2026.01.01 Recap of 2025

What a great year.  We were pretty busy with mostly fun stuff and a few problems.

We started the year continuing our snowbird season in New Orleans.  Unfortunately, tragedy struck  on January 1, 2025.  Someone intentionally drove a pickup truck down Bourbon Street into a crowd of New Year's celebrants, resulting in at least 10 deaths and dozens injured. We are so glad we were not there at the time because we sometimes walk up on Bourbon. This should never have happened.

D'Arcy plays music a lot here in New Orleans and I go with him and take pictures. He can't play any gigs here because he doesn't have a green card but luckily a few friends let him sit in for a few songs from time to time.  There are also open jams that he attends.

On Tuesday January 21st New Orleans got some snow. They had to cancel some stuff so D'Arcy could not go out to play music but  he could go out to play in the snow.  We also did not go driving because New Orleans drivers are not used to driving in the snow.  We heard there were accidents. The last major snowfall in New Orleans was over one hundred and forty years ago.

We had a visit from the fire department because the RV Carbon Monoxide Propane Gas Alarm went off while we were watching TV.  D'Arcy called the fire department which is just down the street from us.  There was no issue.  The sensor was just old so we simply ordered a new one.

In February we enjoyed going to Mardi Gras parades.  We went to fewer than we have in previous years but we did go to a few French Quarter and Marigny walking parades such as Joan of Arc and Chewbacchus.

On February twenty-second Natasha, a friend of D'Arcy's cousin Tim, and her sister Nicky arrived in New Orleans.  They were booked in a hotel that was not properly equipped to handle Natasha's wheelchair even though they claimed to be so we helped them move to another one.  We went to many places with them.  We even saw a Mardi Gras Parade.  Then we went to have supper at Mona Lisa Restaurant on Royal Street. So we kept them busy. I believe they both enjoyed themselves.

On March 29th D'Arcy's sister Monica came to New Orleans with our niece Tiffany and their friend Emeline.  We picked them up at the airport and brought them to Burgundy Street where they stayed. Once they were unpacked we headed to "Buffa's"  just at the corner and saw " Washboard Chaz".  Of course there was some dancing.  Then out to "Snug Harbor" where we  all had supper.  We took them all over New Orleans and they got to see D'Arcy play a few places too.

On April 11 we went to the French Quarter Festival where there is always a crowd and this year was no exception. We had to take a picture of both of us.  There are always great acts and a few big names.

We left Chalmette at the end of April to go back to Canada.  We are not allowed here for more than one hundred and eighty two days or else we cannot come back for five years.  We headed back to Wildwood Golf and RV Resort where we stayed until October when they close for the winter again.

On the way home we went to get some diesel at Pilot and while we were there  D'Arcy slipped on some Diesel.  It took two people to get him up.  He hurt his leg, hip and arm all on the right side. He put in a complaint with Pilot.  He was OK after a few days except for his knee which he had to get treated.  D'Arcy went to a specialist who gave D'Arcy a shot of Cortisone in the knee and later a shot of Gel. called Monovisc.

During the summer we made a trip to visit our families.  We stayed at Ken's place while we visited Monica, Maureen and Ken.  Then we went to Montreal where we visited with my brother Alan.  While we were in Montreal we visited the cemetery and visited my parents as well as D'Arcy's parents.  After that we visited my brother Robert and his wife Laura in Ottawa and had a great time and saw his daughter and her little girl. Finally, we stopped in Pickering again and stayed overnight with Monica so that D'Arcy could help her with her computer.

We bought a golf cart on the fourth of May. We spent a little time looking for the serial number and we found it so that we could get it insured and use it.  It will be better driving around our campsite in the cart then our Ram.

One Friday as I was listening to D'Arcy rehearsing with the Grey Crowes (before they changed their name to Midnight Rain) I got sick.   D'Arcy called the ambulance and they brought me to The Met.  I was there for 14 hours before a doctor saw me. Whatever I had was gone by then so we came home.  I am fine now. 

We went to the McGregor Music Festival and we had a great time.  All proceeds went to cancer support.  D'Arcy won a pair of earrings for me.  D'Arcy showed everyone how to dance to YMCA.  The bands were great.  They also had a display of antique cars which were beautiful.

D'Arcy and I bought a set of stairs from another lot and put them up on our lot.  The stairs were to high so D'Arcy cut a bit off the bottom. Thanks to our neighbour Daff for helping us.

We celebrated Canada Day Weekend in Wildwood Golf and RV Resort by going to an ice cream social in the hall.  There was a parade of golf carts with a judging for the best decorations.  We won third prize of a bottle of wine.  Then we went to the hall to hear the band "Common Ground." All and all it was a great Canada Day weekend. 

Someone had a backyard party in July and they asked Midnight Rain to play.  D'Arcy plays bass, Chuck plays guitar, and Katfish plays drums.  We had so much fun.  Midnight Rain were great.  There was some dancing.

We went to Tilbury to work on our RV.  We stayed a few days then left for Pickering.  We parked in a mall parking lot and then had dinner with D'Arcy's family.  Then off  to Taylor- Rae's wedding in Sutton QC. We had a great time. Then on Monday we left our campsite at "Des Sommets Bromont" and returned to our campsite at "Wildwood Golf and RV Park"

D'Arcy turned Seventy-Five in September and is still going strong.  We celebrated his Birthday at  Victoria Tavern playing with Soul Minors while I enjoyed taking the pictures.i  The next night D'Arcy played at "Below The Tracks" with his band " Midnight Rain" and they were well received.

In October, on Thanksgiving Day, D'Arcy cut off all of his hair to support cancer research.  He raised one thosand dollars plus he donated the hair that he cut off to an organization that makes wigs for chemo patients.

Before we left for New Orleans we headed to Leisure RV to get our RV checked out.  We moved into the Northlander while it was being worked on.  They checked it all over and pronounced it ready for the road.  I guess they missed something because a spring broke on our way down.  We had to get it fixed.  it took a few days.  We also had all of the tires changed.

We finally made it to Chalmette where we parked the RV for the winter.  We made many visits to New Orleans which is only a few minutes away.  D'Arcy played in jams and sat in with a few friends.  He also visited our friend Jamey St. Pierre and joined some friends for a jam session.

After all the time we have spent down here, we had never gone to Preservation Hall so we booked it and went to it.  It was a fun night.

We went to Celebration in the oaks where we had a great time. First we took a ride all though the park on the train, then we went on some rides. We took some pictures. Then called it a night we drove though Frenchmen.  There were no parking spots so we went home. That was a great day.

New Year's Eve we stayed home but enjoyed the fireworks going off all around us.  At certain times of the year, such as New Year's, huge tens pop up all over selling fireworks.  They have fireworks along the levees which isn't far from us but may people around do their own shows.  It sounded like being in a war zone with all of the fireworks.

Well, that's it for another year.  I hope 2026 is as much fun for us.