Southeast Trip Stop 11 ~ Louisiana

By Calla (3/3/20)

When you think of New Orleans, what do you think of? Bourbon Street? Maybe the WWII Museum? The French Quarter? Or the all-night bars? Well, this describes New Orleans, but not fully.

My experience in New Orleans was CRAZY. Crazy fun, crazy loud, and crazy crazy. For some, big cities just are too much, and I agree I wouldn’t live there. But for a few days it was awesome.

Let’s start with Bourbon Street. They named it perfectly, Bourbon is a whiskey. We saw many Bourbon distilleries in New Orleans. It was a little sketchy because people seemed to like their bourbon on Bourbon Street. I found out later that, during the night, Bourbon Street is rated X! Thankfully we went in the day. Our Nana and Papa Jim drove all the way from Oklahoma to join us on the last part of our trip. All the way down Bourbon Street my mom and Nana kept saying “Oh my!” and “Oh dear!”   

Next, we went to the WWII Museum. I never realized how crazy and important that war was. Wars are not my “strong suit,” but this made learning about World War 2 easier to understand than just reading books. We watched a film about the war – which was very interesting because there was a war vet behind us and I liked wondering what he remembered about the war. The museum was set up so the chairs would shake as if you were the one firing the guns. It felt like a massage chair! Also, I'm getting a new hoodie I saw with Rosie the Riveter. It’s really cute!

We did not go to an all-night bar, but we did go to a plantation focused on the history of the slaves – not the plantation owner. This was my favorite plantation yet. I really liked hearing the story from the slaves perceptive, not just a bystander.

We headed back to the hotel for our last swim in the outdoor, rooftop swimming pool. After that we packed up, got ready for dinner, and headed downstairs for our 5:30 happy hour (which was offered every night in this hotel). After dinner Parker, Nana, and I watched Hallmark and painted nails in Nana’s room, which was very fun.

God has blessed us with many incredible travels and loving people in our lives. I thank God for this 3-week trip. Although I loved this trip, I can’t wait to get home to see the rest of my family, friends, and Sarge.