Cajun Invasion

We had a wonderful stay at Rick and Denise's place on Lake Norman.  Of course a big part of the fun was getting together with Betty and her family who brought a bit of Cajun with them.  Betty and Brett left Louisiana on Wednesday evening and drove straight through arriving Thursday morning in time for breakfast.  

Rick now has a new welcome for visitors with a driveway chalk welcome.  He even included a "stick Betty" with a glass of wine. 

Here are Betty, Samantha, Dylan and Brett.  Dylan and Samantha live in Mooresville and have been to Rick and Denise's before.

They have a beautiful place overlooking the water.

This is the view from the house as I had my morning coffee.  Sure could get used to this.

Betty told us they were bringing some food, but we had no idea it would be this much.  They arrived with two coolers filled with over 100 pounds of shrimp and crabs.

Most of that shrimp had to be cleaned so Betty, Nanc and I went to work heading shrimp.....

.....while Dylan and Brett were boiling sausage, shrimp and crabs.  Brett brought the burner and bought the 50 quart pot which he left with Dylan as part of his Cajun boil starter kit.

Nothing like fresh boiled shrimp.

Now understand, there were only eight of us and all this wonderful food.  It sure was more then we could eat in one meal.

The next day Brett cooked a shrimp and crab etouffee while Nanc chopped up shrimp for salad and Betty prepped shrimp to be fried.

Rick checked out the etouffee and gave two thumbs up.

Betty making one of TWO shrimp salads and deep frying even more shrimp.

It was not just about the food.  Here are Betty, Nanc and Denise celebrating with wine.  Check out the drinking buddies they have on their glasses. 

With all that food Rick called in reinforcements. Here are Tim and Mary with Rick and Brett the chef.

Brett, Mary, Tim, Denise, Rick, Samantha, Dylan, Betty and Nanc getting ready to chow down.  There was more than enough for all.  The next morning Brett cook eggs with shrimp and we opted for left overs for lunch.

When you are at the lake it is not all about the food.  We got out on the water with some of Rick's toys.  Dylan and Samantha skied for the first time, though we did not get a picture of her.

She also mastered the paddle board even as Dylan harassed her with Rick's little power boat. 

Betty and Brett did not want to try the water sports but did like the boat.

Even the old guys got on the skies.  It has been years since I skied but it was just like riding a bike.  I got right up and did a couple of loops all without getting injured.  May have to do it again next year so I can say I skied at 70.

I took over the jet ski and Rick took a couple of loops around the lake.  Sorry, we did not get a good picture of him on the skies.

Dylan, Rick and I all smiles after skiing.

While Rick and Denise have a beautiful townhouse they have always wanted a house on the lake.  They are closing on this lot next month and are looking to building here in a couple years.

On Sunday a few of us hit the water.  It sure was refreshing.

Betty, Brett, Dylan and Samantha on board the boat.  It sure was fun and a great way to see the many beautiful homes on the lake shore.

Nanc, who is not a big water fan, wanted to master the board and looks real happy with the results.

One of the sunsets on our stay at the lake.  Betty and Brett left early Monday morning to miss the traffic and we headed out a bit later.  It was great getting to see Betty and to get to know Brett, Dylan and Samantha.  We sure had a great time with the Cajun invasion of Lake Norman.  Thank you Rick and Denise for your gracious hospitality and a wonderful time.  It's always a pleasure to spend time with you both.