New Orleans, Louisiana

While Rich stayed home to work and Ryan stayed home to attend summer school, the rest of us headed to Missouri to stay the night at my parents house. Monday morning, we awoke at 5:20 am to head to the airport to pick up our rental van.  It was quite disastrous, but 45 minutes later we were on our way to pick up the rest of the crew (not in the passenger van we originally rented but we survived).  What originally started out as a 30+ crew of family, ended up being 10.  Because of the oil spill scare, our numbers dropped over the months as we were planning out our trip.  We took this exact trip 11 years ago and decided it was time for another one.  I'm so glad our family gets along so well!

Our first day of sight seeing was spent in New Orleans.  The temp was in the high 90's with a heat index of 110.  What a scorcher!  We had yet to experience that type of heat back in Oklahoma.  Every time I would walk out of a store, my camera lens would fog up.  It was miserably hot and oh so humid, but everyone enjoyed themselves none the less with not much complaining.

Lil' guy doing a little sightseeing...

We wanted to ride the trolley, but there were so many things we wanted to do and see.  It was hard to fit it all into one day.

So neat how the street names were "set in stone".  Robbie cheesing it up for the camera.

It started to rain and all these artists took off running for cover.  I thought it was interesting that they just left their art in the rain, not even taking a single canvas with them.

We ate lunch at River's Edge.  It was very good.  See the steam on my lens?

I've always thought New Orleans is one of the prettiest cities I've ever been to.  The exception to that being Mardi Gras.  It's amazing how nasty, stinky, yucky, and dirty that city becomes with the trash lined streets (and balconies).

Robbie posing outside of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.

No trip to New Orleans is ever complete without a stroll through the French Market.

Jackson Square is home to the St. Louis Cathedral.  Established as a parish in 1720, it is the oldest cathedral in continual use in the US.

One last picture to share...

We had a wonderful time exploring a beautiful city.  I'm grateful that I was able to share this experience with my sisters, my mom, and my kids.