Rounding out the trip

I've been dragging out this vacation for far too long. Following our stint in New Orleans we went back to Thibodaux. We had to stop here first in Metairie though. The last time I was here was the day after Ohio State lost to LSU in the national championship football game and I couldn't even stand to be in there. But it was bearable this time, even with the cashier who was complaining that her brother married some woman from Ohio and has starting liking Ohio State now that he lives "up there." After I told her that's where I was from she redeemed herself a little by saying how pretty it was here and that she loved shopping at Easton. Anyway, we are now the proud owners of these cups. I even drink out of them occasionally.

I don't remember (I know, odd for me since I remember EVERYTHING) where or what we had for lunch on this day. But I do recall that we checked in to our favorite hotel and the kids and I all took a nap. I have no idea if Jason did or not, I don't recall asking, but I think he was watching TV.

(Yes, Jordis has her finger up her nose)

After our siesta we headed over to Uncle Keith and Aunt Sheila's. A group of family had gathered and we sat outside enjoying the nice day while the kids played.

For dinner we met up with Jason's childhood friend, Jerad, his wife and little boy, and his parents. It was the only time we were able to get together our whole trip, so we were excited to see them. Jerad's wife is pregnant and wanted fried catfish, so we went to her favorite place, a local hole in the wall called Boudreaux's. Jason's aunt had told me the fried chicken was really good, so that's what I got. And she was right. The hush puppies were even better. It was a fried food bonanza. Everyone was trying to broaden my horizons so I also tried fried okara, fried catfish and fried oysters. Jason shared his fried crawfish with me and I had some onion rings, too. Jerad and Christy bought us dinner which was so unexpected and generous. We bribed the kids to take a picture together after we ate.

We went back to the hotel and called it a night. We had to get up for some shopping the next day.

Last day in New Orleans

Are you tired of hearing about our vacation yet? Don't worry, it's all down hill from here.

On Wednesday we parted ways with Jeremy and Sarah for the morning. They went here...

...and we went here.

(I know, I'm slacking, I forgot to take a picture of the place from the outside).

So, the Insectarium was full of, um, insects. You could look at them...

...touch them...

...even eat them...


There was also an interactive bug movie that we went to see.

My favorite was the blue crawfish.

There was also a huge butterfly exhibit. You first saw the life cycle of the butterfly.

Then you could walk around in a room full of them. They were beautiful, but the kids thought it was scary if they would land on you.

After the Insecatrium Jason took the kids back to the hotel to eat lunch and go to the pool.

The guys had made a deal with us that we could lunch and shop all afternoon while they kept the kids and then we'd take the kids while they went to dinner, the French Quarter and the casino. So while I waited for Sarah to join me I had the opportunity to be all alone in the French Quarter. It was so much fun to wander around at my own pace. I spent most of the time reading menus to find us a neat place for lunch, but I also went to a few galleries and did some shopping. While I was on Royal Street I came across this impromptu music session.

Sarah and I ate lunch here in Jackson Square, then we shopped, got a daiquiri, shopped some more and grabbed dinner to take back to the hotel.

Jason and Jeremy came back to our favorite place to eat dinner, this time nabbing some balcony seating.

They had fun doing the guy/brother bonding thing, and our time in New Orleans ended well. The kids are still talking about it, I can't wait to go back.

A first for the kids

After our long night out Jason and Terry got up early to go catch our dinner.....crawfish. When they got back Monica and I went to get Popeye's for lunch and we took lunch out on their boat in Bayou Teche.

I loved these leaves lining the water and this egret was really pretty.

It was a little windy, but the kids were really excited to be on a boat for the first time.

Then it started to look like this.

Luckily we got out of there before it stormed. Jason and Terry took our kids and the boat back to the house, and Monica and I took their girls to the store to get food for our crawfish boil. Before dinner we went across the street to say hello to Terry's parents. They live right on the bayou and their backyard is so peaceful. At least it was until I got bit by a fire ant.

Jordis wasn't so sure about the crawfish when they were still alive....

...but she took two bites when it was time for dinner.

The ladies and kids got the first batch (Xander ate some leftovers)....

...the guys got the second.

It was a great end to a fun-filled weekend.

Cajun cookin'

One of my favorite things about Louisiana is the food. A lot of it is things that you just can't find anywhere else. Or you can find them other places, but they don't taste as good as you know them to be down south.

