New Orleans

Dave and I made a quick trip to New Orleans. It was a very nice birthday present from Dave. A few months ago on my actual birthday, it was an odd and boring day (we planned to celebrate it later in the week as a family). Then on the day we planned a b-day activity, it didn't quite go all smooth. I'd give it an 'A' for effort, but 'meh' for actual activity and celebration, I picked a blah activity and everyone was tired, and there was some moodiness amongst the group. Then the following Sunday, Dave pulled a surprise gift together for me. He researched 4 or 5 different cities and had suggestions for activities in each city. He said "Pick one and let's just go explore for 2 or 3 days!".  I picked New Orleans, partly because I've always wanted to see it, partly because it had moderate weather in the winter, (we would have wanted to wait for better weather for some of the other suggested cities), and partly because the time we wanted to visit the city, it was dressed for the holidays and it was off season. We're not interested in Mardi Gras, so the off season was perfect. We stayed in a beautiful Astor Crowne Plaza in the French Quarter, took a bus or walked most places we wanted to go. We went on a dinner cruise on the Mississippi, visited a Katrina museum, ate fried alligator, looked at Mardi Gras float displays, toured Oak Alley Plantation, enjoyed street musicians, went on a swamp tour, held an alligator, visited a couple of eateries featured on 'Diners, Drive ins and Dives', walked through a park and enjoyed 'Celebration in the Oaks' with light displays all through the park, saw Lake Pontchartrain in the dark. shopped, ate beignets at the famous Cafe Du Monde, and walked along the Mississippi. Then on Saturday, we started getting notifications from the Airlines saying our flight was being postponed, which meant that we'd miss our connecting flight (there was crazy winter weather all over the northwestern states, which affected air traffic everywhere). We tried to resolve it over the phone, but ended up just having to go to the airport earlier than we planned and solve it. In the end, we were supposed to get home at 10:30 in the evening, then we were going to miss our connection and maybe not get home at all, then we booked got on another flight and we were going to get home at 2:55 a.m., then changed and we'd get home at 1, then the airlines got an empty plane to come from Atlanta to pick up our group and take us non-stop to Phoenix. We finally got home at 12:30. Crazy night, but a great trip overall.

 New Orleans at Christmastime

Mardi Gras Float Displays

 

 

Tour of the steam boat engine room. Dave always likes to know how things work.

Swamp Tour!

Beignets at the famous Cafe Du Monde

Dave had a picture of this on the wall by his desk for years - a picture that 

inspired him (a dream board sounds corny, but it was kind of a dream board). 

Twenty years later, here we are standing in front of it! 

 

 

Isn't he cute?