New Orleans

Ben had a conference in New Orleans and wanted me to go with him. Who would turn down a chance to go there? Lorie was wanting to come out to Oregon so we decided to time it so she could help with the kids. It was the first time both Ben and I had been there and we were excited. I had a list of places I wanted to see and, luckily, Ben just let me run with it.

The view from our hotel room

As soon as we got into town, we went exploring. We quickly discovered that the streetcars were going to be our best means of getting around. We wandered around Canal and Bourbon Street until we were too overwhelmed. It was so loud and crowded. Every store/bar we walked past had a different kind of music blaring. I did like the different street bands and performers that would be in random spots though. We left that craziness and headed to the different craziness on the other side of the French Quarter. We hit Cafe Du Monde and it was totally worth the hype.

 

 The next morning we went out to explore the architecture. That was my most favorite part of the city.

Another day we took a streetcar out to see the big homes on Charles Avenue and the Lafayette Cemetery. Again, the houses were so beautiful! The cemetery was hauntingly beautiful. 

We wanted some good southern food so we read some reviews and headed to The Gumbo Shop. We got gumbo, jambalaya, alligator sausage and a blackened fish po boy. It was all so good! We got to eat in a courtyard that was darling.

He can't take a serious picture.

One thing I really wanted to do was take a Steamboat dinner cruise on the Mississippi and listen to jazz music. Good thing it worked in our schedule! When we got in line to board the boat, we quickly discovered that we were just about the only "young" people on the boat.

 It was really cool, seeing how the steamboat works. The jazz music was really good and it was a beautiful night.

When we first got on the boat, they wanted to take a picture of us. Ben asked if I wanted to buy the picture (before we took it) and I said probably not. When we got off the boat and saw the photo I just about died laughing. I had no idea he had made that face and told him we HAD to buy it now. Every time I see it, I laugh. 

 Since Ben had been such a trooper doing everything I wanted to do, I thought he should get a day of his own. We went to the World War II museum and learned a lot. There was a veteran there that we got to sit and talk with that made my day. 

 Our last day we found a cute French bakery and had a breakfast of champions. Ben had to go to the conference for a bit and then it was a mad rush to the airport to make it back home. We missed our kids but had such a fun time, just us.