Reflection – Nursing Our Travel Bug

Well, our time in the Big Easy has come to an end. While we know Louisiana won’t be our “forever” home, we had some fun experiences & made some great memories here!

We stayed at a nice, no-frills campground called Ama RV Park on the Westbank of the Mississippi River (about 35 minutes from the famous French Quarter). We were literally right across the road from the levee, so we got to watch all the barge traffic…so neat!

Being on the Westbank also means we have to cross a bridge to get to town. The bridges here are no joke! They tower miles above the water to accommodate all the barges with their cranes as they drift up & down the Mississippi. Being EXTREMELY afraid of heights, I have a mini panic attack every time we cross!

We arrived just before Halloween, so we missed their Krew of Boo parade. However, we did attend the Park-a-Boo event in Lafreniere Park. The kids got to play games, experience a haunted house, get faces painted, and go trick-or-treating. When the big day came, the kids made out like bandits in our neighborhood, too!

Our first touristy stop in New Orleans, was not the French Quarter but Lake Ponchartrain. The causeway that crosses the lake is the longest roadway over a body of water in the world. We stopped for some fried oysters & Poboys in Mandeville & checked out the local farmers market. There’s even a cute lighthouse museum on the south shore. Check out the video of our experience: Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

After a few weeks, we finally made the journey to the infamous French Quarter. The people, the architecture, the music, & the food all give this historic part of the Big Easy it’s charm. Of course we had to try the notorious beignet, a donut-like pastry covered by a pile of powdered sugar. Check out our short video where we compare the original Cafe du Monde beignet to Cafe Beignet: Battle of the Beignets.

We also stopped at Central Grocery to try their famous muffuletta. It’s an Italian-style deli sandwich with mortadella, salami, & ham, Swiss & provolone cheeses, and an olive salad on a sesame focaccia bread. It’s certainly not that traditional southern food of New Orleans, but it sure was delicious!

Perhaps my favorite part of the French Quarter was the St. Louis Cathedral. The three steepled house of worship faces the Mississippi River and was dedicated in the 1720’s to Louis the IX, the King of France. With its colorful, life-like mosaics, intricate architecture, and brilliant stained glass, it’s hard not to feel a sense of awe and peace when you step through the threshold of this ancient house of God.

Of course, the other side of the French Quarter is the more adult Bourbon Street. Walking the streets with kiddos during the day was safe, but we definitely wouldn’t recommend it after dark. It was cool to experience, but it was a little disappointing. The streets were so dirty & smelled of urine, and most of the stores & bars are traps for the tourists. In fact, a lot of the locals I worked with said they rarely venture to the Quarter at all.

We did come back for a second visit to the French Quarter when my brother & dad came for a visit. Instead of paying the $30-$50 to park our beast of a truck, we parked on the other side of the river & took the ferry over. I HIGHLY recommend that alternative when visiting!

I was also able to spend some time with my friend Deborah in the Big Easy. Deb was a nurse I’d met while traveling in Tucson, Arizona. She was interested in getting into travel nursing as well, so I hooked her up with my agency, and she took her first assignment here in NOLA. Not only were we able to work together but we also got to hang out in New Orleans. One of my favorite outings was our day at the World War II Museum. It’s comprised of 5 different buildings with 3 floors of history. It was fascinating, & I highly recommend a visit!

Christmas time in New Orleans is full of lots of opportunities for family fun, too. We had to check out the zoo lights at Audubon Zoo, which was really neat! We also went to the Celebration in the Oaks in City Park. Aside from seeing Santa, the park was filled with all kinds of Christmas light displays as well as a farmers market & poinsettia tree. It sure put us in the Christmas spirit!

After the holidays, we ventured back in time to the days of the last great battle of the War of 1812. The park was actually closed because of the government shutdown, but we were able to explore the grounds. In addition to loads of information about the battle that took place here, we were also able to check out artillery cannons, the Malus-Beauregard antebellum plantation house, and the national cemetery. It was so humbling to walk where so many fought for their lives & for our freedoms so long ago.

We also explored an old indigo & sugar cane plantation. The Destrehan Plantation offered a guided tour through the old antebellum mansion. We were also able to explore the grounds, which included a one room school house, a trapper’s cottage, and slave homes. Feel free to watch our video tour here: Destrehan Plantation Tour.

While the main home was beautiful and the history of the plantation intriguing, I was saddened by the disparities between the rich & the enslaved. One room in the slave house had a bean-stuffed mattress on the floor that was meant as a child’s bed. I was also taken aback by the fact that the plantation owners did not have to provide all the food or even clothing for their workers. For example, we learned that most slave families had to tend their own garden after working long days in the field if they wanted enough food to eat.

Our last couple of weeks in Louisiana were during Carnival season, which is the time of celebration leading up to Mardis Gras. While we didn’t get to stay for the big parade, we did get to experience a family friendly one. However, it is not like parades back home in Nebraska! Folks down here are serious when it comes to beads!!! People were literally rushing up to the passing floats just to get their hands on some. It was insanity!

We also made it to the Gulf of Mexico before we left. The town of Grand Isle is Louisiana’s most southern city and the place where we were able to finally get a glimpse of the gulf. It was crazy windy & a bit chilly, but it was still neat to lay our eyes on it for the first time as a family.

Our final and, perhaps, most memorable experience in New Orleans was trying the infamous crawfish. It was just coming back into season, so we were able to get our hands on some. We picked our feast up at Hebert’s (Irene’s Place) Seafood, and warmed it up at home. We had to watch a couple of videos on how to properly eat a crawfish before we were brave enough to tackle it. Lol And the idea of “sucking the head” was a bit unnerving. However, we all dove right in and really enjoyed this southern food. Bill’s working on the video of our experience right now, so be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

From the French Quarter to the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans certainly had a lot to see, do, and experience for us Midwesterners. Yet, our time here has come to an end. Onto the next adventure…