NOLA!!!

Things we learned in New Orleans, Louisiana:

• There are potholes! Lots of them.
• You can go on a nature hike and walk RIGHT NEXT TO AN ALLIGATOR. Like, no one thinks this is weird?
• On your birthday, strangers give you money. Did I mention I spent my birthday in NOLA? My other NOLA colleague, Stephanie, and I are birthday buddies!

Evidence:

We stayed at a really nice RV park. It was super cute and had a nice pool. Never used the pool though, since we were on the go every day and by the time we were home, it was raining. It rains a lot.

One of the reasons we included New Orleans in our trip plan is that one of my teammates, Pam, lives there. So I got to cowork with her and we went over to hang out one evening to meet her family. She lives in a super cute neighborhood with a Tardis down the street from her house.

Of course, you can’t visit NOLA without having beignets. Pam told me to go to Morning Call in City Park as it would be easier. Fewer people, traffic, easier to park, and so on. So we did. But it stormed. Big time. And the storm blew out the fryer. So there we were at Morning Call to get beignets, but no beignets. We had an alligator sausage instead. It was an adventure.

And you also can’t visit NOLA without sightseeing in the French Quarter.

And we got our beignets! I asked the woman at the counter if they had beignets and she looked at me funny and said yes, with a little smile she probably saves for dumb tourists. And then I realized the place was called Cafe Beignet. Pretty sure they always have them.

Speaking of City Park, Al and I went there the day after my birthday for a date.

While I was hanging out with my colleague, As took the kids on some outings, including the Chalmette battlefield and the hike where they walked by an alligator. It was not a small critter. Just sitting there by the path like, oh hi, no big deal, just a massive scary animal, no big deal.

I leave you with this gorgeous view. After the rain clears, it sure is pretty there!