New Orleans Video

New Orleans Vacation 2017

My parents came up on Saturday June 10th and stayed the night as we had a early morning schedule to catch the bus.

Sunday June 11th.

After a good night sleep and a light breakfast we loaded up the car and drove to the local university to board the bus and begin our adventure. We arrived to find a few our fellow travelers standing around the parking area with luggage in tow. We awaited our bus and in just a few minutes our conveyance arrived. We loaded up the luggage and in short order we were heading down the road. Our first stop was at Fort Branch Indiana to pick up a few more travelers. After loading up their luggage we were again back on the road.

Our second stop was at Hanson Kentucky at a gas station/ Subway for restroom breaks and a few people pick up some snacks. After a couple of hours our third stop was in Franklin Tennessee for lunch. We ended up stopping close to several restaurants so we decided to go some place we haven't been before. The winner was Backyard Burger. We all settled on the Classic Burger with fries and a drink. The burger was pretty good but nothing to write home about. We finished our meals and headed back to the bus to continue our journey. Another couple hours down the road and we were done traveling for the day. We ended up at Pelham Alabama at the Sleep Inn our room overlooked a grassy berm with semi trailers in a lot. Very romantic... We walked to a Ruby Tuesdays for supper. I had the salad bar with the bourbon salmon and Needles had the same with the baked salmon.

Monday June 12th.

The next morning we had a nice continental breakfast, probably the best hotel breakfast selection of the whole trip and then the traveling continued.

A few hours later and we were scheduled for another pit stop. This time it was the Mississippi State line. We walked around the welcome center for about 15 minutes and bathroom breaks and then back to the bus to make our way a little closer to our destination. A few more hours and miles down the road found us in Hattiesburg Mississippi for another chance to stretch our legs and restroom visits a quick lunch at Subway and then down the road again to our destination. Our place to stay for the night was the Ramada in Metairie New Orleans. Our room was nice with a nice view of the pool. The evening meal was a trip to Piccadilly Cafeteria. The food was very good with a nice selection. I had the crawfish etouffee and Needles had the ground steak. With our bellies full we were transported back to the hotel for the night. Unfortunately our room faced south and the midday sun so our air conditioner had a hard time keeping our room as cool as we would have liked. We sleep better when it is cool in the room so for the 4 days we were there we didn't sleep very well. The morning continental breakfast were not great either but they satisfied the need for food and energy to make our daily trips into the city.

Tuesday June 13th.

Every morning our bus trip into New Orleans took us by the Super Dome and down into the French Quarter. We first picked up our tour guide for a quick jaunt around town for a tour. After several drive bys of prominent areas of New Orleans we stopped at one of the iconic cemeteries. It was very interesting to hear about the burial practices they have devised to overcome the challenges of the locale.

Once the tour was completed we were dropped off for some free time in the French Quarter namely the French Market. We walked down to the Market Cafe for lunch. Needles had the Muffaletta and I had a shrimp po'boy with chips. The food was very good and after we finished we walked the French Market looking over the sale booths.

Before long it was time to get back on the bus and a trip to the World War II Museum. We walked though the buildings and had to meet up for a movie at 4pm. The movie was Beyond All Boundaries. The movie was intense, gruesome, very loud and blindingly bright at times. The special effects were well done with props being raised for the stage and dropped form the ceiling at times. Light, lasers and snow fall during the the show made for interesting effects.After the show we had a meal at The American Sector in the museum. Needles and I both had the fried fish with mashed potatoes and a few steamed veggies followed by a large red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting and red, white and blue sprinkles no less. Very patriotic. We headed back to the bus and noticed we were lucky and missed a down pour while in the museum. We had the option to go back to the French Quarter for some free time but we were ready to go back to the hotel to relax for the evening.

 Wednesday June 14th.

We were taken into town and dropped off near Harrahs Casino. We tried to catch a trolley into the Garden District but the trolley was full and we didn't want to wait for the next one so we walked down to a local weaving and yarn shop per Needles request. Since she was doing all the navigating on the trip I was not going to complain. Needles made her usual vacation yarn purchase and then we headed down to the infamous Bourbon Street. They had Bourbon Street all kinds of torn up from a 7 million dollar renovation of the street that started in May. While making our way down the chain-linked and tarped sideways. we got caught in a downpour and went into PJ's Coffee. We waited out the rain with warm beverages and after about an hour we decided to try and make our way on down the street when the rain let up. We made it about a block until the skies opened up again and we went into a shop to get dry. After 20 or so minutes the rain let up and we headed on down the street,

We circled back to the French Market to Cafe Du Monde and for beignets and cafe ole. I would like to know how many tons and yes I mean tons of powdered sugar they go through in a year. They were very light and tasty. The whole restaurant was serenaded by man singing a capella as more of an annoyance for money to make him go away. The cafe only take cash so be prepared.

We had a cruise on the Mississippi river on the Steam Boat Natchez so we had to meet the group at 4 pm. We had to stand for a while in the dun to embark the boat. The temp was around 90 and with the downpour earlier it made for hot and humid conditions while standing in line. Once boarded and we got underway the cruise was nice and relaxing as we made our way down the river and made the turn back upstream then down to the Crescent City Connection Bridge and back to port.

