By TERRY R. CASSREINO
PEARL RIVER, La. (Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009) – The First Official Cassreino Family Cruise Vacation Adventure to the Western Caribbean begins today at about 9 a.m. when Pam and I leave with Camryn and Matthew for the cruise ship terminal in New Orleans.
Hmmmm. Let’s see. Traveling with a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old on Norwegian Cruise Lines. This is either going to be a major disaster on the scale of Pompei or Hurricane Katrina – or it will be a huge success the likes of which our generation has never experienced.
Actually, I the optimist and think this will be a success. The kids are excited about traveling on a Big Boat. And Pam and I are looking forward to leaving behind the day-to-day stress of life for a seven-day cruise.
Pam and I are cruise veterans, having sailed on Carnival or NCL out of New Orleans on seven separate times during the 10 years we have been married. We love it. The trips were casual, relaxing, enjoyable; the ports were fascinating.
We’ve lowered our expectations traveling with two children. But I still think we will have fun.
And one thing is certain no matter what: Ole Miss defeated LSU in Oxford in one of the most spectacular, exciting Ole Miss-LSU games I have ever seen. Too bad I was there for what had to be an incredibly humiliating loss.
Take that, LSU.
Copyright 2009, Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
A little about Mississippi, a little about Louisiana, a little about New Orleans and A LOT about our adoption story. This blog and our adoption story is dedicated to Camryn and Matthew Cassreino so that you both will know. Copyright 2021 by Terry R. Cassreino
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
An oyster festival without the oysters: 'We ran out'
By TERRY R. CASSREINO
METAIRIE, La. (Saturday, Nov. 15, 2009) – The giant nutria, about 6-and-a-half feet tall, was within a few feet of Matthew when his face turned to pure terror and he was on the verge of a blood-curdling scream.
So much for a photo with the kids and the Zephyrs baseball team mascot.
At least Matthew and Camryn enjoyed the sights and rode a few of the puny kiddie rides at the annual St. Clement of Rome Catholic Church Oyster Festival tonight in Metairie. That was about the only thing worthwhile at the event.
What, you say? Did you go there to see The Producers? The band you remember seeing on the S.S. President when it offered nightly concert cruises on the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans? The same ship that now sits idle on the Mississippi in St. Louis as a floating casino?
Didn’t you go to the oyster festival to eat char-broiled oysters prepared and sold by Drago’s? Didn’t you go to enjoy the entertainment and fellowship afford by annual Catholic Church events like this one that happens nearly every week in metro New Orleans?
Well, yes and no.
The Producers sucked. They looked like a bunch of middle-age men trying to recapture the youth of the past. The keyboard player was paunchy and overweight. The others looked like they were 35 years older than the last time I saw them. And they sounded badly off key.
And the oysters – they were out. Yes, folks, you read it right: The oyster festival was out of oysters despite having another day to go. Hmmm. Sounds kind of like Popeyes being out of chicken. Or Burger King running out of ground meat for burgers.
At least we spent time together as a family.
Here are a few pictures.
And hey – it’s one week until our Thanksgiving cruise with the kids aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. Now that should be a trip to remember.
Copyright 2009 Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
METAIRIE, La. (Saturday, Nov. 15, 2009) – The giant nutria, about 6-and-a-half feet tall, was within a few feet of Matthew when his face turned to pure terror and he was on the verge of a blood-curdling scream.
So much for a photo with the kids and the Zephyrs baseball team mascot.
At least Matthew and Camryn enjoyed the sights and rode a few of the puny kiddie rides at the annual St. Clement of Rome Catholic Church Oyster Festival tonight in Metairie. That was about the only thing worthwhile at the event.
What, you say? Did you go there to see The Producers? The band you remember seeing on the S.S. President when it offered nightly concert cruises on the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans? The same ship that now sits idle on the Mississippi in St. Louis as a floating casino?
Didn’t you go to the oyster festival to eat char-broiled oysters prepared and sold by Drago’s? Didn’t you go to enjoy the entertainment and fellowship afford by annual Catholic Church events like this one that happens nearly every week in metro New Orleans?
Well, yes and no.
The Producers sucked. They looked like a bunch of middle-age men trying to recapture the youth of the past. The keyboard player was paunchy and overweight. The others looked like they were 35 years older than the last time I saw them. And they sounded badly off key.
And the oysters – they were out. Yes, folks, you read it right: The oyster festival was out of oysters despite having another day to go. Hmmm. Sounds kind of like Popeyes being out of chicken. Or Burger King running out of ground meat for burgers.
