New Orleans - Day 2

The original plan was to stay for one night but, since we arrived at 2:30PM, we decided to spend the rest of that day relaxing at the RV park.  Then this morning we headed down to the French Quarter.  Although the park does have a shuttle ($5/person for the first 3 days, then free), we decided to drive so that we wouldn't have to match our schedule to the shuttle's--just easier with kids.  With a little help from "Hilary", it was easy to find our way.  There is a parking lot right next to the Jax Beer building that is centrally located for easy walking to everything in the Quarter.  New Orleans is one of Steve and Helen's favorite places.  So, we had a very light breakfast so we could head to Cafe du Monde for coffee au lait and beignets.

See the monkey?  I think it will be traveling with Steve and Helen so look for it in future pictures with them.  In case you have never been to New Orleans, Cafe du Monde is the place to go.  The beignets are french donuts, square and served in a dish of powdered sugar.  Steve told the kids not to worry about getting messy as it was something that happened when you had beignets.  The coffee au lait was great too.  Even if you normally drink it black, consider the "au lait" version as it is chicory coffee--very strong.

Next we strolled around Jackson Square, it was morning so it was still pretty tame.  The scenery gets a little flamboyant for kids in the evening.  We went in all the local tourist shops and met the locals.

The kids are all fascinated with alligators--in the store...

in the market place

but, so far, no live ones.

Cameron and Morgan posed in front of this motorcycle in the Harley Davidson store 

for their Grandpa.

Then Miss Morgan posed with her new friend.

Funny hats and masks are everywhere in the quarter regardless of whether it is Mardigras time or not.

The sky suddenly got black, I mean really black so we thought we were in for a heavy deluge.  It was lunchtime so we ducked under the covered outside of the ____ restaurant.  The kids split an order of chicken fingers.  A good thing too as the plate was more than big enough for an adult portion.  Steve had jambalaya which came in three big scoops.  I had half a muffalata sandwich.  When served, it covered half of the dinner plate so Steve helped me out.  Luckily, the storm passed us over without dumping more than a couple of sprinkles.

You should also go into the Cathedral in the square.  They welcome visitors to see the beautiful paintings on the ceiling and the stained glass windows as long as services are not in session.  We also saw a great paddle wheel boat which is real--not just for show.  There is a lot more to see but four hours was about enough walking for a 5 and 7 year old.

The buildings are not always in the greatest shape but the wrought iron railings and plants dress them up beautifully.

We still saw boarded up buildings as we drove back to the park as well as a lot of houses that were obviously new.  It is still a work in progress but the French Quarter is definitely back in business.

Back at the park, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the pool.  After dinner in the RV, we watched a kids movie and Steve got to work the computer again.