New Orleans? Yes, please!

For the most part, I'm a very planful person, but every now and again I'll do something spontaneous.

Probably the most spontaneous thing I have ever done was when I was a freshman in college. A friend and I really wanted beignets, so we left around midnight for New Orleans....ate beignets...and drove right back to make it in time for an 11 o'clock class. Crazy? Most definitely, but still one of my favorite college memories.

Well, this past fall I drove my cousin and her friends to most of the Alabama football games. It worked well because they didn't want to ride with their parents and I needed someone to keep me up on the late night drives home. During one of those trips, I told them about my last minute trip to New Orleans. They decided right then that they wanted to go to New Orleans over Christmas break. I told them to ask their parents, and if they agreed, I was up for it.

Seriously...I doubted that the parents would go along with it. I mean, I'm only 26, it was the holiday season and there were going to be 5 girls so we wouldn't fit in my car and would need to borrow one of their parent's cars.

All I can say is that the Lord must have known how much all of us would need that trip, because it all worked out...and we were even able to convince them to let us spend the night! We left from my cousin's house early on Thursday the 30....drove to New Orleans, checked into the hotel, ate lunch, shopped, walked around, ate dinner and enjoyed some time at the hotel. The next morning we got up early and finished our time with the whole reason for the trip---beignets...and of course, a little more shopping.

Of course, when you're in a car with 5 16/17 year old girls for 5 hours at a time, you've got to know that car rides were quite eventful as well. We laughed a lot, took lots of pictures, there were some good conversations, and once I figured out a little system of ipod music sharing, there was great music for all!

I got home from the trip absolutely exhausted, but with a heart that was overflowing with thankfulness. I truly can't think of any way I would have rather spent some of the last days of 2010 than with Allison, Alston, Anne, Libby and Virginia! Five of the sweetest, God-loving teenagers that I know. Can't wait for our next trip!