It's the Final Countdown

Ari says:
Go ahead and sing the song; I'll wait.
Welcome back! Yes, my dear and wonderful friends, as of today I only have 4 days left here at the illustrious LifeWay. The time is drawing nigh when I will no longer awaken at the butt crack of dawn to trek downtown and snake my way through the bowels of the Baptist Vatican. I am very close to being a free woman. Alas, since I am trapped for a couple more days, I will attempt to alleviate my pain by wasting as much time as possible (well, not really. I've got a ton of junk to do, but I thought I'd give you a recap of the weekend). Bart and I met up Friday evening in the city of our future home, New Orleans. I picked him up from the airport and we drove across the river ("The Mighty Mississip" as Bart calls it) into an area called Algiers Point. This is the little town we both really like and have focused our search for housing here. It is a small community with a close-knit feel; very "homey" (not "Homey don't play that") and cozy. We checked into the Bed & Breakfast where we were staying and then drove around the area for a while, driving up and down the streets and getting a layout of where all we would be on Saturday. Finally, we decided we were starving and took the ferry (yes, a real live ferry) across the river into the city. We walked around the French Quarter and found one of Bart's favorite places called "The Gumbo Shop." Awesome food! We had a great dinner, walked around the city a bit more and called it a night. Unfortunately, the ferry took a bit longer than we anticipated, so it took us a bit to get back to "the Point." We just need to figure out what the schedule of the thing is so we don't waste so much time waiting for it. Oh, I lied. We did check out two of the local pubs. The "Crown and Anchor" is a tiny place that is just awesome and they have a cat that belongs to the bar. So, what does a newly married couple do when they haven't seen each other for 2 months? Naturally, we sat in the bar and played with the cat. The other pub, "Old Point" (I think) had a really great local band playing. We did quite a bit of people watching and just enjoying the interaction between the "natives" (I'll let Bart tell you his discovery). Saturday was a gorgeous day, if not warm, and we spent time with our realtor scoping out places. We have found 3 that we are very happy with and are just now trying to make a final decision. I told Bart that I would be fine with whichever one he chose, as I really would love any of the 3 places (that, and I hate making big decisions like that). There are 2 houses and a condo that we really like. The first house (the "gas lantern" house as we call it) has a beautifully open floor plan, a great kitchen and a neat balcony off the master bedroom upstairs. The condo is three stories, tons of space, great amenities, and has an amazing view of the city. The second house is in the heart of the point and has a ton of character, tall (14') ceilings, and a really nice backyard with a deck (rather rare down there) (Side note: Ang- This is the one she told us about that we couldn't see when we went down there). The rent is all very close on these places, so you can see that we have a tough choice ahead of us, but we're very happy with what we've found, so I'm sure we'll make the right decision. After a much-needed nap and shower for both of us, Bart and I went out for an awesome dinner of seafood (I have a feeling this is going to happen a lot) and walked around the area for a bit. It was a gorgeous night and we just enjoyed the time together. Sunday brought on the first bit of Hurricane Fay. Bart and I enjoyed a simple breakfast at Toute de Suite (a precious corner café, that is a local hangout) and then explored the area a bit more. We found a gorgeous cathedral, but couldn't figure out if it was Catholic or not. I guess we'll find out sooner or later. After a bit more exploration, the time came to head to the airport. Bart's flight was slightly delayed, but I didn't complain against the extra time with him. After a soggy goodbye (on my part), Bart headed through security and I got on the road. It was a long drive home in the rain, but I made it back safe and sound. Irritatingly, Bart made it back across the country before I arrived home. How wrong is that?! Anyway, it was a great weekend and was full of promise and possibilities for us. I was going to post pictures of the places we were looking at, but I'll wait until we've made our choice. Hope you all had a great weekend!