While the girls were having fun with Grandma and Papa, Mom and Dad were enjoying New Orleans (NOLA!). It was their first trip - Dad had a conference, and Mom wasn't going to miss out!
On Saturday when they arrived, they made their way to Bourbon Street and the French Quarter. Most of it was walking, but they had Po'Boys and Crawfish for dinner!
On Sunday, they ate breakfast at Cafe du Monde. They ordered the specialty, beignets and cafe au lait. Live music is amazing in New Orleans - and a live band was playing outside the patio during breakfast. It was so delicious, they walked across the street and bought supplies to make it at home!
After breakfast, they headed to the French Market to see what kind of deals they had to offer. Daddy's meetings started on Sunday afternoon, so Mommy spent Sunday afternoon next to the swimming pool with a book... that was pretty abnormal for her!
On Monday, Daddy went to his meetings - and Mommy went on a city tour. She learned about cemetaries, "pocket parks", "common ground", "alligator pears", and multiple other "Southern" terms we don't use in Minnesota!
Monday evening, Mom & Dad went out with some Iowa State friends.
First, they took the ferry to Algiers Point and back. While they waited for the ferry, they saw an alligator off the pier. (They were told it is unusual to find a alligator in the river in town...)
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| Waiting at the hotel... |
First, they took the ferry to Algiers Point and back. While they waited for the ferry, they saw an alligator off the pier. (They were told it is unusual to find a alligator in the river in town...)
After the ferry ride, they went out for dinner - and ordered the "Taste of New Orleans": jumbalaya, gumbo, etoufee, and red beans and rice. Then, it was back to Bourbon Street! Mommy got her only beads of the trip that night - while she was taking Daddy's picture... No, she didn't "earn" them!!
Tuesday, it was off to the plantations! Mom visited the Laura Plantation, a Creole sugar plantation... check out the banana trees for the owners and their slaves!
Then, it was on to Oak Alley (famous in movies and more...). The oak trees out front are 300 years old, and should live to be 600 years. The "baby" oak trees are in the back -- they are only 150 years old. This is where Mommy bought pralines for us, and had her ONLY mint julep of the trip... it had way too much bourbon for her liking!
That evening, it was onto the Natzchez -- the oldest steamboat on the Mississippi -- for Daddy's conference social event.
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| Katrina damage... 5 years later. |
After the cruise, we headed to Snug Harbor for some awesome jazz music in their backroom. It was quite a walk from the hotel, but well worth it!
On Wednesday, Daddy finished up his conference, then Mommy & Daddy headed out for some more sight seeing. They ate some more crawfish and shrimp for lunch, then took a ride on the St. Charles street car.
They also finally had time for their Pat O'Brien's experience...
After a stop at one of the stores for Daddy's modeling session...
... they made a stop at the House of Blues for crawfish cheesecake, and more shrimp!
By late Wednesday, Mommy's tummy had enough seafood... but they still had to try Alligator bites for dinner... then, they walked past the Habitat for Humanity fountain for one last picture:
Thursday was pretty low key. Daddy ate a seafood omelet, Mommy had pancakes :-) Then, they walked Bourbon Street one last time before heading home to see the girls.
Brooke got a stuffed alligator - who eats who??
Kylie & Neela got Mardi Gras masks (they think they are supposed to be scary wearing them!):
