Day 2 (June 7, 2013)

I am so thankful that we had the foresight to reserve two nights in New Orleans. It was such a long drive to get here, we wouldn't have had the chance to really see the area had we not. Most of us slept in, except Ali would object to that phrase since she was awakened before 1 pm. Ha! I made egg and cheese croissants with coffee and hot cocoa for breakfast. We filled two backpacks with drinks and snacks for the day and headed into town. I made sure to bring along the AAA recommendations and the local map.

We were pretty impressed with the style of the homes in the Garden District as we made our way to the heart of downtown. We drove alongside the streetcars and found ourselves downtown.

After driving around looking for an open parking spot, we gave up and found a lot to park in ($5 for 3 hours seemed like a good deal). We walked a few blocks to the main street (Canal) and found one of the streetcars to hop on to so that we could get ourselves oriented to the area. I really wasn't sure where to get off, but the streetcar map showed a stop in the Garden District so I suggested we get off there, plus there was a group of others getting off at the same place, so I thought the chances were pretty good that there would be something impressive to see there. We ended up finding the oldest cemetery in New Orleans (Lafayette) which was filled with above ground tombs and wall vaults, some dating to the early 1800s. We decided that we'd rather spend our time in the Business District and near the Mississippi River, so we hopped back on the streetcar and made our way back. At this point, we realized we should have parked our van for longer than 3 hours. Were we really thinking that we would see everything in that short of time? So, we hiked back to the lot, and of course, we could not add on to the time we already paid for. Lesson learned.

We walked back to Canal Street and down to the river, reading the tour guide along the way. We were getting hungry for lunch and knew we'd have to have something more than the almonds we brought with us. The Natchez Steamboat came highly recommended and when I inquired further discovered that there was a narrated jazz cruise leaving in less than 30 minutes which also served lunch. We thought it would be a good way to see and remember the city, so we splurged. As we paid, the sales clerk assured us that it was just "a short 5 minute walk" to the boat, but it turns out that we would have been lucky to have made it in 5 minutes if we ran, which we practically ended up doing. We arrived with 10 minutes to spare, somewhat winded as we boarded. Now I'm thankful for all the speed walking that I do!

We actually enjoyed the lunch buffet which included fried catfish, red beans and rice, creole shrimp, okra, and bread pudding. Can you get a more typical southern meal? We explored the ships’ decks as we saw firsthand the devastation of Katrina as well as the restoration efforts made. After disembarking, we came across a street musician and a street performer. Ian stood beside the mime with the same pose; it got a few laughs from the crowd.

We then found our way to the French Market and explored the local merchants’ wares. We got both boys some caps to help protect them from the intense sun. Why they didn’t bring theirs from home, I’m not sure. We saw that the Creole Tomato Festival was going to take place tomorrow; boxes of tomatoes lined the inside of some of the nearby stores. I bet they’re good. I love locally grown tomatoes.

And, of course, we couldn’t leave the area without stopping at Café du Monde for some of their famous beignets. The entire outdoor flooring was covered in powdered sugar; one could probably live on it for days, not that I would think of such things.  

After coming back to the campsite, everyone (but me) took a dip in the pool to cool off. I got the dishes cleaned and things ready to go for our morning departure. All in all, our stay in Nawlins was a good one.