We had a fabulous time in Louisiana. We spent Thursday night with LaDonna and Dean at their home near Baton Rouge. Dean loves his motorcycle, and Jack had to check it out:
We all went to dinner at Sammy's Bar and Grill, LaDonna's daughter Sierra, joined us. We also got to meet her son Cody, her daughter, Kara, and her precious granddaughter, Addie. Addie was the little girl I posted about in January that needed emergency heart surgery. She is doing amazing now. Here is LaDonna with Addie and Dean with Vivian:
Sierra taught Nick how to eat Crawfish:
I've often talked about perspective before, and Bernie and I see New Orleans in completely different lights. I've spent more time there than he has, so I've been able to explore the French Quarter and Garden District, and appreciate the art, culture, and history of the city. Bernie was only there for a few days for work and the group he was with didn't get much beyond Bourbon Street. When I've come back from trips, I've told Nick great things about New Orleans. Bernie came back and didn't think very much of the party scene he got to experience. When we were planning the road trip, one of the stops Nick really wanted was New Orleans, so he could see it for himself. I would have needed a few days to give him a proper tour, but I did the best I could with the four hours or so we had there. I think his view of New Orleans is somewhere in the middle of Bernie's and mine, although he did comment that he would love to come back for Mardi Gras after he turns 21.
We went to Cafe Du Monde for beignets, Central Grocery for Muffulettas, and Mother's Restaurant for Jambalaya. We went to Jackson Square, we walked down Bourbon Street, we stopped into the Hard Rock to get a pin, we saw the Mississippi River, and we drove by the Superdome. Here are some pictures of Jack near some statues, and one of Vivian in her tour vehicle (the jogging stroller):
Around Jackson Square, there are artists who paint themselves head to toe in gold or silver. They stand still like they are statues and come to life when they find an opportune moment. Given Jack's obsession with statues, this was his favorite part of New Orleans:
That night we drove to LaDonna and Dean's house in Mansura. Saturday we got to meet a lot of Dean's family, including the adorable grandchildren we hear so much about, Riley and Bryce. We celebrated LaDonna and Dean's first anniversary. They rented a giant inflatable waterslide and bounce house for the party. Here is Jack in the bounce house:
Sunday morning we headed for Florida. It is a LONG drive from northern Louisiana to Naples. It took us two days. Someone needs to build a high speed ferry between New Orleans and Tampa, or really New Orleans and just about anywhere on the west coast of Florida. We stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe' in Biloxi for lunch and to get a pin. It was Father's Day and Jack was less than cooperative. That day's temper tantrum was brought to us by his lemonade being delivered with ice. Jack has decided that he never wants ice. I was trying to feed Vivian so Nick was dealing with Jack. The waitress wished him a Happy Father's Day. We thought that was hysterical. Nick took it as a compliment, she must have thought that because he was so good with Jack.
We wanted to spend some time at the beach but the ones in Biloxi did not look tourist friendly, so we headed for Destin, FL. It was a little out of the way but multiple people I know vacation there, so I wanted to check it out. Destin had another Hard Rock Cafe, and I thought it would be nice if we could grab something quick for dinner and eat on the beach while watching the sunset. We did get a pin, but it was dark by the time we got dinner.
We spent the night in Tallahassee at a less than desirable Fairfield Inn. We were straddling time zones (we had done this earlier when we were at St. Meinrad). Our hotel was in the Central time zone, and when I walked into the Walmart next door, I stepped into the Eastern time zone. When you live in those areas, how do you ever know what time it is?
On the way to Naples, we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe in Tampa to get yet another pin. We arrived at Jen's house around 6pm on Monday night. It was great catching up with Jen. We went to the beach on Tuesday with her daughter, Brianna. Jack actually went in the water, which was the first for this season. Once he went in, it was hard to get him out. Although, he did enjoy burying Nick in the sand.
We left Jen's early on Wednesday morning and headed for Orlando. The plan was to spend much of the day at Typhoon Lagoon and then head for the Georgia border to stay the night. The weather did not cooperate, it rained most of the day. Instead we stopped at Universal Studios for lunch where we could collect yet another Hard Rock cafe' pin. We almost found ourselves in big trouble at Universal. Our credit card had been cancelled by our bank when they found some overseas fraudulent charges, the new cards were being mailed to our house. I had used my debit card at Moe's for lunch and somehow it did not make it back into my wallet. I had little cash on me and hadn't brought any other cards with me. Panic was quickly replaced with relief when I went to Guest Services and found that someone had turned in my card. Phew! Here are the boys in front of the Universal globe:
We ended up driving through towards Atlanta and arrived at my aunt and uncle's house around 1:30am.
To be continued...
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