New Orleans

Dustin recently had a work conference in New Orleans.  He flew out on Monday, and he wanted me to join him, so I flew out on Wednesday.  My parents were so kind to come up and chauffeur our kids, play with our dog, manage our schedules and keep things running smoothly.

Dustin's delicious southern food from the first night.

 Dustin and his co-workers.

 The view of the Mississippi River from his hotel room window.

 His friend, John, "working" hard at the Conference.  It was a conference for the National Parks and Recreation Association, so this really was working for them.  No wonder Dustin loves his job.  He gets to be a big kid and play with playground equipment!

World famous beignets from Cafe DuMonde.

 Mighty Mississippi.

 Downtown New Orleans

 Riding the trolley around the city.  It was a cheap, easy way to get around the city.

 Dustin's group toured Mardi Gras World, where the floats are made for the Mardi Gras parade.

 The kids loved/hated this picture of the huge, creepy, football playing baby.

Jackson Square

 Banana Trees

 And, a Jazz Band, of course.  It is New Orleans, after all.

 Dustin didn't remember stamping his foot and writing his name in wet cement, but there is the proof!

 A whole line of Taro card readers.

 A big ol' Cicada.

 And, now I have arrived!  This is from my shuttle bus to the hotel.  That is one of many cemeteries along the way.  I liked how different it looked, with all of the graves being above ground.

 Yay!  Reunited!

 A fancy schmancy dinner with Dustin's coworkers.

 There was a table next to us of Catholic Priests.  Our waiter thought it was a funny start to a joke: "A table of Mormons, a table of Catholic Priests..."

 Pecan Catfish.  That is my chicken in the background.  I got a serious stink eye from the waiter when I didn't order seafood.  Oops!

 Bourbon Street.  We saw Bourbon Street just long enough to take this picture.  It rained so hard while we were eating dinner, and it was just letting up as we walked around the city.  However, we were told later that most puddles on Bourbon Street aren't from the rain.  So gross.

 We ended up back at Cafe DuMonde.  I think our server went a little crazy with the powdered sugar.

 Another Banana Tree!  Actually, it is probably the same one.  I'm not sure if I had ever seen a banana tree before this.

 French Quarter at night, glistening from the rain.  Very pretty.

 The next day Dustin finished up his Conference while I walked the city a little, and then we took a trolley ride through the Garden District.  It is a neighborhood with some beautiful old southern homes.  There was a park with huge oak trees, covered in ferns.  It really is a beautiful area.  And, if we pass a park, of course we must check it out! 

 We must have been along the parade route, because the trees were filled with beads.

 We got off the trolley to walk around the neighborhood a little bit, and we found a cool old cemetery, but, unfortunately, it had already closed for the day.  We got these pictures by sticking our hands through the gate.  I wish we could have walked around inside!  I love old cemeteries!

 Sandra Bullock's house.  We are such huge fans that we had to stalk her a little (I'm being sarcastic here.  I can't even remember the last movie I saw her in, but somehow Dustin found online that she lived in this neighborhood, and we happened to be on her very street, so as we walked and looked at houses, we found hers!)

 Dinner that night was at a place named Mothers.  It felt pretty authentic New Orleans.  Someone from New Orleans can correct me on this if I am wrong.

I had myself a Po' Boy.  It was super good.

 Jackson Square that night, where more Beignets were consumed.

 The next morning we headed outside of town to take an Alligator Swamp Tour.  They guaranteed we would see alligators, and we found one right in the gift shop!

 And these cute little babies were right outside the gift shop.  They are alive, but the mom's head is a decoy.

 At one point we stopped the boat, and this friendly guy came right up wanting some food.  Our tour guide said that he was a paid employee.

 And then he pulled this little 2 year old out of a cooler on the boat.

 So we held him.  And, now we can say we've held an alligator!

An alligator is swimming in the foreground of this picture.

  We saw some alligators, nobody lost any fingers, so I would say it was a successful tour!

On the drive home, many of the houses were built up high because of the flooding from Hurricanes.

 That afternoon we walked around the French Quarter again.  I hadn't seen inside the cathedral there (even though Dustin had), so we stopped in for a few pictures.

We took a walk through the shops at the French Market, bought our kids some alligator souveniers and ate another famous New Orleans meal: the Muffuletta.  

 Or should I say, Barfaletta?  Because that is how I felt after eating this one.  It wasn't my favorite New Orleans cuisine.

And that was it for New Orleans for us!  A fun little adventure!  We flew back to Utah that night and woke up the next morning to a very busy General Conference Weekend.  Back to real life!