Reunion - The Arrivals

The day finally arrived. On Friday, February 14, the Jensen Family began to arrive in Natchez, Mississippi.

John was the first to arrive, flying in from Annapolis, Maryland. I picked him up in the morning at the Jackson, Mississippi Airport. He stayed in the Angel Room at Chez Casey.









The second to arrive, also from Annapolis, were Paul and Lucy and their offspring, Katie, Alex, and Cameron - and Dax. They flew into Jackson and rented a car for the drive to Natchez - saving me from another 4-5 hour trip to Jackson and back. They all stayed at Chez Casey: Paul, Lucy, and Cameron in the Rose Room, Katie and Alex in the Garden Room, and Dax in the Magnolia Room.



Howard, Lori, Emily, and Mallori drove in from Lafayette, Louisiana - the shortest trip made. They stayed at the Eola Hotel, a little over a block down Pearl Street from Chez Casey.









I sweet talked (conned) John into driving to Jackson to pick up Carlea who came from New York. She stayed with her father in the Angel Room at Chez Casey.

Scott, Halane, Adele, and Maple were the last to arrive and made the longest trip by far - all the way from Vienna, Austria. They arrived at the Baton Rouge, Louisiana Airport and rented a car. Although Maple looks wide awake, you can tell Scott and Halane had not had much sleep in the past 48 hours. They stayed a block down Washington Street in a cottage which is part of the Wensel House Bed and Breakfast.

Entertainment

We'll be having dinner at 7 pm on Saturday at the Eola Hotel. I had a heck of a time finding a place because of my requirements. I wanted to be in a room by ourselves, so the kids don't have to behave. I didn't want to pay extra for the room. I didn't want all of us to have to eat the same thing - I wanted to be able to pick from a menu - we have too many different tastes. Finally, it couldn't be too expensive. We'll be in the Julep (?) Room, which is a glassed in room next to the courtyard. (Kids don't have to behave, but they can't throw things.) One side of the room is open to the hallway, so we may have to watch for escaping children. The room is where they usually serve breakfast and lunch, but they have dinner in another room - so we'll be the only ones in there. There will be just one check, but we'll let the family accountant (Halane) figure out how much everyone owes. Since we're not a very formal family, I don't think we should dress up. It would be good if everyone bathed and looked "nice".

I have invited my friends to an open house on Sunday from 1-4, so we'll have to be clean and look "nice" again.

On Saturday morning, I'm planning to send someone to get some of Natchez's world famous donuts for breakfast.

There will be no food in the house. I have a very small refrigerator, and I am making a point of emptying it before you get here. That way, there'll be room for you to store whatever you and your family needs. I do have plenty of Community Coffee, sugar, and canned milk - plus generic cokes and some bottles of water that I keep for visitors.

There is no TV in my house. Actually, there is a TV, but no cable. I may have a DVD player if Howard can get it to work. - but no DVDs. Bring some if you need them.

As for the weather, who knows! We have had some really cold days (below freezing) and even snow once - and had some really warm days (yesterday went above 80). My best advice is to check weather.com right before you pack.