60 Is the New 40

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One of my favorite bloggers, injaynesworld, commented on my October 15th Women of A Certain Age post about "turning" sixty.

"60 is the new 40!" she enthused.

I don't know if that is true or not but my bones aren't buying it.  

Last October, six of my oldest friends and I flew to New Orleans to share our mutual 60th birthdays.  Some live on the West Coast, one lives in the Keys, I live in New England and we all grew up together in SoCal.

We took full suites at the luxurious Windsor Court Hotel downtown.  Here's a sample view from our rooms on the 17th flr.

We were a ten minute walk from the Quarter.

And walk we did.

  

The minute you get to NOLA, you want to hit the Quarter.  You want to find a bar or restaurant.  You want to have a local drink and some of that Cajun/Creole food you've heard about all your life.

You want to see the sights:  the grill-faced balconies, the shot gun houses, the brick buildings, flower baskets, parks with lush tropical plants.

It's a hot flower of a place is New Orleans.  If you're having hot flashes, it's even hotter.

We had four days to check it all out.                    

You can have any kind of food you like but the seafood and local cooking is the best.  It just doesn't get any fresher or more delicious than here.

The music is the greatest.  It's everywhere, street corners, cafes, the obvious jazz places like Preservation Hall, open air patio restaurants.  There are so many truly fine musicians in New Orleans.  They say it's in the water and the blood.  

                                                                                   

                                                                                             

The atmosphere on Bourbon St is just what you expect: maniacally happy.  After a couple of cocktails, so are we!  I had Sazeracs, a favorite since my first visit to the city in 1981.  One of my friends tried a Hurricane, the rest drank their usual and missed out on the fun of Mint Juleps and the like.  We were feelin' the love just the same.                                                                  

This is the famous statue of  Andrew Jackson, my mother's cousin, many times removed.  Behind him is St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square.  

Personally,  I like the horse's face. 

                                                                                   

Breakfast at Cafe du Monde is a must. 

Beignets and chicory cafe au lait.  Heaven.   Fresh seafood, local cooking are the best ways to experience the true flavor of the area.  Our finest meal was a seafood place called G.W. Fins.  Other choices that come highly recommended are Acme Oyster House, Arnauds, Antoine's.  We had reservations at Galatoire's but somebody changed the game plan, much to my dismay.  Lucky for me I've dined there before as well as Brennan's, where bananas foster was created.  Lunch at Mr. B's was nice.  It's owned by the Brennan family too and is a gorgeous, wood paneled, elegant place.   

Against my better judgment, we opted for a three hour bus tour of the city.  It turned out to be educational, enlightening and fun.  We learned much and saw the remains of Katrina's devastation which is still shockingly extensive; visited the Ninth Ward now under some semblance of repair thanks to Harry Connick Jr. and his Musician's Village and Brad Pitts' 

                                                                                   

New Orleans City Park 

is 1300 acres and a cab ride from downtown.  It is worth a half or full day's trip.  Had we known and had the time, we'd have returned to take in everything from the Museum of Art to the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park and Storyland.   Photos are from the Botanical Gardens within the park.

          

The obligatory cemetery tour..  While stopped here, a full-sized bus pulled up and a ton of Super Senior citizens (meaning:  older than us) got out.  My best friend, who is usually not humorous, sarcastic or wry, commented

"That's out next trip."

We weren't sure if she meant the people on the bus tour or a trip to the cemetery.

FUN FACT:   Woldenberg Riverfront Park is a beautiful scenic stretch of land along the banks of the Mississippi.  There is an aquarium, aviary, IMAX theatre, lawns and walkways with comfortable benches.  It was funded by the Great Uncle of one of our group.  She wanted us to see it and I envisioned a little park.  Wrong. It is a long stretch of walking, biking, sitting and playing parkway bordering the river. Her Great Uncle Mal has been dead many years but she remembers him fondly. Seems he scandalized the city when he married a black woman and left his millions to her, after her funded the park.  (snort!)

One of the hundreds of  small parks within the Quarter with statuary, fountains, benches and deep shade in which to "set a spell."

THIS is what I thought my friend's uncle bequeathed.

This is the first night get-together in the bar of our hotel.  They make them some "fine" cocktails and we didn't hesitate.  We partied like it was 1999...well, more like 1969.


Many things change as you age; your jowls, butt and boobs descend, your face begins to crease here and there, your hair greys and your stamina ain't what it used to be.  But a lifetime of friendship remains no matter how grumpy, drunky, barfy, and silly we may be when we're together.

If "sixty is the new forty", this is what it looks like.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.

College Educated & Happy to Have a Job

My almost 25 year old son came home last night with good news: he's landed a summer job as a barista at a popular coffee cafe in our resort mountain town. This is after months of looking somewhat fruitlessly at similar, less appealing positions. This is what many college educated kids are doing in this recession; not to mention living at home.

My son is an outdoor person.  He graduated with a degree in Environmental Studies.  He spent six years living in Utah, camping, hiking, river rafting/kayaking, snowboarding, skateboarding and taking on every new outdoor adventure come his way.  He's trying to figure out what to do for the rest of his life.

He and his brother are planning a trip to Australia in late Fall.  They're hoping to have enough money to travel, find jobs and stay a while.  I hope they get there and have a huge adventure.  I want them to experience the world, life, new situations, challenges.  My younger son's GF is just back from 2 months in India, BY HERSELF.  It has been life-changing.

While the current economic situation is not something I want to see prolonged, I'm anxious to see the way my sons react and adjust.  It's their first test of really being on their own and having to struggle.  Yes, they've been out of the house before and making their own way.  But it's different now.  They need to be on their own permanently.  They know it.  We know it.

Yup, that's my dawg

He's older now.  He can't jump as high as he once did (scroll to bottom of the blog).  But his spirit is willing and his heart is strong.  He shadows my husband, Alpha Dog, with an almost pathological demeanor.  He jumps to attention every time the truck keys jangle.  He cries when we go away leaving him in the hands of his granny and our sons. He's happiest riding in the truck, head out the window, barking as cars go by.   He is probably 9-10 years old now, once a runaway pup, about 6 months old, when we took him in.  

His name is Dewey.

Happy Easter!

Passing the Time with a 50 Ft Woman

I wrote this last Saturday morning before I knew I was going back to work this week.

Honest to God, laying around recovering from surgery is just about the most boring thing you can do.  It's 2.5 weeks since the operation and I'm ready to climb the walls.  The first two weeks were a groggy daze.  They went by and I barely noticed.  I'm now off the serious pain meds and my head is clearing up.

 This morning I watched "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman"...the original.   I was spellbound by its' awfulness.   Not sure I understood the plot; a woman exposed to radiation from a spacecraft discovers her husband is cheating on her and grows 50' in height.  Gigantic papier mache hands lowered onto or into the scenes, grasping dolls supposed to be actors, crushing cars, ripping off roofs.  In onc scene, a 50's era Dodge station wagon with giant fins, is lifted aloft and thrown to the ground.  The camera cuts to the damaged car, a Woodie.  The 50' woman is wayyy better looking than the husband's new floozie.  It's no contest.  Go figure.


Meanwhile, found these send-ups of the original poster.  Not sure which one I like better.

Here's a less than 2 minute trailer of the original. Don't even bother to watch the movie after this.  No reason or need.