Louisiana

As a family, New Orleans is one of our very favorite cities. There is no other place like it in our country. The culture, the architecture, the history, the food – it is unique and has taken a tight hold on our hearts. Add in the fact that my high school BFF lives there and it was an absolute must stop on this trip.

After setting up our camper, we headed to my girl Celena’s house – a pretty little shotgun home in uptown – our favorite part of the city. Sloan and Jackson were so excited to see her daughter Charlotte again. They still think of her as a baby – but really she just turned 5. They loved hanging out in the house and playing with her toys. I think they have missed some inside space. Celena and her husband Mike are fantastic hosts and we had a great night just hanging out and eating her homemade gumbo.

Did I mention that we arrived during Mardi Gras? If you have never been, or have only been during your young party days, you may not think it is for families. I have only been after I became a mother and I have to say, Mardi Gras is for families too. In uptown, you hang out on the green as the floats come by just like at a tailgate party. Although the parades were cancelled, you can’t tell the people of New Orleans not to celebrate! This year they held “Yardi Gras.” Many homes decorated their elaborately decorated so the next morning we walked along St. Charles Street and sought out the best yard. Our kiddos have never been during Mardi Gras and they really enjoyed it. They even got to play on a playground and taste “Roman Chewing Sticks” from a truck. Basically, they are just long pieces of taffy. Needless to say, they loved those too!

After the tour, we headed to Magazine street for lunch at “Dat Dog.” You can get anything from a traditional hot dog to an alligator sausage – Jackson’s choice. We were headed to “Floats in the Oaks” that night (basically all of the floats were on display for you to drive through just like Christmas lights) and Celena thought we should really show our Mardi Gras spirit with some gear. Jackson had already acquired a duck mask in Mobile, but Sloan and I had nothing. So, of course it was time to shop for wigs. Celena and I found our inner divas while Sloan decided to roar like a dino and Charley became a sweet little unicorn.

One of our favorite treats in NOLA are beignets. We were avoiding Bourbon Street and downtown at all costs, so we weren’t sure exactly where we would find them. Luckily, a Cafe Du Monde opened in the City Park so we grabbed some just before our ticket time for the floats. While driving through the floats is not nearly as much fun as being at a parade, it was nice to see many of the traditional floats representing the various Krewes of Mardi Gras. Celena has learned a lot since moving to NOLA and was great at answering questions from the kiddos. I never knew that each parade is a separate krewe. I’ve been lucky enough to see Muses (my favorite) and the Krewe of Tucks – they throw plungers and toilet paper! We got to see the famous floats of at least 15 other krewes this way.

Fat Tuesday marks the end of Mardi Gras. This is a huge holiday in Louisiana and other bordering states. Schools are closed the entire week – so we were convinced to “close school” too. After searching for the baby in the King Cake, we donned our wigs and costumes and headed out to brunch with our own Mardi Krewe. We celebrated all day – walking to see more yards and even catching some Mardi Gras throw. We joined friends for dinner and ended our night letting the kids play again.

Unfortunately, we also came to Louisiana when a huge winter storm was hammering the south. Our plans to visit the a cemetery and the Audubon Zoo went out the window. However, after Mardi Gras we had plans to go camping, truly camping, at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park. The same friends we had dinner with were joining us. Everyone was supposed to camp in tents. The low was 23. We had ordered a propane fire pit, but all of the mail was delayed due to storms. It was supposed to arrive the day we were leaving – we waited and waited. We were literally pulling out when I saw the glorious UPS truck arrive. Thank goodness! We needed that fire pit.

On our way to Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, we hit a 20 minute back up on a swamp bridge due to an accident. I always tell the kids to be happy it wasn’t us and say a prayer for those who were in the accident. As we drove by, no one seemed hurt and we were on our way. Then, Google maps took us down a long dirt road to cross over a pontoon bridge with a 10,000 pound max and 9 foot clearance. Our rig is about 15, 000 pounds and 12 and a half feet high. Not going to work and it was all my fault. I should have researched further, I did not know that these floating plastic bridges existed, but then again, we were in the back country of Louisiana. Ben is truly skilled because he had to back up and turn around. Back up the long country road we went. So, what should have been an easy 2 and a half our drive took us more like 4. And it was freezing! Oh, and good thing we waited for the propane fire pit because LA state parks don’t seem to sell firewood!

Luckily, our friends Annie and Eric had decided to rent an RV for the weekend and needless to say, Celena and her family stayed in the RV with us. Sleeping in tents was out of the question. Our very first house guests. We did set the tent up for the kids to play in during the day – but they opted for swinging in the hammocks!

Despite the cold, we had a great time bundled up and hanging by the fire. It warmed up some during our 3 day adventure. The kids built forts in the woods, we hiked, we biked, we kayaked. Celena, Annie and I even snuck away to shop – actually we are the ones that found wood and some amazing meat pies and cajun food. We survived the extreme cold, the leak in our canoe and several wipe outs on muddy trails. All of the kids cried when we left and my heart was sad too. I loved being able to spend so much time with my friend. We haven’t been together for that amount of time since she moved to New Orleans 10 years ago.

Unexpectedly – we briefly saw each other again 20 minutes after tears. Everyone loved the meat pies so much we all had to stop to get some for the road! I love Louisiana!