Monday, December 3, 2018

Breakaway from the Holiday- Pre- Cruise Travel

YAY for Beignets
Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA
November 17, 2018


Happy Holidays Y’all! Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday and this year we decided to combine my favorite holiday with my favorite pastime… CRUISING! Chris and I decided to take our kids on a new cruise line, Norwegian Cruise Line, and sail as a family from New Orleans, LA. Chris and I have sailed from New Orleans four previous times and we loved it so we were anxious for the kids to try out sailing down the river.


Of course, this meant we had to travel to New Orleans from Houston to get to the Norwegian Breakaway. We left early, and I mean EARLY, Saturday, November 17th and made a stop in Baton Rouge, LA before making our way to New Orleans. Overall, the drive was definitely not our worst commute to New Orleans but we did experience some “typical” Louisiana traffic as we approached both Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

We are SO GRATEFUL for our new Buick, "Boomer". I am not sure the Altima would have made it with all of our luggage. We are a bit of "Over-Packers". 

Wait, What??? The Lake Charles Bridge is clear? No traffic? Thank you Jesus!

After waiting over an hour to get to and over the Baton Rouge I-10 Bridge... Hello Gorgeous! 
We have arrived in Baton Rouge. 

Baton Rouge, LA
Once a Tiger… Always a Tiger
Once we got to Baton Rouge, we made our way to the LSU campus and explored Chris’s Alma mater and the kids absolutely loved it. We got to see “Mike the Tiger”, visit the gift shop and play some family football on the “Parade Grounds”. Even as an Oklahoma University graduate, I absolutely LOVE this gorgeous campus and so do our kids.

Luke loved getting to read his map and get around LSU. 


Chris was so proud to get to show the kids his Alma Mater. 


Hello Mike! 


Never a dull moment with us! 


Natalie, especially, LOVED this campus! 


Once a Tiger... Always a Tiger. 

We played some football on the Parade Grounds area of LSU and of course, the kids both had to score a touchdown!

Luke's touchdown! 


Natalie's Touchdown!


I love this campus! 
It was a GREAT early afternoon on campus and then we grabbed a bite to eat at Walk-Ons Bistreaux. This was #Fantastic dining experience and all four of us LOVED it.
The fried alligator was some of the best I have had! 

We also stopped at Coffee Call on College Drive in Baton Rouge for some delicious Beignets and Cafe au Lait. This was the kids first time to experience beignets and my oh my was it MESSY! But they LOVED it. TIP- Coffee Call in Baton Rouge is just as good, if not better, than Cafe du Monde and I HIGHLY recommend it if you are in Baton Rouge.


This was a HUGE hit with my family! 


Yes Luke.. go ahead and put MORE sugar on those beignets! Ha! 


The kids were hyped up on sugar! 


Daddy's favorite place in Baton Rouge... besides, LSU! 
We then made our way to New Orleans via I-10 and the Bonnet Carre' Spillway only to find… MORE Louisiana traffic. I was driving at this point and it was my worst nightmare. We were stuck on the 16 mile bridge for nearly an hour. Once we finally passed the traffic and congestion, we stopped in Kenner for our traditional “Check In, Check Out” shrimp Po-Boy. Again, this was the kids 1st experience and they became fans really quick.

Luke was not quite sure why they would put lettuce on the shrimp but he liked it! 


Just me and my mini-me! 


Natalie lost a tooth!
We learned that the Tooth Fairy does not make "cruise ship visits". I guess she can't fly that fast! 

 OUR FAMILY RECAP VIDEO OF BATON ROUGE
New Orleans, LA
YAY for more BEN YAYS!
Once we got into the city, we made our way to our hotel in Harvey, LA on the east side of New Orleans. We found this hotel a few years ago and it meets our cruising and accommodation needs PERFECTLY. TIP- Comfort Suites Harvey, LA  is about 5 miles from the French Quarter but offers FREE PARKING for the duration of your cruise as well as a taxi, which is included in your stay rate, to and from the cruise terminal. Our total for a night’s stay, 7 days of parking and 2 taxi rides was $245. This is a CRAZY good deal if you don’t require or “need” the fancy French Quarter hotels. With kids, especially, this met our needs perfectly. It is family owned and operated and is a great bargain for cruisers.


We are grateful for this hotel and it's family!
Check it out! 

