Thomas, though, did not survive the vacation to New Orleans.
On Friday, someone fatally shot the 26-year-old while he visited a friend's apartment in Algiers. On Tuesday, he died according to authorities.
"Traig really enjoyed life," his mother, Valencia Thomas, said Wednesday. "We don't know what happened."
The New Orleans Police Department said it responded to a shooting in the 3000 block of Rue Parc Fontaine about 9:30 p.m. Friday. Officers found a 28-year-old man lying outside an apartment bleeding from bullet wounds to the abdomen and leg. Inside, they discovered Thomas on the sofa, shot once in the head.
New Orleans EMS paramedics later arrived and rushed both men to Interim LSU Public Hospital. Police said the 28-year-old victim's injuries were minor. Thomas, on the other hand, died there four days later at 1:23 p.m., said John Gagliano, the Orleans Parish coroner's chief investigator.
"They were just meeting up to go out and have fun," his mother said. "They were going to do what it is that young people do."
Detectives have not released details about suspects or a motive behind the killing. Thomas' death marked at least the 113th murder the NOPD has been called out to investigate this year.
According to Valencia Thomas, her son attended Gretna Jr. High School and West Jefferson High School. At West Jeff, he ran track and performed in the marching band before receiving his diploma in 2003.
Traig Thomas got into a bit of trouble in 2005 -- he pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana, and a judge sentenced him to six months of probation, court records show. However, Thomas relocated to the Houston area after Hurricane Katrina a few months later, and his life got back in order.
In 2007, he landed a job at Bay Oaks Country Club, where his mother also worked. He eventually earned a promotion to the position of "banquet captain," in which he oversaw crews handling weddings and receptions.
He had also climbed the career ladder high enough to become his mother's supervisor.
"It was funny," Valencia Thomas said. "My son was my boss."
In Houston, Traig Thomas met a woman named Mydisty Godfrey at a nightclub. He married her in August 2009, and together they were raising three young children.
His wife said he had been saving up to buy the five of them a house in Houston. But first, he wanted travel with all of them back to his birthplace for a break from work, to spend time with his grandparents, siblings and former classmates in the West Bank neighborhoods where he came of age.
Instead, "I lost my husband," Mydisty Thomas said, sobbing.
Ramon Antonio Vargas can be reached at rvargas@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3371.
Kimberly Richards (Gonzales)
I still can't believe you're gone. I thank God for allowing me to see you one last time before you joined Him at his side. Love and miss you dearly Traig...