Splash parks and the Deep South

My update:

Going back to the scene of the phone crime, the Long Beach Towne Center, to play in the splash park and the jungle gym with Martina, Aya, and Sydney.

Joy.

Playing "bad guy," where you kick the water every time it shoots up.  I stopped taking pictures when Martina and her family showed up, as it got hectic.

Then yummy pizza for lunch (cheese for kids, Greek for me), cake and fruit courtesy of Martina, home and naps for two youngest and origami for the oldest.  Then Antonio came over and we hung out, talked, and because he is a nice nice friend, he went to the mall with me to get the kids Crocs: Avengers for Ari, Batman for Xander, Minions for Connor.  Red Robin for dinner, and a horrific ordeal getting them to go to bed.



Jonathan's updates from Facebook:

I'm in New Orleans! First stop was the cemetery. Due to the high water table the dead can't be buried below ground so everyone has to be entombed in mausoleum or similar type thing. This means that there are incredible monuments to the dead. I wonder if this is why the dead and death (and conversely life and partying) play such a big part in the culture here?

They seemed to go on forever.

This is what I always think of when I imagine a mausoleum.  They build the foundation about a foot off the ground to make sure that the water can't get to the tomb.  I was amazed by the variety of tombs: some of the art is really beautiful.  Others are odd, or grand, or poor-looking, or even fancy enough to rival national monuments.  

This one had outlines of windows made out of the stone.

Best meal ever:

They have a breakfast made just for me! 

The Big Easy!

Here I am on Bourbon St.  Just look at the color!

Beads hung everywhere.  Signal lights, trees, and of course, street signs.

An alley full of art galleries and crafts.

My buddy Jason enjoying his meal.

Now THAT is presentation!

Drove through Mississippi and Alabama, and I'm in Florida! Just crossed the state line. Still got a long way to go to reach home though.  We'll stay in Tallahassee tonight.