This was really interesting, seeing all these homes that were under water on the news and then to see them in real life made it so real to me. I remember seeing the rescuers float by on rafts and marking the houses as they checked them, so humbling.
We had to drive over the Mississippi on the Crescent City Bridge. the boys were excited, they've been wanting to go over the bridge since we got here!
At the Jean Lafitte bayou visitors center. They had a little museum where the kids learned about the ecosystem and about the animals that live in the bayou. The ranger told us of a trail that was only 1 mile round trip and had a really good chance of seeing alligators.
The start of the trail
My adventurous boys!
The name of the trail
I think the swampy bayou is beautiful, but there are so many creepy crawlies here!
Like this one! They were all OVER!!! Some parts I had to close my eyes and run!
The frog wasn't too bad
but the grasshoppers were huge!
We actually saw an alligator! That's all I wanted so I was really happy!
At the end of the trail
Me and my boys
He is going to be a heart breaker!
On the way back to the car we heard thunder rumble in the distance and saw very dark clouds come in.
After the hike, we stopped at Sonic for slushes and then drove to the battlefield of New Orleans.
We drove by the Superdome
And some more houses
Then the rain came!
By the time we got to the battlefield it was POURING!!! the rain was seriously coming down sideways. And the thunder and lighting was amazing!
This is a road tour so we got to drive around the battlefield and stop at different points and read about important features of the field. At one point we were reading about the men firing their guns at each other and about the U.S. firing their cannons from behind the rampart. The thunder sounded like cannon fire and and lighting like the muskets going off, at that moment, it seemed very real.
The hill is the mud rampart the U.S. built to defeat the British.
The Chalmette Monument.
This visitor's center was really neat. It told all about the Battle of New Orleans. My dad kept singing this song and taught it to my kids:
In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.
[Chorus:]
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.
[Chorus:]
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
While inside the center we watched a short video about the battle. Outside the storm was crazy, when an especially loud thunderclap happened, we thought it was the cannon fire sound from the film.
After the battlefield we headed back to the French Quarter and the French Market (we love this place!).
outside the market someone was boiling peanuts. I thought it was a very Southern thing to do!
The French Quarter looked beautiful this evening with the rain and the lights. I took so many pictures.
We stopped here to try some alligator!
Yum!
Everyone liked it! The kids thought it was funny that we saw a live alligator that morning and then we ate one that evening.
Bourbon St. again. This time on a Friday night!
Adam dancing to the music coming from a bar
This is a grocery store. I found some really good hot sauce and Cajun seasonings in here. I wish I would have bought more!
Pirates Ally just sounds cool
And it's very pretty too!
Tomorrow is Saturday and our last day in New Orleans =(
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