Pit Stop: Visiting Friends

I love it when a plan comes together so nicely. Back in January, I realized that Rob and my mom were about to have overlapping meetings in New Orleans, and I figured it was finally time for us to get back to the Big Easy… We haven’t been since Chloe was a baby, pre-Katrina.

Since the drive from Atlanta to New Orleans would take us within a few miles of some old friends, I crossed my fingers and asked if they’d like to have some visitors … how excited were we to hear that they were free and could host us for an evening at their new (to us) house! Ironically, after these good (homeschooling) friends moved to Alabama and then Mississippi, we moved to within biking distance of their old house….

But, now, they are in walking distance of the beach in Bay Saint Louis, MS! As the girls and I approached their house, we decided to take the beach route from Gulfport. I had no idea that Mississippi had beaches like it does. Wow! (Though, I admit, I don’t know if they are natural or if they are an environmental disaster.)

And finally, we were there! so cliche, but, my, how the kids have grown! We felt at home immediately — I suppose that’s what having old friends is supposed to be like, right? The kids played, the moms chatted, the animals roamed.

kids, kids, kids

We enjoyed the day with our friends and truly look forward to heading back in warmer weather… they have a yard of never ending surprises (chickens that lay eggs in strollers!) and a beach just down the street. Coffee shops near by. And, best of all, good friends, who despite not drinking coffee, own a coffee pot!

I hope to add more of these types of pit stops to our travels. Perhaps it is time to map out my address book and start sending off emails to all our friends and relatives?

mississippi

wheels

chickens