This weekend we took to the skies again. Although we planned it in advance, the timing was perfect to escape the onslaught of Hurricane Harvey, which just seemed to park itself over southeast Texas. It makes me feel a little guilty for how much fun we would have while so many close, in proximity, to us were getting ravaged. But nevertheless, we jetset to the northeast for an end of summer adventure.

And where did we go you may wonder? To one of our favorite food destination cities in the world, Buffalo, NY. This time, it was so we could go to the Northwest Jazz Festival, where Uncle Mark and his band, Mark Marinaccio and Friends, headlined the event.

Behind us, the block was packed with with a sea of people, sitting or standing shoulder to shoulder in order to take in the performance. It was an incredible experience, one definitely worth the trip, even had the trip ended there.

Of course this was a festival, and that meant food!

And luckily for us, there was some room to run around behind the stage.

All and all, I would say that we had a pretty good time. Even Uncle Richard and Aunt Susan would agree.

Lucky for us, the weekend has two days in it, and we didn’t waste either of them. We spent Sunday preparing for autumn, the same way we finished spring, with a crawfish boil. And nothing goes better with Jazz than some Creole food, just ask New Orleans.

Uncle Mark, is quickly earning his Play Gourmet status as a crawfish boil master. Now rather than buying some off-the-shelf seasoning, Uncle Mark got in touch with the Louisiana company, Cajunland, in order to get the authentic flavor shipped direct to him.

Of course, we start with the veggies. Potatoes, Corn, Mushrooms, Garlic, Oranges, Lemons, and Onions.

Then we add our wonderful assortment of seafood.

After steeping in the wonderful spicy liquid, we are ready to pour it out, moments before devouring it.

Once it was time to eat, our little Play Gourmet was elated with the opportunity.

And he did a great job, eating nine crawfish along with his potatoes and corn. I think it is safe to say that we can expect him to hold up his end everytime we do a boil in the future.

In two short days we went to a jazz festival, had a crawfish boil, and spent quality time with Aunt Sasha, Uncle Mark, Aunt Susan, and Uncle Richard. I think we overachieved this weekend.