Moon Roadtrip in Ten

June 9th - 14th held a first for me:
My first road trip with Chris and his parents!

San Antonio was the destination, but we decided to make a quick stop in New Orleans...
'cause you know New Orleans is on the way in a backward-L-shaped-sort-of-way.

I was super excited and ready for a break.

Now, before I get into the details of the trip, allow me to enlighten you on my packing process. Oh yes, I'm a packer. I make lists all the time, and my packing is fabulous enough Tom Hanks' "Cast Away" debaucle would've been a cake walk if he only had my suitcase.

Fortunately for me, my mother-in-law is also a genius packer. I was greeted by the sight of a large Coleman cooler wedged between the bucket seats of their van. Packed inside was an assortment of drinks and snacks, including Starbucks Coffee Frappuccinos and trail mix with chocolate.

So, without further ado, I give you:
The Moon Family Roadtrip in Ten

1) The trip itself was rather relaxing and fun. I didn't drive much and slept a lot, only to awaken when we made food stops at Dairy Queen (for the traditional cookie dough blizzard) and Arby's.

2) Our one-night stop in New Orleans consisted of the usual tourist activities: St. Charles Avenue, Cafe Du Monde and averting our eyes to the risque posters splashed across most of the windows on Bourbon Street.

3) We arrived in San Antonio the next night to HOT HUMIDITY. Yet, like true troopers, we braved the temperature enough to peruse the Riverwalk that evening.

So fun!! I felt like I was on the Pirates of Caribbean ride at DisneyWorld, and lucky enough to get out of the boat to explore the town (minus the dirty pirates and voluptuous women.)

4) The better part of our stay involved us searching for a restaurant that served fried ice cream. Come on! You mean to tell me that's just a Tennessee thing?!?

The Alamo

We never did manage to find any, BUT (at the urging of my mother) I did become introduced to "real tortillas." Thick and doughy, I bought a dozen from a local Mexican bakery and munched on them for the remainder of the trip. Yes, they are that good.

5) Moon (a.k.a. Chris) surprised me with a pedicure at the hotel's spa. He feigned a trip to the hotel's gym with me, and turned around at the doors with a smile to inform me that I had an appointment. :)

Chris riding the rides at the Pacific World War II Museum

So I indulged in an incredible (and incredibly expensive) pedicure wearing my workout clothes and tennis shoes. I guess that's what those disposable flip-flops are for. It was a rather embarassing shuffle back to the room amid the other hotel guests.

6) My iPod got stolen an hour later...

7) Spent some of the trip visiting with Mom Moon's twin sister and her family. Uncle Dave, Aunt Roxanne, and their daughter, Raeanne, treated us to a tour of the area, complete with Texas-shaped tortilla chips, something called Horchata - a type of sweet rice milk, and a cute, little German-esque town nearby called Fredricksburg.

Did not expect to eat wienerschnitzel in Texas, but hey...

8) We also made a stop at my childhood home in San Antonio (one of many). My family lived here while my Dad was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base.

This was actually a home in which I have some memories. It was here I first saw and loved The Little Mermaid. I also remember a giant papasan chair, a scorpion, a bee-infested honeysuckle bush, and a swimming pool - not in the same memory, mind you.

9) Had a fabulous dinner at Boudros, a highly-recommended restaurant right on the riverwalk. They have the BEST guacamole, made tableside. Recipe here! (Why do so many of these "top ten" include food? Hmm...)

10) Last, but not least, I learned a little something about each of my travel companions.

Dad Moon is a pro on a TomTom GPS and he shares my love of DQ.

Mom Moon is someone with whom I could trust to pack for me, and she has a great fondness for chorizo in her omelets.

And Chris? While listening to my iPod with my earbuds on (before it got stolen), I learned from Chris that my "soft singing voice" is not as soft as I thought...

The Book Group

Not too long ago, I was lamenting my lack of girlfriends. Don't get me wrong; I love hanging out with Sadie, telling her all my secrets while we paint each other's fingernails, and have pillow fights.

Sadie and Katie - B.F.F.

But lately, I had been thinking about high school and my freshman year of college. How different my life seems now than then. I had friends that I saw every day, girlfriends that I talked to on a regular basis, and I missed that.

Around February, I guess, I remember talking to my mom about my prayers of late.

My mom mentioned Virginia. VK and I went to grade school together at Zion Christian Academy all the way through high school, attended the same church, man! we even 'went out' with same guy. (Not at the same time, mind you...)

ANYWAY, I love Virginia.

Amazingly enough, Virginia is now a teacher at our old elementary school and still attends my family church.

Well, Virginia's name came up, and before I knew it. Virginia, Kari, Megan (another school friend aka "Zionite"), and I were having dinner at Betty's Parkway in Riverside.

Me, Meg, and VK in Elementary School (Rachel too now!! To my left)

It was like we'd never been apart! We talked and talked and talked. Somehow, the topic of books came up, and before long, we formed a book group.

(Virginia says we can't call it a book club 'cause that sounds like we're old ladies.)

I was ex-cit-ed! I came home, told Chris all about it, and surfed the web for a couple of hours looking up books for us to read.

What do you expect? 1) I'm a nerd. 2) I love to plan. 3) I had some girls to hang out with again!

Chris was happy for me too... ESPECIALLY when our ever-evolving Bible-study, book group decided that we would celebrate each book read with a themed-dinner. The first book we finished was "Beguiled" by Deeanne Gist.

Since it was set in the South, we decided on Southern cuisine.

Menu:
Chicken and Dumplings
Fried Okra
Cooked Carrots
Homemade Cornbread
Fudge Pie (made from a real Southern cookbook - don't know why I'm in awe of that. Most of my recipes are from the foodnetwork.com or TiVo'd)

Here are some of the evening's highlights:

1) Cooking in my apron

2) Cooking in my new skillet

3) Cooking... period

It was the best night!!

I found some pans that I hadn't seen since I opened them at one of my bridal showers six years prior, Chris got a homemade meal thanks in part to his wife, and God answered my prayers when I got to share a meal with two phenomenal ladies.

Oh, and don't feel too sorry for Sadie... we still hang out.

P.S. Anyone interested in joining our small but brilliantly read book group is more than welcome!