NEW ORLEANS
Day 1
Leah was turning 40 this year and wanted to do a fun, girls trip! Trying to decide where to go and then coordinate with 6 different mom schedules almost killed us. It was so hard! But we FINALLY figured out a date and bought our tickets! Leah did all the research and planning which was amazzzzing. I am usually the one to plan trips so to just buy my plane tickets and show up was a luxury! We flew out on Thursday, April 7 at noon and landed in New Orleans early evening. We drove straight to Target to buy snacks and water bottles and some extra jackets (it was much colder than we expected!), then dropped our luggage at the hotel and walked to a nearby restaurant called New Orleans Creole Cookery! It turned out to be SO GOOD! We got an assortment of "New Orleans" food like shrimp and grits and jambalaya and tasted everyones! YUM. Except for Leah who doesn't like seafood... poor girl!
Then we walked to Cafe Du Monde for some beignets and on to another shop for some gelato. Also had to duck into a gift shop to check out all the beads and voodoo dolls and masquerade masks!
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Finally headed back to our adorable, boutique hotel called One 11! It was the cutest place! Right on the water. We had two rooms, adjacent to each other and we slept with sisters. The funniest part was that the shower wall was "see through"... a blurry glass wall that you could see from the beds. You really couldn't see anything but a shadow unless you pressed against the glass, but you better believe Shelley's bum did just that! I don't think she realized how clear it really was haha! Adelle's flight finally got in late and she got an uber to the hotel. Yay, we were now complete with 6!
DAY 2
We woke up early and drove about 45min. to do some kayaking in the bayou!! This activity was Leah's idea and the most debated by far. No one wanted to paddle with alligators and needed lots of reassurance from the tour guide that they weren't going to be crocodile breakfast! For some reason, I was never worried. I was all in from the first time she suggested it! We parked on the side of the highway and met the tour guide next to the river. He guided us up the waterway to what you would call the bayou, I guess. It felt like being in a swamp with lots of interconnecting waterways. We saw LOTS of alligators! Mostly sunbathing on logs. None swam up to us. The tour guide pointed out wildlife and birds and nests and told us lots of facts about the area, none of which I remember now. I think the most exciting part was paddling through a tight area and under a large tree that had fallen over and we had to do the limbo to get past!
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The rental van was having tire pressure issues so we pulled into a gas station to fill it up with air and a car pulled in behind us to wait, but then, seeing that it was just girls, the guy got out and offered to help us with it! So gentlemanly!
I remember when Hurricane Katrina hit when I was in college. I would come home on my lunch breaks from Dr. Merkley's office and watch the news crews filming people in canoes trying to escape off house roofs. They used this stadium, the superdome, as a gathering place. It was interesting to see it in real life. We drove past it multiple times a day.
We changed at the hotel then walked to Ruby Slipper Cafe for brunch. It was yummy! I thoroughly enjoyed my benedicts!
After that we decided to just walk all over the French Quarter! We stopped into this candy shop and I was bowled over by the pralines!!!! Unreal! Top 3 best things I ate on our trip.
Look how pretty the store fronts are!
Shelley became a fan of Kilwins when they visited Florida so she made sure we all got to experience the ice cream.
Made our way to Jackson Square. Lots of homeless people, vendors, street performers and bad smells. We walked into the cathedral and it really is stunning inside. I donated some money and lit a prayer candle. There were scaffoldings up inside so I guess they're doing repairs. The stained glass and sculptures were very impressive... it just feels a bit austere and cold to me, but I appreciate what it represents and the devotion of the Catholic church.
On and on we walked, gushing over the balconies and colors and flower pots! There was one, voodoo shop, that caught my eye and my curiosity overtook. We took a quick stroll through and to be sure, the bad juju vibes were STRONG. It was tidy and well lit but I couldn't comprehend how the girl behind the counter could stand to spend all her time in a place of such darkness.
We walked through an art gallery and my goodness it was weird!!! What is it with some people? Why would anyone want this stuff in their home? What would possess anyone's mind to PRODUCE this kind of "art"?!
Aha! The famous Bourbon street! Boozie woozie, but none for us, thank you! Learned that it's actually named after a family, not the alcohol.
We waited a long time to eat at the Creole House. I can't remember what Sarah ordered but it was better than my mufaletta!