We checked in to our hotel and got settled in our room before calling an UBER to get us to the French Quarter and downtown area. We decided to take a tour of Mardi Gras World near the Port of New Orleans. This was very pleasant experience and all four of us LOVED it.
This tour is easy to get to and offers a FREE Shuttle!


I LOVE my Luke the Duke!


This was the 1st float Luke found! 


GREAT family tour in NOLA! 


Natalie and I liked this one! 


THE KING himself! 
CHECK OUT OUR FAMILY VIDEO! 
Our tour of Mardi Gras World! 
TIP- Mardi Gras World Tour was $72 for the 4 of us and they offered a FREE shuttle to and from the French Quarter and Garden District. This allowed us to take the shuttle after the tour to the Garden District area. They will also pick you up from your French Quarter hotel as well.


Luke wanted to ride on the “streetcars” after watching many episodes of Full House. Of course, the New Orleans streetcars were not quite the same as those from Full House, which takes place in San Francisco, CA. Luke was not impressed so that tour did not last very long but we all enjoyed the down time and looking at the gorgeous homes and Garden District Area. TIP- You can purchase an all day pass for $3 using the online or using the NORTA app. So ideally, a family of four can get around the French Quarter and Garden District areas ALL DAY for only $12. If you are interested in visiting these areas, I would suggest using the ALL DAY PASS from NORTA.


Family selfie on the Streetcar! 


Luke was really liking riding the streetcar but wanted the ones in San Francisco. 

Luke did like pulling the "STOP" button! 


I loved getting to share memories with my family! 
Once we got done with our street car experience we made our way towards MOTHERS Restaurant near the French Quarter. I had read about this place for years but had never made my way down there until now. WOW… This was easily the best home cooking I have EVER had. Chris and I both got their signature sandwich, The Ferdi Special, and we were overwhelmed at not only the amount on our plates but the amazing taste. TIP- It is walkable from Bourbon Street and the French Quarter area but you might want to take a taxi or UBER if coming from Jackson Square. Oh and… COME HUNGRY!


WE LOVED THIS PLACE!

We were so stuffed, we could have been wheeled out of there on a wheelbarrow. OR… a Pedicab. Funny Story… We started walking towards Jackson Square and a petite sized woman (she weighed MAYBE 130lbs) driving a pedicab asked if we needed a ride. We looked at each other and our size and laughed at her. She basically said, challenge accepted and we all four got on the cab and she started pedaling. This was a hilarious experience as she was going pretty slow. We finally made our way to Jackson Square as the sun began to set and we gave her a very HEFTY tip to say the least. We were only 80 pounds shy of the limit. It was a memory we will all never forget.


An experience we will all never forget! The driver included, I'm sure! 


Thank you Samantha for getting us from A to B! 
We toured Jackson Square and saw the front lobby of St. Louis Cathedral but unfortunately the Cathedral was holding its Saturday night mass so we were not allowed within the Cathedral. We snapped a few pictures, made a donation and then made our way back out to see more of the French Quarter.


I love this place! 


They like to do SILLY pictures. 


I love my beautiful family!

Shortly thereafter, we got in line for Cafe du Monde. The kids were excited to have more Beignets, or BEN YAYS as Luke likes to call them. When we got to the table we were told that New Orleans was under a “Boil Water” health process and they were out of coffee, hot chocolate and milk. This was a little disturbing but we made the most out of it and still enjoyed our enormous plate of beignets. Once we got done Luke was hyped up on sugar and started doing the “Whip and Nae Nae” and the “Shoot” as we walked down Decatur street... Everybody gets wild and crazy in New Orleans and apparently that includes LUKE after eating beignets. Once again, it was more memories we will never forget.



This is an absolute MUST when in New Orleans! 

We loved this place!

The kids were satisfied... to say the least! 


Luke left "a little" messy! He was proud! 


More family FUN! 

We were all tired so we started walking down Decatur street and found a souvenir store before calling our last UBER back to the hotel. We were all EXHAUSTED from a long commute and an even longer day of attractions and activities. The day we had been counting down for over a year was upon us TOMORROW and we were anxious to get on board the Norwegian Breakaway for even more memories.


HAHA... This Boy is too much! 

The kids LOVED New Orleans and all it's craziness!

Stay tuned for day by day entries of our time spent on the Norwegian
Breakaway. I will be sharing tips and tricks for the Breakaway and
cruising on NCL in general.
Once again, thanks for following along!
Keep Calm and Cruise ON!
God is good… ALL the time!

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- 2018



 





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