The Stories of Boys (and two girls!): New Orleans Road Trip

Matt had a conference in New Orleans, and we decided to make it into a family trip. I wasn't really sure what kind of family vacation we would have in New Orleans, but I researched and found there are kid friendly activities!

We left home at 4 in the morning, yes, in the morning! Matt drove, and the kids and I slept until Montgomery, AL. We ate breakfast there around 7, the kids were all still in PJs, so they changed, and we headed south through AL. I drove, and it was Matt's turn to sleep. We were able to stop in Mobile to visit the USS Alabama. We even got to see the Carnival cruise ship that had been tugged into the Mobile port.

We ate lunch on the road and headed on to New Orleans. The kids got another nap, and we made it to City Park by late afternoon. We were able to take a stroll through the park and picked up dinner at Juan's Flying Burrito.

The next morning, we headed over to the World War II museum. Matt and the big boys watched the 4D movie about the war while I entertained the littles. Unfortunately, there is no playground at the WWII museum. We ate lunch at the soda shop at the museum. Once we finished the tour, well actually, once Anna and Thomas decided we were done, we headed to the resort.

We stayed at La Belle Maison, one of our timeshare resorts. We had a 2 bedroom room with a small kitchen, but we had no stove or stovetop, although we had packed for one. I figured out how to make scrambled eggs in the microwave, so thankful for the internet!

Visiting with a WWII veteran

He enjoyed his ice cream at the soda shop.

Tuesday, Matt had to go to his conference. He was able to walk from the hotel to the convention center. We hopped on the street car to head to the zoo. Along the road, there were still beads all over the trees along St. Charles street. They looked like Christmas decorations. I asked a young lady if they ever come off, and she said that eventually they do. We got off the street car and had to transfer to a bus, because part of the line was under construction. I wasn't prepared for that! Me, 5 kids, two strollers, and our picnic lunch...we eventually made it to Audobon park. I had read that it all we had to do was walk through the park to get to the zoo. The zoo actually had a shuttle stop, and now I know why! We had to walk probably two miles to get to the zoo entrance. Thankfully, the weather was great. The trail was nice...it was paved, it ran right next to a golf course, and there were plenty of women walking and jogging in the park. We enjoyed the zoo, and instead of taking the same adventure back through the park, on the bus, on the streetcar, and back to the hotel...we took the direct bus route. It picked up right in front of the zoo and dropped us less than 1 block from the hotel. After naps, we walked to the Camellia Grill. A diner where you sit at the counter and get to interact with the waiters and the cooks.

beads in the trees

These two are so cute together

Camellia Grill

Wednesday, we ventured out to the Audobon Aquarium. We had bought a family annual membership that allowed entrance to the Zoo, Aquarium, and Insectarium. Although we only used it one week, it was less expensive than buying individual tickets for the kids and me. The aquarium was pretty typical until we visited the Parakeet Pavilion. The kids loved this exhibit! We walked out to a closed in patio that was full of parakeets. The birds were so friendly, maybe a little bit too much! Since we had the family pass, when Matt got off work, we went back just to show him the parakeets. One got down in his coat pocket, and we didn't realize it until we were in another part of the aquarium. It stuck its head out of his pocket and then flew away in the aquarium. We notified the staff and hopefully, they were able to get him back home. After that we walked to Cafe Du Monde and had the world famous beignets.

Thursday, we visited the Insectarium. That took only about two hours, and the kids wanted to see the parakeets again. We went back to the Aquarium, ate in the food court, and played with the parakeets. That afternoon, while the littles napped, I was able to get laundry done (one thing I love about the timeshares). When Matt got back, we walked to Bubba Gump's for dinner.

A whole room devoted to termites, ewww!

I loved how much we were able to get out and walk around. Joshua was a huge help pushing the second stroller. It was easier to have 2 small strollers than 1 double stroller. It was a great trip, and I was impressed with how much we were able to do.