A little sunburned and sweaty we were ready to get back on the bus to make it to The Praline Connection for supper. We were dropped off and made our way a block to the restaurant. On our way we noticed one of the many homeless people we encountered on this vacation. Many with signs and asking for an handout but this one was just laying on a porch of a old business that had long since been vacated. His shirt pulled up over head head to block out the sun baring his stomach as he slept. Or at least we hoped he was sleeping as a line of what smelled strongly of urine puddled just a few inched from him. It was a sad sight to behold. We boarded our bus and returned to our hotel for the evening.

 Thursday June 15th.

After another lack luster continental breakfast at the hotel we headed out to the Destrehan Plantation. A old indigo plantation that once enslaved around 200 African Americans. I admit that we do need reminders of the atrocities that we inflicted on our fellow man but I couldn't help think the whole time that this tour was "interpretered" by the all Caucasian tour guides, the tour would be a completely different if guided my an African American. We did get to see an interesting demonstration of bousillage and how they used clay mud and Spanish moss to make insulation in the walls. In the gift shop Needles purchase some tasty beverages for us. Needles had a Fest Peach Ginger Ale and I had a Bourbon Cream Soda. After the tour we were dropped off on Decatur Street near the French Market for some last minute souvenir shopping as this was to be our last day in New Orleans. We walked through several shops and made another swing through the French Market. A purchase of a dress and a few ceramic sugar skull later and we were searching for a place for lunch.

We settled on New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood Co. Needles had a hamburger and I had the BBQ shrimp po'boy. They meals also came with cheesy, garlic potato wedges that were awesome. Mine was very goos but I think it was hotter than the surface of the sun. I had trouble eating it because of the heat and I think it would have tasted better if I had given it about 10 minutes to cool. After lunch we visited a couple of more shops and then before long it was time to be taken back to the hotel to gussy ourselves up for our evening meal and entertainment.

Our supper was to be at Boomtown Casino in Harvey Louisiana. We were served roast beef, tilapia, mashed potatoes and a quarter of a head of steamed broccoli.and for dessert room temp apple cobbler. Not the most high brow of meals as we were kind of expecting something nicer but it was OK. The entertainment for the evening started out slow. I was wondering how this was going to go with 3 people on the stage. A guitarist, a keyboardist/singer and a washboard player. Yes you read right a washboard player. They played some older music and also some music with the local flavor. With the majority of the crowd being seniors they asked who was the longest married couple in the room and my Mother and Father ended up being the longest married with 52 years. They played a Fools Rush In by Elvis while my parent and several other couple slow danced. Toward the end of the evening they went into DJ mode and played some audience participation songs that got several out of their seats and on the dance floor. Ditties like The Electric Slide and Wobble Baby had people on the dance floor. One of our group left the party early and went down to the casino and had some luck with a slot machine jackpot of $14,000 in winnings. We wre bused back to our hotel for our last night as the next morning would have us traveling toward home.

Friday June 16th.

With another hum drum continental breakfast in our bellies and loaded luggage we loaded the bus for the trip toward home. After a little over an hour we stopped for the bus driver to get diesel. While fueling we had to disembark the bus so we went in to the gas station to find that they only had one bathroom for men and one for women. Of course practically every one on the bus had to go to the bathroom so after hanging out at the gas station for what felt like forever (40 minutes) we finally got back on the road. We made our way North toward the Mississippi into the town of Meridian for our next pit stop and the Merrehope Estate. An old historic estate home that has been restored to it's former glory. It was interesting to hear the history of the home and to see the antique furniture that had been reclaimed after the house was abandoned and had fallen into a state of ruin and to see old gas fixtures converted to electric lighting. The stories those walls could tell would be fascinating to hear. 

After the tour we made our way on the road toward home. A hour or so down the road found us at the Mississippi/Alabama State Line near Toomsuba, Mississippi. After some leg stretching we once again got on the bus to make it to our hotel for the night.

Our stop for the night was the Hampton Inn in Mountain Brook/Birmingham Alabama. Odd from all of our previous bus trip hotel check ins we had to check in individually instead of just being handed out our room key cards and going to our rooms. This made several in our group growl a bit as we were getting a little road weary. The room was nice and what made Needles and I very happy was that the air condition worked very well. For supper that night we were happy to walk across the parking lot to Wendy's Needles had a fresh mozzarella salad and I had a single burger with fries. We return to our room to relax for our final night on the road as tomorrow we would be home. With the anticipation of being home, neither Needles or I slept well even thought the beds were comfy and to room cool. 

Saturday June 17th.

We got up the next morning excited about being closer to home. We went down for breakfast hoping it would be better than our previous hotel but to no avail. With a small dining area that was crawling with people eating breakfast we decided to take our meager food back to our room. After finishing breakfast we went down to the bus to make our way North. Another pit stop down the road found us at the Tennessee border near Ardmore.

For lunch we stopped at Clarksville, Tennessee and we decided for time sake Shoney's buffet would be just the ticket. So after lunch, you know the routine, back on the bus and on down the road. After a few more hours our next stop would be to drop off the travelers we picked up at Fort Branch with the last stop being where we first boarded the bus and started our adventure. We said our goodbyes to our fellow travelers, grabbed our luggage and headed to home sweet home to a broken cat, a lawn to be mowed and loads of dirty laundry to be done. It's good to be home.

Vacation Summer 2017

Well we finally decided on a vacation. We are going to New Orleans in June. I have wanted to go there for awhile now. Needles was there several years ago with a college trip but she had to keep track of students so she wasn't able to do everything she wanted while there. We will be heading out June 11th and back on the 17th. I am glad we finally decided on a trip.