Saturday, July 27, 2013
Taking it "EASY" in THE BIG EASY
After a questionable hotel stay in Baton Rouge, Chris and I made our way 90 or so miles east to New Orleans. I had not been to New Orleans since New Years 2003 for the 2003 Sugar Bowl where OU played LSU for the National Championship. Chris had been to New Orleans numerous time since he lived in Baton Rouge for nearly 9 years. During this drive east, we crossed over yet another long swampy bridge that made me claustrophobic and un-easy. I am not a fan of these bridges!
Much like yesterday, Chris knew about some unique "finds" in "The Big Easy". We started off with a small Cajun eatery called "Check In Check Out" in Kenner, LA just west of New Orleans. This was a "Hole in the Wall" type of place that looked like something that Guy Fieri would have on his widely popular "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" TV show on The Food Network. However, it was not even 10am yet and I was not hungry but Chris and even his dad, Dan swear they serve the ABSOLUTE BEST shrimp Po-Boys ever. I had a bite of Chris' and it was pretty tasty, even when I was still working on about 80% taste buds!
After this we were able to head on over to our Hotel on the east side of the Mississippi River. This was really neat since it was still only 10:30am. We learned all about the hotel stay and parking during the cruise as well as Shuttle and Ferry information about getting around New Orleans. We then took the hotel shuttle and the Canal Street Ferry to the French Quarter, but we first stopped at Harrah's Casino for a Starbuck's "Pick Me Up".
This really helped keep us going for a long and hot day on Bourbon Street and Jackson Square. Of course, no trip to New Orleans would be complete without a stop at Café du Monde. This was just as I remembered it and was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Their Café au lait is TO DIE FOR!
After our tasty beignets, we took a romantic Carriage Ride around the French Quarter and downtown New Orleans to learn lots of information about New Orleans and it's history. This was really cool and I learned A LOT!
We LOVE romantic Carriage Rides... we used to do this All the Time in Oklahoma!
The tour ended at Jackson Square so we decided to go into St. Louis Cathedral. It was here that I did something I have NEVER done before... Confession! That's right, I went into Catholic Confession with a real priest and everything!
The tour ended at Jackson Square so we decided to go into St. Louis Cathedral. It was here that I did something I have NEVER done before... Confession! That's right, I went into Catholic Confession with a real priest and everything!
It was a little weird and awkward but in the end the priest told me go back into the cathedral worship center and thank God for all my blessings. This was so incredible to me since I had been mourning having to leave my babies all morning! I spent about 15 minutes praying and thanking God for my 2 little blessings, amongst many others, that He has blessed me with!
What a beautiful testament of Our Lord and His Church.
We then decided to go and listen to LIVE music on Bourbon Street. This was really neat for me and Chris both and we really enjoyed it. After the LIVE band we decided to head back toward Canal Street and went to a restaurant called "The Gumbo Pot". Chris and I both ordered Po-Boys and they were a perfect ending to our Cajun day!
We tried to hail a taxi for nearly 30 minutes before darkness fell and finally after walking for about 6 blocks we found one and was able to get back to our hotel. After taking a shower and SCOURING the disgusting-ness that is New Orleans from our bodies, we were able to call the kids before heading to bed. Oddly enough, we were in bed and asleep by 10pm in NEW ORLEANS! But that is OK, because we were anxious and ready to get on our ship!
TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY!
Thank You, Lord for giving us this opportunity to spend time with each other and take this amazing trip!
God is Good... ALL the time!
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