At least we spent time together as a family.
Here are a few pictures.
And hey – it’s one week until our Thanksgiving cruise with the kids aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. Now that should be a trip to remember.
Copyright 2009 Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Watching football, catching a parade
By TERRY R. CASSREINO
PEARL RIVER, La. (Monday, Oct. 26, 2009) – These weekends just seem to fly by – especially ones that have been as nice as the just-ended Saturday and Sunday stretch.
How nice was the weekend? Well, let’s look at these facts:
Ole Miss Football
I couldn’t be in Oxford this weekend – alas, it’s almost impossible for me to make the trip there now that my family is in Southeast Louisiana – but I did catch the Ole Miss-Arkansas game on the SEC Network.
The Rebels looked much better than the last outing I caught against Alabama. This great win against Arkansas sets yup the remaining games of this year’s schedule beginning Saturday at Auburn.
Win-out, and the Rebs will likely find themselves in the Top 10 once again. This is probably the toughest game on our schedule. Auburn is winnable, although no certain pushover.
Krewe of Boo
Around 3 p.m. Saturday, I packed my wife and children into the car, picked up my niece, switched to my sister’s SUV, packed the parade ladder and headed for the French Quarter and the 2nd annual Krewe of Boo Halloween parade.
This certainly wasn’t an Endymion or Orpheus. The Krewe of Boo is what it is: a nice, small-scaled, parade not unlike the small-scaled early season Carnival parades that usually pop up in January.
The kids loved it – and that’s all that mattered. They enjoyed watching the bands, the dance groups, the horses and the generous riders on Blain Kerne’s small, Halloween-styled floats. Nothing spectacular, but nice.
The night ended with a $40 parking ticket slapped on the SUV. The New Orleans police greedily ticketed what looked like 100 or so cars on South Peters, just beyond Elysian Fields. They cited us for parking on the sidewalk.
But one thing is wrong: THERE IS NO SIDEWALK.
Another case of misplaced priorities. While folks are out in the city killing and murdering others, while drug dealers are out there getting our kids addicted, the New Orleans police are ticketing peoples’ cars for no apparent reason other than to screw the people who parked there.
Nevertheless, I have included a slide show here for your enjoyment. Click a photo and you’ll see a larger version. Enjoy.
Saints football
The New Orleans Saints won – improbably – Sunday at Miami in a strange, exciting game. I gave up on them at the half, but was incredibly impressed with the character of the team.
I’m not much of a pro football fan, but the Saints are a fun team to watch.
All photos and text copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
PEARL RIVER, La. (Monday, Oct. 26, 2009) – These weekends just seem to fly by – especially ones that have been as nice as the just-ended Saturday and Sunday stretch.
How nice was the weekend? Well, let’s look at these facts:
Ole Miss Football
I couldn’t be in Oxford this weekend – alas, it’s almost impossible for me to make the trip there now that my family is in Southeast Louisiana – but I did catch the Ole Miss-Arkansas game on the SEC Network.
The Rebels looked much better than the last outing I caught against Alabama. This great win against Arkansas sets yup the remaining games of this year’s schedule beginning Saturday at Auburn.
Win-out, and the Rebs will likely find themselves in the Top 10 once again. This is probably the toughest game on our schedule. Auburn is winnable, although no certain pushover.
Krewe of Boo
Around 3 p.m. Saturday, I packed my wife and children into the car, picked up my niece, switched to my sister’s SUV, packed the parade ladder and headed for the French Quarter and the 2nd annual Krewe of Boo Halloween parade.
This certainly wasn’t an Endymion or Orpheus. The Krewe of Boo is what it is: a nice, small-scaled, parade not unlike the small-scaled early season Carnival parades that usually pop up in January.
The kids loved it – and that’s all that mattered. They enjoyed watching the bands, the dance groups, the horses and the generous riders on Blain Kerne’s small, Halloween-styled floats. Nothing spectacular, but nice.
The night ended with a $40 parking ticket slapped on the SUV. The New Orleans police greedily ticketed what looked like 100 or so cars on South Peters, just beyond Elysian Fields. They cited us for parking on the sidewalk.
But one thing is wrong: THERE IS NO SIDEWALK.
Another case of misplaced priorities. While folks are out in the city killing and murdering others, while drug dealers are out there getting our kids addicted, the New Orleans police are ticketing peoples’ cars for no apparent reason other than to screw the people who parked there.
Nevertheless, I have included a slide show here for your enjoyment. Click a photo and you’ll see a larger version. Enjoy.
