Interesting Things Found on Vacation

Interesting Things Found on Vacation

A couple of weeks ago, we headed to the beach with some friends, and we stopped along the way in New Orleans. As you can probably guess, the picture above was not the craziest thing we witnessed. Just about anywhere you go, you can see a variety of things. The key is watching for them. I normally don’t notice these things, but I set out to find interesting things, and I found them. I would like to share a few interesting things found on vacation.

We left Texas and headed to New Orleans for the night, and the next day we left for Alabama. We had only been to New Orleans for lunch once, so the night activities were completely new to us. I am not sure if interesting is the best adjective to describe it or not. LOL!

Interesting Things to See in New Orleans

This only touches the surface, but where else can you see a motorized mummy, Darth Vader singing, people paying money to handle snakes, street bands, a sea of people, and fresh beignets? The best part of all of these is in the last picture. If you look closely to the poster in the middle of the unending sea of people, there was a group who were sharing the Gospel in all of that craziness. It was nice to see!

Once we left New Orleans, the rest of the trip was interesting in a much calmer way. These are some of the interesting things you may see on a beach vacation:

Interesting People Found on Vacation

One of my favorite authors is Andy Andrews, and yes, that is him in the first picture. We got to watch him record his podcast and then meet him afterward. If you have never read The Traveler’s Gift, it is a must! While we were there, I bought his latest book, Just Jones. I can’t wait!

Next, I had to share a picture of Jay wearing his “Ally” Hawaiian shirt. That was a great Etsy find.

We also got to see families playing games together. In that particular picture, the family was playing baseball (with a soft bat and ball), and the little toddlers were just toddling around, being part of the activities. I love seeing families having fun.

You probably recognize the girls rescuing the minnows. If you haven’t read last Saturday’s post, The Minnow Story, it shares their story. They were scooping and saving!

I love the last two pictures. The first is some random man and the last one is Jay. He is so far away that you can’t see him, but he is under the three umbrellas at the shoreline. Both men were sitting on the beach reading the Word of God! Priceless!

Interesting Things Found on Vacation

I found it interesting that while a lady was collecting seashells, she also collected a dead crab. LOL! Hopefully she was just going to show it to her kids and dispose of it,

There were many sandcastles along the beach each day, and the one above was still standing early one morning. There were beautiful plants, lots of kites flying in the sky, and this speed limit sign that served it’s purpose and got my attention.

Interesting Animals Found on Vacation

Sea Animals – You’ve gotta love ’em! We love feeding the birds while we are on the beach. You have to be careful though, not everyone likes birds swarming around them. That was one of Jacob’s favorite things – secretly throwing food for the birds next to his sister or others who hated birds. We always got a laugh out of it.

The Herons are so calm and majestic; I am always fascinated by them.

The pink bucket has minnows in it. As the girls were rescuing minnows, a lady was catching them to take to her son.

The last picture is going to need a little more explanation in a couple of weeks. It will in be the 4th “Lessons from the Beach” devotional. If you notice, the boy in the yellow float is the ONLY one in the water. You can’t see it clearly in the picture, but right behind him is shark (about 5 ft. long), swimming through the swimming area. More to come on that later.

Interesting Food Found on Vacation

I think my signature has become taking pictures of food that is already half eaten. I cannot seem to remember to take a picture (even when I am sharing a recipe) before I start eating it. That is very clear in these pictures.

Shrimp & Grits is my favorite, but I do not have a picture. I liked that one so much that I ate it all before the thought of a picture even entered my mind. The Fish & Grits was an interesting second.

The 2nd picture is going to be one I recreate later. Lulu’s had a simple bowl, with the secret ingredient being turnip greens. I’m not a huge fan of turnip greens, so I almost had them cut them from the dish, but I am glad I didn’t. This is something to try next time you want to experiment with a meal. See the instructions below.

The “NaanChos” and the fried seafood were absolutely scrumptious! And, I would have never guessed that Tex-Mex would be so good outside of Texas, but it was. Did you notice that we each had our own basket of chips and salsa?

Here is the interesting part of the last picture – I had to go all the way to Alabama to find out about Stouffer’s Chicken Alfredo? Our friends cooked it one night while we were there. We have already had it again since we have been home. If you haven’t had it, you should try it.

Instructions to Recreate the Key West Bowl from Lulu’s

Ingredients

• Your Favorite Rice, cooked according to the package directions (They used a yellow “Cuban” rice.)
• Turnip Greens, cooked and chopped
• Black Beans, rinsed and warmed
• Your choice of Meat – The Grilled Shrimp was delicious.
• A Sauce of Your Choosing – I plan on using an Avocado Ranch Dressing.

Instructions

Each of these items are cooked and added to individual bowls. Each person can add what they want. When they served the dish, the ingredients were not mixed together, and it came with a second skewer of shrimp. Again, I jumped right in and started eating before I took a picture.

Other Options

• Avocados or Guacamole
• Cheese
• Cilantro
• Pico
• Lime
• Corn

As you can tell by some of my recipes and menus, I really like bowls. They are so versatile and can be individualized for the whole family. You could almost call them a bowl buffet. If you try this one, let me know what you think. It is interestingly good.

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I am really glad I pre-determined to look for interesting things while we were gone. I am going to try and make it a point to continue watching and noticing the unusual. Thank you for letting me share some interesting things found on vacation. Keep your eyes opened and please share the interesting things you see.

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Related Site

If you are ever in the Gulf Shores or Orange Beach area, I highly encourage you to go see Andy Andrews. You can find him on Facebook for more information.

Until next week…

Have a Grace & Joy-Filled Day!

Susan

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“When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy.” Psalms 94:19

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