After that, Leah went back to the hotel since she had no interest in the night life, and the rest of us got an Uber back into the French Quarter. Sarah had found a bar that served mocktails and we wiggled our way in to the packed place to listen to some live music. The bartender had no idea what I was talking about when I ordered the mocktails for all of us. I guess non-drinkers aren't a hot commodity round these parts! I'll be honest... the music was weird. Like, Ross playing his keyboard sounds on FRIENDS, weird. So we didn't stay long. There was a cute, open market next door that we meandered through, then walked to Bourbon Street. Not gonna lie, it was a bit sketch, walking those dark, empty streets alone at night. But once we got to Bourbon, we were alone no longer!! HO.LY. COW!!! I have never seen ANYTHING like Bourbon Street! Not even the strip at Vegas compares. It's a compact road, completely lined with balconies FILLED with happy, drunk people, loud music and dancing. There were beads and shouting and mayhem galore. I really could not believe my eyes. And it wasn't even the weekend! When a particularly good song got my attention, I ran up to the bouncer and asked if I needed to show my I.D. The look on his face was hilarious. He raised his eyebrows and looked at all of us straight, fully clothed, white moms and laughed. Then shooed us in. Haha! I was immediately in my element. OK, maybe bars and bad language aren't my element but loud music and dancing without a care are! We got down! Well, Sarah and I got down. Hahaha. The others sort of watched on in amusement. I was SO HAPPY!! After a while there, we kept walking and when another bar was blasting a fun song, we'd jump in and dance for a bit then keep going. I was dancing in the street at one point when a homeless guy tried to join in. Eeek! The whole experience was unlike any other. It was a riot! We 100% stuck out like sore thumbs. No doubt about it. Besides Mr. Homeless man, no one tried interacting with us. Which was great. We could dance to our heart's content and walk past without anyone bothering us. I'm not really sure how anyone lives that lifestyle on the regular, but for one wild hour, it was perfect. My favorite part of the trip by far!
DAY 3
Shelley had heard about a place called District Donuts in the Garden District that was a must see. Or eat, I guess. I wasn't really hungry but we ordered a couple donuts and then, on a whim, Leah and I decided to share the Hot Chicken and Honey Butter French Toast Biscuit. Ohhhh. Myyyyy. GOSH!! There is no need to try and describe this morsel from heaven, because words will never do it justice! I could not believe what was happening to me. It was an otherworldly experience. Surely drugs were an ingredient. BEST thing I ate on the whole trip. Probably my whole life.
After breakfast we window shopped around and walked through an antique store.
How cute is this mural wall we found?!
Then we got an Uber back to downtown to start our city bus tour! Our tour guide was sassy and super knowledgeable. Some random notes I took...
The statue of Andrew Jackson in Jackson Square is tipping his hat because in real life he disrespected the woman who financed it when he met her. So she decided if he wasn't going to respect her in person, he'd respect her forever in the monument.
The city's motto is let the good times roll, or "do what you want to"
The official religion in Catholic but the unofficial religion is voodoo.
Voodoo is actually a west African religion worshipping ancestors.
We drove through Holly Grove, which is Little Wayne's neighborhood. I guess if you want to see him you can try going to Robere... a grocery store he is often at.
Tulane is $60,000 a semester.
It is the strawberry, rice and tomato capital of the country.
New Orleans is below sea level.
The water table is 3 1/2 ft. underground so the cemetery's are above ground.
This was the first school that was desegregated in the 60's.
We stopped at NOLA City Park which was enormous and very impressive! There was a botanical garden with a sculpture garden nearby that I got to take a quick look at. You could spend a whole day here. It was nice weather and so much to see.
Sadly, after that we had to say goodbye to Shelley. Casey was being put in as bishop in the morning and she couldn't miss that!
We went on an airboat ride next and saw lots of gators!
Then we got dinner at the Napoleon House and while we waited, two wedding parades went by!
The Mississippi River at night!
We stayed up really late having deep conversations about the church. I loved getting to connect with my cousins.
DAY 4
Today was Palm Sunday and the Saint Louis Cathedral (the oldest in the country) was having a special, Palm Sunday mass that Marcie and I went to. The others slept in. We got palm fronds at the door to wave during the ceremony and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to be a part of it! Such a unique, special experience. We had to duck out a little early though because Leah had made us reservations to tour this old plantation and it was about an hour drive.
Oak Alley Plantation
This is considered the most iconic plantation in Louisiana. The Oak trees that line the drive are over 300 years old. It was used to grow sugar cane and the slave quarters are still preserved to view, which is always sobering.
The thing hanging from the ceiling is a fan! It would be attached to a rope that a slave child would pull so it would swing back and forth, creating wind. What a sad job for that child!
This fireplace has it's original hearth.
Being cliche tastes good! These mint juleps were way better than Disneylands!
You could see the Mississippi River from the road next to the plantation.
Time to finally try crawfish etouffee! Deanie's has a very cheap, diner feel to it, but the food was good! We went at a non-busy time, but you could tell it was a popular restaurant.
Almost time to catch our flight, but we hurried over to the French Market to try the beignets from Lorettas! Someone had told Leah they were the best. Um, YEAH they were! I was so sad we got them on our last day! If we had known, we would have gotten them every day. The beignets from DuMonde are more doughy and heavy... still good, but nothing like Lorettas. These ones were like cronuts. Flaky and layered and light! Oh my heck, they were divine!!!! Travis is really lucky some made it home for him. I was sorely tempted to eat them all!
We crammed so much into three days and yet there was still so much we didn't get to! We didn't even step foot into one museum! Sadness. It was an unforgettable trip. I've wanted to go to NOLA for so long and I was so glad I got to do it with my sisters and cousins. We all got along wonderfully and laughed and enjoyed every second! I'm grateful for Travis, who always encourages me to go on these trips and takes care of everything while I'm gone. He even did Olive's hair so cute!! Look at that twist and braid!
The kids got a few souvenirs. Collin got a Diamonback's beaded necklace (they didn't have a Buffalo Bills one) that Tanner was very jealous of, so he graciously gave it to him.
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