First Day of Trip to New Orleans

Woke up at 5:30 am. I needed to meet the bus at a McDonald's at Cottman and Roosevelt Boulevard.

Finished packing and vacuumed the living room which was full of crunchy autumn leaves.

My nephew Tyler would drive me. He, his wife and newborn David, live with my sister Donna. I got a nice peek at the sleeping, swaddled and capped baby with his tiny arms sticking out.

David Mamay Cartagena was fast asleep.

Donna and I sat and talked until it was time to wake up Tyler. She couldn't drive me as she's gotta be at Starbucks at 9 am.

Tyler listens to gangsta rap when he drives. I've never driven with a faster driver than Tyler who zigzagged in and out of traffic. I felt like my Aunt Hy, who used to lie down in the backseat of a car b/c she was so nervous.

Rush hour traffic, bumper to bumper.

We finally get there and

NO BUS.

I went inside and called Senior Tours.

The bus is not sposed to be there. A man in a gold Lexus will pick me up and drive me to the bus.

Tyler ordered breakfast.

We sat staring out the two doors - one on each side - for the man in the Lexus.

Tyler believed I had been scammed.

After sitting there half an hour, I convinced him to go home. I sat another 20 minutes and finally Chris, the man in the Gold Lexus showed up.

I sat in the backseat. We chatted. Senior Tours is 30 or 40 years old and owned by a group of attorneys.

We drove to Essington, NJ, where a Stout Bus was to meet us.

More passengers were delivered.

Finally the bus pulled in the parking lot of a restaurant, maybe Denny's


Seats had been assigned to us.

I had a window seat in the second row, next to a woman named Chris. We got along very well.

Like me, she was born in Camp Lejeune, NC, but 10 years later than me.

Also, like me, she's very particular about what she eats.

For lunch we stopped at a food court at Manassas Mall in the state of Virginia. 



I had a delicious salad with cucumber dressing and chicken shishkobobs.

Then it's ride ride ride the bus.

Read nearly 100 pages of my newest Philip Margolin crime thriller. A real page-turner.

Time for dinner!


The Golden Corral Buffet in Henderson, N C

I was quite hungry. The best things I et were lima beans in butter, cabbage in butter, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, and

I can't remember the name of it.... something like cornmeal pudding... it was scrumptious!  As good as dessert.

We're staying at a Hampton Inn.  Really nice huge room. Am typing at a desk.




In my room, I figured out how to use the WIFI - Hello my 10 Readers! - and will now go downstairs and use the exercise room.

You can go there even now - 10:15 pm.

Now it's the next morning. Went on the treadmill for 20 minutes, lowering my blood sugar to 91.