raised  from these  performance goes to Julien House.  There are prizes and D'Arcy won a nice cozy Sherpa Throw from Premier.  We also had a great meal prepared on smokers by the Wildwood volunteers.  D'Arcy had the chicken and I had the ribs.  We shared with each other.

Ally helping dad Jerome with the new A/CWe made a few big improvements to the RV this year.  We replaced the old air conditioner, the old stove and the suspension and brakes.  This in addition to the replacement cooling unit for the fridge that was done last year on our way to Arizona.  The work was all done at Tisdelle Trailer & RV Surplus except for the air conditioner which was purchased there but installed by Jerome and his lovely daughter Ally.  We went though a few horrible days of sweating during the hottest time of the summer until we got it installed.  We are so glad we are not suffocating any more.

Farewell Dinner at Wildwood Golf and RV Resort 2023Another year has gone by at Wildwood Golf And RV Resort.  We went to the hall for a yummy farewell dinner, raffle and entertainment.  The dinner put on by the volunteers and they really did a good job.  And they did not skimp on dessert.  We had apple or cherry pie.  D'Arcy and I had the cherry.  After that we had entertainment. There  was dancing. It was a big crowd.  Everyone their had a very good time and we had a chance to meet so many lovely people.

The Pianomen at Wildwood Golf and RV Resort 2023We also went to a BBQ hosted by Tony and Christine up the road from us. We had a lovely time with our host and their other guests Bonnie, Dave, Sandy and Gary. The dinner was great.  Then we went to the hall to enjoy the music of The Pianomen.  They are a trio headed by Walter Riggi who play the music of Elton John, Hall and Oates and Billy Joel. The evening was lots of fun and we met a lot of lovely people.  We hope to see them next year.

Working on the Landmark 2023.10.11We made one last visit to Tisdelle Trailer & RV Surplus to get a few things done including replacing most of the suspension, brakes and drums.  Now we were ready for our trip to New Orleans.  We left Tisdelle and headed for the border and crossed it on Nov 1, 2023.  We took a few days to get down to our spot in Chalmette.  We mostly stayed in nice camp grounds although we couldn't find one once and slept in a rest stop.  We mostly ate at Cracker Barrel if we didn't cook for ourselves.

Frenchmen Street, New Orleans - 2023New Orleans was great as usual.  We spent a lot of time in the French quarter and other areas in New Orleans.  We tried some new restaurants and went back to some of our favourites.  D'Arcy played at various places.  We finished off the year at our camp site where we enjoyed all the fireworks that surrounded us.  Many neighbourhoods near us had their own fireworks display and the biggest one was just over at the levy.  They exploded right over our heads.  It sounded like we were in the middle of a war zone.

What a great time we had in 2023.  Here's looking forward to 2024.