Saints football
The New Orleans Saints won – improbably – Sunday at Miami in a strange, exciting game. I gave up on them at the half, but was incredibly impressed with the character of the team.
I’m not much of a pro football fan, but the Saints are a fun team to watch.
All photos and text copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Great weekend highlighted by trip to French Quarter
By TERRY R. CASSREINO
PEARL RIVER, La. (Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009) -- Can you think of a better weekend?
Partly cloudy skies. Temperatures in the 60s. Great fall weather. The Saints win in an impressive game. Ole Miss wins at homecoming. And the Cassreinos visited the French Quarter on Saturday.
Yep. We packed the kids in the car, drove to the city, took the Canal Street streetcar to the Quarter and walked for a few hours. We ended the night with an unmemorable dinner at Mandina's in Mandeville, but it was still a great, relaxing weekend.
We even took Camryn and Matthew on a horse-and-buggy ride through the French Quarter -- something we promised Camryn weeks ago that we would do. We took a few photos and I am posting a slide show below.
As always, click the photo for a larger version. Enjoy.
Text and photos Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
PEARL RIVER, La. (Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009) -- Can you think of a better weekend?
Partly cloudy skies. Temperatures in the 60s. Great fall weather. The Saints win in an impressive game. Ole Miss wins at homecoming. And the Cassreinos visited the French Quarter on Saturday.Yep. We packed the kids in the car, drove to the city, took the Canal Street streetcar to the Quarter and walked for a few hours. We ended the night with an unmemorable dinner at Mandina's in Mandeville, but it was still a great, relaxing weekend.
We even took Camryn and Matthew on a horse-and-buggy ride through the French Quarter -- something we promised Camryn weeks ago that we would do. We took a few photos and I am posting a slide show below.
As always, click the photo for a larger version. Enjoy.
Text and photos Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Saturday at the St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church fair
By TERRY R. CASSREINO
PEARL RIVER, LA. (Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009) -- As I watch Ole Miss play rather pathetically for the first half of its game against Alabama -- and with little hope they can pull off a win in the second -- I decided to update my Blog with some new photos.
Today is Pam's birthday (everyone join me in wishing her a happy birthday)and the St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church fair in Slidell. In case you have never been to the fair, let's just say it is huge -- one gigantic event.
With the chance of rain set for 90 percent, we decided to hang around the fair this afternoon after our daughter, Camryn, performed for the crowd as part of her pre-K class. We walked and walked and walked. And Camryn and our son, Matthew, had a blast.
They especially enjoyed the carnival rides on the Midway. While I personally prefer a real amusement park like Six Flags or the now-defunct JazzLand, the kids nevertheless had a great time.
And I snapped away, taking photo after photo. Below is a slide show from the day.
Before I go, I'd like to add this extra note: You should be able to tell from the photos that Matthew's right leg is fine after spending much of the summer in a series of casts to correct his club foot.
Matthew now sleeps in a large plastic brace and, hopefully, will not require surgery in the future. We will have to monitor his condition over the next few months and years; he has to go back to his doctor sometime in the next month.
Enjoy the slideshow. As always, if you want to see a larger version of a photo, click it and you will automatically see one.
Photos and text copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
PEARL RIVER, LA. (Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009) -- As I watch Ole Miss play rather pathetically for the first half of its game against Alabama -- and with little hope they can pull off a win in the second -- I decided to update my Blog with some new photos.
Today is Pam's birthday (everyone join me in wishing her a happy birthday)and the St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church fair in Slidell. In case you have never been to the fair, let's just say it is huge -- one gigantic event.
With the chance of rain set for 90 percent, we decided to hang around the fair this afternoon after our daughter, Camryn, performed for the crowd as part of her pre-K class. We walked and walked and walked. And Camryn and our son, Matthew, had a blast.
They especially enjoyed the carnival rides on the Midway. While I personally prefer a real amusement park like Six Flags or the now-defunct JazzLand, the kids nevertheless had a great time.
And I snapped away, taking photo after photo. Below is a slide show from the day.
Before I go, I'd like to add this extra note: You should be able to tell from the photos that Matthew's right leg is fine after spending much of the summer in a series of casts to correct his club foot.
Matthew now sleeps in a large plastic brace and, hopefully, will not require surgery in the future. We will have to monitor his condition over the next few months and years; he has to go back to his doctor sometime in the next month.
Enjoy the slideshow. As always, if you want to see a larger version of a photo, click it and you will automatically see one.
Photos and text copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)