Aaron's had some extra vacation days so we decided to do a little road-tripping! My former roommate Emily afforded us just the occasion when she got married in Jackson, MS to Max Jordon, a fellow PT of mine from USC. While in Jackson, we ate local at what is claimed to be Mississippi's best BBQ.
This wedding was so special to me and our other roommates as we got to see it bloom from the very beginning. Max got Em's digits at the annual Thanksgiving party at our old house on Belleview Street. (I miss that house somethin fierce). The two dated, both moved to Jackson following Em's job as a genetic counselor, got engaged and now are married! It had to be one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever had the pleasure of attending! Pics below :) p.s. Em was a competitive ballroom dancer in college so you know their first dance was nothing short of amazing!
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| Belleview roomies (of different years)+Max |
After the wedding, Aaron and I ventured a short 3 hours to the Big Easy--New Orleans!
We stopped by Cafe Du Monde to have some beignets (a-maz-ing) and then walked down Bourbon street (caught the end of the Saints/Falcons game and a little PG taste of the craziness of Bourbon street).
That afternoon/evening, we took a trolley through town to Audubon Park across from Loyola College and Tulane University. It was a beautiful green space with a 1.8 mi loop around a pond that Aaron convinced me to walk (I was so worn out from all the walking that morning!) It was a great relaxing (and free!) tourist attraction.
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| They had these "exercise stations" all around the loop, some of which were a little silly and/or unsafe! But props to Nola for encouraging exercise! |
The next day we did some Christmas shopping in the French Quarter and stopped into the "market" (at least that's what I'm calling it bc it reminds me of the Charleston Market) to listen to a New Orleans jazz band complete with Lindy hoppers! It made our Nola experience truly complete! (sorry it's so wobbly, but enjoy the music!)
From New Orleans, we drove to Birmingham, AL and stayed with our friends, the Hardgroves. They moved to Birmingham around March or April because Denson was relocated with his job at State Farm. Jackie, his wife, is a PT, and both are incredible people! They are about our parents age and have been a part of our life since we were dating. Aaron and I both knew at least one of their 4 kids (1 married in) before meeting them so it's been neat to see them as parents, and as a married couple. Simply put, we love the Hardgroves and it was so great to see them!
The next morning, before heading back to Cola, we decided to visit the Civil Rights Institute in downtown Birmingham, the city where much of the Civil Rights Movement took place in the 60s. I had heard my mom and Gramma describe what it was like when schools in the south were integrated, but I don't think I realized just how unbelievably atrocious the segregation laws were prior to that. I knew that laws had to be passed to demand equal treatment of black and white folks, but I never knew that segregation was written into law prior to that. Call me ignorant, but I just never knew! I can't imagine people being okay with this: our weekly lifegroup meeting would have been illegal. Aaron's Wednesday basketball game would have been illegal. That is crazy! Praise God that He opened much of America's eyes to the fact that segregation is sin. That's what one of the statues on the Freedom Walk says on it, and it's true.
"If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors."--James 2:8-9
The Freedom Walk is a trail through Ingram Park outside the Institute, the site of many riots during the movement. There are these statues/monuments (?) to depict what life was like.
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| Attacks by police dogs |
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| You can't see it very well, but this is a depiction of 2 students ducking in cover from high-powered water hoses. |
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| "Segregation is a sin" written upside down on the jail cell. |
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| 16th Street Baptist Church across the street from the Civil Rights Institute. This church along with many others were bombed during the movement. When this one was bombed, four little girls died, and the movement got some real national attention. I had watched a documentary on this when I was a kid so it was one site I definitely wanted to see in Birmingham. |
More pictures of the Freedom Walk and the rest of our road trip can be found on my facebook here.
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