There were a few things I didn't get pictures of, especially the appetizers Jason's uncle made. Taken apart I don't like any of the ingredients on their own (except for the bacon), but together it was an amazing treat.

And I didn't take any pictures of our breakfast fare from Rob's Donuts. We all know what donuts look like so I didn't think it was necessary, but they are truly the best donuts I've ever had.

Here are some favorites from our trip:

Cajun Potato Kitchen serves huge baked potatoes loaded with a variety of toppings. I can't even remember what mine was, I think it was steak and gravy, and Jason's was stuffed with crawfish etouffee. They're so good.

Dinner at the Half Shell was interesting. It's a local hole-in-the wall type place and all the customers seemed to know other customers. The kids also made a gentleman friend at the table next to us. This is just a crabcake sandwich, which you can get pretty much anywhere, but it's one of the best I've ever had.

We took the kids to lunch at Frostop because it served kid-friendly food. We like it for the amazing root beer served in frosty mugs.

Sarah and I had never had boudin, so a public initiation at the family cookout was set-up. This kind was synthetic so didn't have the gross casings, otherwise I don't know if I'd have tried it or not. But we thought it was tasty.

My second ever crawfish boil. This picture's a little blurry but I like it anyway. Everyone makes boiled crawfish differently with different sauces as well. I usually get pretty good at peeling it by the time I'm full. I just can't look at their beady little eyes, it creeps me out. Jason and his cousin's husband actually caught all of this crawfish for our dinner.

LaBayou is one of my favorite restaurants in the French Quarter, and it just so happens that when you ride the street car it drops you off right at the edge of Bourbon Street where the restaurant is. Jason and his brother ate here twice in three days.

Crawfish cakes with a crawfish remoulade.

Crawfish pasta had sauteed crawfish in the pasta and fried crawfish on top. The sauce was a Cajun alfredo and there was paremsan cheese on top. My sister-in-law and I shared both of these for dinner and ate every last bite.

You can't go to New Orleans without stopping at Cafe du Monde. We took the kids here for dessert. I must admit that the beignets were not the best I've ever had. They were decent, but I think they didn't hit the powdered sugar soon enough after coming out of the fryer. I was really surprised though at how much I enjoyed the frozen coffee. I really love their coffee and chicory au lait, but it was so hot that night I opted for the frozen and I'm so glad I did.

Watch Man v. Food on the Travel Channel? We saw the New Orleans episode and decided we had to eat at Mother's. This is the file gumbo. I ate the whole bowl. After a very long day in the French Quarter we got off the street car at VooDoo BBQ & Grill, a restaurant we passed every day on St. Charles Street. It was SO good. I got a platter of pulled pork and Caribbean jerk chicken with macaroni and cheese and corn pudding. The chicken was so good I gave my pulled pork to Jason before trying it. It looked good though, and they had sauces on the table for you to choose from. I think they need to get a franchise up here.

Sarah and I spent one day shopping and eating in the French Quarter and we'd been wanting to try some fried alligator, so we ate lunch at Cafe Pontalba. The beauty of the French Quarter is that all the restaurants post the menu outside, so you can find what you want before you decide where to eat. This place is right in Jackson Square across from St. Louis Cathedral and is open on two sides, so we had a great view and a fun time. The alligator was pretty tasty, too. I don't know that I'd order it again just because there's other things I'd like to try, but now that I've tasted it I wouldn't shy away from it in the future.

We also shared this crawfish fettuccine. It wasn't as good as the crawfish pasta at LaBayou, but we still liked it.
On the way back to our hotel I had to stop at NOLA and get these bourbon mashed sweet potatoes. Sarah couldn't believe I spent almost $7 for them, but it is an Emeril restaurant afterall, and you only live once, so I got them. They weren't as fantastic as I had hoped, but still good. The green onions added a nice flavor. We also stopped at The Gumbo Shop. She got some gumbo to take back to the hotel and I got bread pudding. It was really hard to find bread pudding that didn't have white chocolate in it, so I was elated when someone at the Tabasco store told me I could find it here.
Another crawfish boil, different side of the family. Also some amazing desserts this day. I think I have recreated cousin Shannon's frosting for brownies, so I'm pretty excited about that.
Thus ends the food journey (insert sad face here). I can't wait to go back and do it all again.