Good-bye cold, Hello NOLA!

Corinne National Parks & Monuments 2 Comments

We have started on our latest adventure! As usual, Jim watched the weather to plan our escape. He found a warm (if not wet) break in the weather just before New Year’s Eve. Our lists were consulted and stuff was put in piles to be loaded into the Jeep.

As usual, the RV was stored in Ohio. So we had to load up the Jeep with all the necessities that we don’t have duplicates of. This was NOT all of the stuff, sadly.

Janelle had purchased a one-way ticket home for Christmas. So the plan was to drive her back to Galveston. She spent the night before our departure with friends in Buffalo. We picked her up the next morning (Sunday, December 29) and headed out.

Someone stayed up a little too late the night before. We shoe-horned Janelle into the Jeep and hit the road. Z-z-z-z-z-zzzzzzz.

Pulling the RV out of storage was uneventful…so no pictures. And for once our original plan of where to go was working out. The weather was cooperating, so we set our sights on New Orleans!

We found a Harvest Host (i.e. FREE camping) off the highway the first night. We were parked in the back of a microbrewery. Parked next to us were a very nice couple from Michigan.
Harvest Hosts mean free camping. The camping really is free. But the EXCELLENT beers purchased were not. But we were happy to share a few beers with our new RVing friends from Michigan.

We arrived in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve Day and got a spot at a state park. Did we immediately go downtown? No, didn’t even consider it (although we did hit the grocery store!). We were exhausted from pushing so hard to get south. How about New Year’s Day, did we go downtown then? Again, no. The Sugar Bowl was being held, we didn’t feel up to facing the insanity.

Finally, on January 2, 2020, we ventured into downtown. We stayed on the opposite side of the Mississippi from New Orleans. That meant we were able to drive to Algiers, park for free, and take a $2 ferry over to the French Quarter.

New Orleans on the Mississippi River
One of the many “paddle boats” giving river tours. The paddle on the back is primarily for show.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of the French Quarter.
Lots of wrought iron balconies and lots of people is what we found.
We had to wait in line to get a cup of coffee and a beniet. The beniets were good. But are they worth a 30 minute wait? There was enough powdered sugar on them to send you into a diabetic coma!
I can now check Bourbon Street off my bucket list.

We did venture back into town on another day that wasn’t so rainy. Jim went to the National World War II Museum, Janelle and I wandered.

We wandered into a cafe early on.
My first ever cafe latte (decaf) and a fried pie. I thoroughly enjoyed both!
Janelle and I ended up at the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. We got a kick out of all the little Christmas packages in the insect’s cages.

On our final day in the area, Jim and Janelle went to Jean Lafitte National Park. I wanted to go, but my right knee has been acting up and it was having a REALLY bad day. So I stayed behind. They hiked and got up close and personal with an armadillo of all things!!!!

Mr. (or is it Ms.) Armadillo could care less that they were there. The critter was fearless.

Janelle got a video of one of the little critter. Watch for Janelle’s cameo appearance. You can also view the video at https://youtu.be/aJVLJG5kIdo.

We departed New Orleans this morning. Am I glad we stopped? Yes. We got to see what makes New Orleans unique and ate more Cajun food than I care to admit. But, do I have a burning desire to return? Not really. Jim and I just really aren’t city people.

Crawfish and corn bisque (VERY GOOD) and a fried shrimp sandwich “dressed” (which means it has lettuce, tomato and mayo).

We are parked tonight at another Harvest Host. This time we are at the International Petroleum Museum in Morgan City, LA. Jim took a tour of the oil derrick this afternoon and enjoyed it.

Our camping spot for the night. It’s not every day you get to park next to an oil derrick!

From here, we are going to wander along the Gulf Coast towards Galveston. Our reservations at the RV Park near Janelle’s home start on Friday. So we have a few days to poke around and see some sights. Stay tuned….

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2 thoughts on “Good-bye cold, Hello NOLA!”

  2. Jeanne & Dennis

    Hey Kids,
    Where you Bee
    We just returned from California Butterfly
    Preserve, Brilliant
    Heading west on Wednesday couple weeks
    Arizona, white sands N P New Mexico

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