The Big Easy

We had a whirlwind week last week. Clint's brother and his wife came for a visit. It was so fun to have them here and I don't think we stopped moving at all while they were here. Clint gave a pretty great description of the week here with some good pics, so check that out. I have other insights and pictures to share. We left the kids home (which worked out perfectly, and I owe my friends in a big way!) which was a bit hard for me, as I never leave them, but it was so nice for us to sneak away for two whole days.



We drove out early Wednesday morning, after dropping off the troops. We stopped first at Oak Alley Plantation. The view from the second story was quite amazing. Just beyond the oaks is the bank of the Mississippi River. When the house was built the levy was only 8 feet tall, so they could see the river from the porch. Now, the levy is more than 20 feet to protect from flooding. Lunch was delicious. I had a small salad so I could enjoy bread pudding with praline pecans.



From there we went on to New Orleans to check into our little hotel. These houses make me think of New Orleans, bright pastel colors on every little one. They are called shotgun houses because if you shoot through the front door, it will go right out the back door. The trees outside the hotel were in full bloom, and were very pretty. We walked down to the French Quarter and strolled and window shopped before dinner. We ate at a new little restaurant (I can't remember the name) that served fried pickles, chicken and seafood.



On Thursday, we didn't spend all our time wasting away in Margaritaville. We divided up. Jason and Desiree went on a walking tour of the garden district. After a delicious breakfast of beignets, we walked down to Canal Street. I'm married to a bug guy, so we spent our day at the Audubon Insectarium. They had some cool displays and my favorite was an art gallery filled with pinned insects. They used the insects to make flowers and other cool things. I didn't take any pictures because I was so wrapped up in the art. If you ever go there, know that it is housed in a federal building and you will have to pass through a metal detector. Bringing a pocket knife would be a bad idea.

We headed for home in the late afternoon, and stopped at an outlet mall. I've been hunting for some brown peep-toe heels for a while, and I found the perfect ones. Then we headed home to gather up our kiddos.

On Friday, Clint had to work and attend graduation, so we just stayed around Orange. We ate at Clint's favorite Taqueria. On Saturday we drove down I-10 East again, this time to Avery Island. It's called "the island of salt and pepper." It's not really an island, but a salt dome. It is privately owned and the only Tabasco factory in the world is there. We were able to go on a tour and have a taste of Tabasco flavored ice cream. It was awful, don't try it! We also drove through the the Island Gardens which were pretty amazing. They had alligators (we got close) and egrets and a 600 year old Budda. All in all, it was a pretty great trip. Thanks for coming to see us, Jason and Des. When I catch up on my sleep I'll let you know that I'm ready for round two!