We left on Saturday, November 23rd to fly to New Orleans. We picked up our rental car and drove to Pensacola Florida where we were meeting Grandma and Grandpa Schultz for a couple days. The flight was good and it was quick to get our luggage and rental car. The airport in New Orleans is MUCH smaller than O'hare. =) We made a few stops on the way to eat lunch and grab a few caches, but for the most part we just drove all the way through. Edison was excited to see Grandma and Grandpa when we got to the hotel, and he was happy to jump in the pool, too!
Waiting at the airport
On the plane, ready to fly!
On the way to Florida!
Making a lunch stop at Cracker Barrel
Stopping for a cache!
Cool Truck
Are we there yet?
Pool Time!
We had a nice time eating dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and then spending time at the pool. The next day, I woke up early and watched the sunrise from our balcony. It was so beautiful, even though it was really cold and windy! After a quick breakfast in the room, we met Grandma and Grandpa for some fun exploring and geocaching. We visited some different military batteries and saw lots of cool buildings, cannons, and old structures. We even visited an old military fort and explored the spooky jail cells. After exploring, we went down to the beach to see the ocean. It was really cold and windy, so we couldn't go in the water, but Edison had fun playing tag with the waves and trying not to get caught. He also liked looking for come cool shells and jumping around in the sand. After lunch at the hotel, Edison wanted to go back to the pool. Even Grandpa joined him this time! Since the weather was chilly, Edison stayed in with Grandma and Grandpa while Brian and I went for some more geocaching adventures in the afternoon. We saw lots of cool sights and it even warmed up a little bit for us!
Sunrise
Me and Brian
Family pic
Trying to get a good one of all of us by the tree!
One of the batteries we visited
We climbed to the top. What a view!
Another battery area with a cool building to explore
Hello up there!
Notches for guns, I think
Grandpa and Edison checking out this cannon
Edison and Dad
Me being silly
Fort Pickens
Edison liked the cannons
Spooky
The prisoners!
Locking us in
Creepy
Kaboom!
Our hotel from the beach
Edison and Grandpa
Looking at the waves, wishing he could go in!
You can't catch me!!
Almost got him!
Another tree picture
Lunchtime!
More swimming!
Enjoying our afternoon together
Caught the sunset as we were driving back to the hotel
The next morning we left to drive back to New Orleans. Edison had a great time sleeping over with his Grandparents at the hotel the last night and had lots of fun visiting with them. It was a nice break for me and Brian, too! When we woke up, we discovered that it was even colder and windier that day! Look at those white caps in the ocean!
After breakfast we got back on the road. We had many stops to make on the way to New Orleans, and we got to see so many cool things. Edison's favorite was the stop in Mobile, Alabama to tour the USS Alabama Battleship. That was pretty cool. We also toured a submarine and saw lots of different aircraft. During the trip back we made some stops for some caches, which took us to visit 2 different Vietnam Veteran Memorials. That was a neat thing to see, too. Brian always finds the coolest places! We were all pretty tired when we got to the hotel in New Orleans, but we decided to walk to a nearby restaurant for pizza. Very good!
Vietnam Vet Memorial
At a rest stop. It was a shell from the USS Alabama
USS Alabama
That's a big propeller!
So cool!
Family pic
E for Edison!
Huge anchor chain!
We had to do "Titanic" It was Edison's idea.
The Submarine
Climbing up to check out the periscope
So cool!
Needed a break
This bell was super loud!
Another Vietnam Vet Memorial
HUGE!
This was amazing to see up close!
We're here!
Pizza time
Building his aircraft carrier toy he bought from the battleship gift shop
Our hotel was in the Garden District, right on the streetcar line. Edison had fun looking at the window at the cars that went by.
The first full day in New Orleans was cold and rainy. What a perfect day to visit a cemetery! =) It was really cool to see all the above-ground tombs. Some looked like new and others were falling apart. Sometimes right next to each other. It was also different to see street signs in the middle of the cemetery. After that, we parked and walked around to find a lunch spot. Then it was time to walk down by the river to the Aquarium. We stopped to see some barges going by. The aquarium was cool and Edison had fun seeing all the different kinds of sea life. He especially liked the penguins who were very playful in their tank! We drove back to the hotel and at one point we were following a street car! That was a little weird. We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the room and warming up!
Very cool cemetery
Out on the town
Checking out the Mighty Mississippi
Aquarium
Through a tank
Friendly penguins!
Scary shark!
We caught the big one!
Fish-eye view
Petting a sting ray
Just some local sights
I took tons of pictures around town
Streetcars on the street!
Day two in New Orleans! We rode the streetcars around to see some sights. Edison loved being on the cars and they were not too crowded during the day. We walked around the French Quarter and down Bourbon Street, which was quite interesting with a kid with us I might add. =) We stopped for lunch in the French Market and then went back down by the river and took the ferry across and back. It was another busy day and we got a lot of walking in!
On the street cars
This was the house Jefferson Davis passed away in.
Running down the cobblestones
Back on the streetcar
Canal Street
Seeing the sights
The famous cemetery!
Very cool
Marie Laveau's (Voo Doo Queen) Tomb
Checking out the French Quarter
Edison on Bourbon Street
Chasing pigeons
Taking a break
At Jackson Square
Walking down "Pirate's Alley"
Mmmm
Back by the river
My cute boys on the ferry
Awwww
Selfie!
Cute family
Watching the ferry dock
Stayed inside for the ride back. Brrrr!
Waiting for the trolley to take us back
This was our first Thanksgiving away from home, so it was a little strange to be planning to go play mini golf before dinner! We also spent some time exploring City Park and the cool trees to climb on. Most of the attractions were closed for the season (like the Storybook Land and Amusement Park) but we had fun posing for pictures in front. After playing at the park for a while, we got all dressed up and went to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. We had a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and Edison mostly ate bread and french fries. But he ate every bite of the ice cream and pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. =)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Humpty Dumpty!
Little Bo Beep
Edison wanted a picture with both!
We thought this looked like a pineapple
Climbing trees
I did it!
Beautiful trees!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Leave it to Edison to find a model train!
Last full day in New Orleans! I woke up not feeling very well after trying to ignore a sore throat for a few days. But I toughed it out and we booked an early swamp tour. We didn't see any alligators, but we did see a lot of raccoon. They come running when they hear the boat because the guides feed them marshmallows. Edison thought they were really cute! We also saw lots of birds and one nutria hiding in the grass. We also saw a fishing village that you can only access by boat. Some of the houses were really nice, others were literally falling into the river. It was a nice ride and afterwards our guide took a small alligator out of the tank inside and let us hold it. Edison didn't want to, but I did! After this we grabbed some lunch at Cracker Barrel on the way back to the hotel, then I took a nap before dinner at House of Blues. We were all very tired (and I was feeling pretty sick) by the end of the day.
Cutie
Reaching for a marshmallow
Nutria
The whole family came by for some treats! The mother raccoon would catch the marshmallows.
Wishing Tree
Cruising along
Fishing Village
The guy on the porch waved at us. I bet he's used to people taking pictures of his house. =)
Yikes!
Cute little guy!
Such a sweetie! He was so nice and didn't try to bite me. =)
That's about as close as Edison wanted to get....
Chomp!
Someone was very tired the next morning and didn't want to get up! Our flight wasn't until noon, so we had some time to get ready and eat breakfast before we left. We were all excited to get back home, order pizza, and relax! (Especially me!)
All ready to get back home!!
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