We landed
in New Orleans Tuesday morning, and after we picked out our new rental car, we
drove to my mum’s cousin Jerry, who lives north of New Orleans, in Diamondhead.
After we took a quick nap, he came home from work and took Mia, Mattis and me
flying in his Cessna. Seeing Mississippi and Louisiana from above was
incredible; the ground is woven through by swamps, marshes and rivers. You
could still see some of the wrecks left from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
New Orleans
was one ongoing culinary and culturary experience. We walked through the
streets of the garden district and French quarter, amazed by the
architecture New Orleans is famous for, by the cemeteries above the ground, and
the trees, still covered in beads from Mardi Gras.
The stops
in cafés and restaurants were a welcome break from the beating heat and
humidity. We tried everything: from Gumbo to Beignets, Jambalaya and
Muffaletta, Snowballs and red beans with rice.
After 4
wonderful days close to the Gulf of Mexico, we left to see my mum’s other
cousin Dagmar in Greenville, South Carolina. Greenville is a lovely city, not
with quite as much old european influence as New Orleans, but with its own
charme.
Greenville has a pretty little center with shops and boutiques, and a
river that flows through some parks, where you can hop in and cool down for a
little bit. We also visited Asheville in the Blue Ridge Moutntains and went
karting with Dagmar’s family.
On
Wednesday we drove down to Myrtle Beach, the infamous “Spring Break”–beach,
to see even more of my mum's family. They have been so welcoming and courteous and
we were able to enjoy more of that southern charme and hospitality. It was great to spend a couple days just relaxing in the sun, or jumping around in the
atlantic ocean.
We all got matching tattoos as a delicate little finish of our
trip.
During
those 5 weeks we experienced an overwhelming amount of kindness and comfort, of
love, warmth and open hearts. Everybody we met, from friends to family to strangers
on the streets have been very pleasant to us, and every
single one of them made our trip better. We were able to see whales every time
we went to the coast in Oregon and California, we saw alligators and otters,
we’ve had some seriously delicious food, but most of all we were able to make
some great memories with a bunch of different people in the most diverse
situations. We want everybody who was a part of our trip to know that
we appreciate everything you have done for us and that nothing is taken for
granted, and that we are blessed to have met all of you! Thank you!
Lots of
Love, Malin, Mia, Mattis, Karin, Jochen