Spring Break in New Orleans

For Spring Break this year, we decided to drive on down to New Orleans.  We wanted to go somewhere we'd never been and that was within reasonable driving distance.  We had a great time!  The weather was beautiful (except for that one time in the swamp), the food was delicious, the city was beautiful and interesting, and the kids were well-behaved!  And if you want to go somewhere where you can eat lots of great food and get in enough exercise to offset it, let me suggest NOLA.  I thought I'd share a screenshot of my Fitbit email with my weekly stats while we were gone.

We walked a marathon plus!  I was really dreading stepping on the scale when I got home, but I didn't gain a pound, and now I see why!  We did have a car, and they do have public transportation, but we didn't want to pay for parking, the streetcars were mostly full, and the buses were never on time, so we walked a lot.  It's a good way to see the city anyway.

We rented a charming shotgun house on vrbo.com that was located in the Arts/Warehouse district.  It was nice having 2 bedrooms and a kitchen and the house had a lot of character.  And there was a cute coffee shop and cafe/juice bar just a couple of blocks away.  Here are some of the things we did.

• Audubon Zoo
• Audubon Aquarium
• Audubon Insectarium
• Cajun Encounters Swamp Tour
• Free Ferry ride across the Mississippi
• Shopping in the French Quarter, Magazine Street, and the French Market

We bought an Audubon package to save money which included the Zoo, Aquarium, Insectarium, and IMAX theater (which we didn't end up using).  A couple of tips on the Insectarium.  It's located in a federal building, so no knives, sharp objects, or other weapons are allowed.  Well, I had Caroline's Epi-pen and pepper spray in my purse.  At first, they weren't even going to let me bring in the Epi-pen, then they changed their minds.  They wouldn't hold the pepper spray and thankfully we had driven that day, so Mike walked the pepper spray a few blocks back to the car.  Then he got back and realized he had a multi-tool in his pocket.  Back to the car.  Then halfway back, he discovered he'd left his ticket in the car!  So he got a few extra steps in that day.  The other thing about the Insectarium.  DON'T skip the little multi-sensory theater.  We almost did because it didn't look that interesting.  I laughed so much!  It's a cartoon about bugs, but that's not all.  I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I'll just say some of us were jumping out of our seats.  As for the swamp tour, I'd recommend doing that in warmer weather.  The alligators were hibernating (we saw one), and it got a little (ok a lot) chilly zipping down the river getting from one area of the swamp to another.  

Now, to the food.  Oh the food, the heavenly food.  I ate so much seafood, I was starting to worry I might have a reaction!  I was also feeling a little like Forrest Gump....Shrimp Creole, Shrimp and Grits, Shrimp Salad, Stuffed Shrimp, etc., etc. And lets just say I may have eaten one too many pralines.  Here are restaurants/cafes I recommend.

• Desire Oyster bar for Desire Oysters and Shrimp and Grits
• Central Grocery Store for the Muffaletta
• Crabby Jack's for Shrimp Creole
• The Rum House for the Rum House Salad (I've got to figure out how to recreate it)
• The Corner Muse for breakfast, coffee, snoballs and snacks
• Surrey Cafe and Juice Bar for breakfast and fresh squeezed juice
• Cafe Du Monde for coffee and beignets

Here are some highlights of the trip in pictures.

Blood Orange Brownies and Branson

  

Blood Orange Brownies.  Does that sound good?  It sure did to me when I heard the idea on a Twitter chat a few weeks ago from Devo Olive Oil. They tweeted a link to a recipe for Blood Orange Brownies using Blood Orange Olive Oil from their store.  I was intrigued, so I googled them and lo and behold they're in Branson at Branson Landing!  We had a little weekend trip planned there anyway, so we stopped in.  Wowza, was I overwhelmed with all of the oil and vinegar choices.

 

Addie samples Black Currant Balsamic Vinegar

We had a good time sampling the different varieties.  And the sales clerk was very helpful with ideas of mixing different flavors for marinating options.  I took home a bottle of the Blood Orange Olive Oil and whipped up some brownies today.  I decided to use my Mom's tried and true recipe and just substitute some of the oil.  Now, these are the brownies I grew up with and still make.  Actually, Addie is the brownie maker in the house now.  It's a recipe easy enough for a 10 year old to do without any intervention from Mom.  The original recipe is so, so good, but with the addition of this Olive Oil.....Oh My.....   Next time you're in Branson, stop in at Devo.

Blood Orange Brownies 

2 cups sugar
10 Tbsp cocoa
1 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/2 cup Blood Orange Olive Oil & 1/2 cup canola oil)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Mix sugar and cocoa together, add oil and eggs.  Beat smooth by hand.  Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes.  Do not over bake.

Here are some more pictures from our little trip.  I took my Kindle so I could try and get my book club book read, but I never even picked it up.  My eyes were looking out the window the whole time.  The leaves were so beautiful.

Our main destination was Silver Dollar City, so that's where we spent most of our time.  I just love their Harvest Festival decorations.

 I'm not sure who's kid this is that wants to ride these crazy thrill rides.

Addie on the Electro Spin

Caroline and I on the swings while Addie was off thrill-seeking

We had a great time, ate some yummy food (love the skillet meals!), and the weather was perfect.  On the way home we stopped at a roadside produce stand and bought these lovely Arkansas Black Apples.

These are supposed to be good for eating, cooking, and baking and have a long storage life.  In fact, the produce guy told me if I keep them cool, they'll probably last until April or May!  I'm thinking they'll get cooked, canned, or eaten before then.  Addie wants me to make applesauce and I'm brainstorming other ideas as well.  If anyone dares to comment on my blog, please give me your ideas and suggestions for these beauties.

Meet Me in St. Louis

We had a great weekend trip to St. Louis.  Mike has been an Atlanta Braves fan for many years and I thought it would be nice for him to see Chipper play in person one more time in his last season.  We decided it would be better to drive to St. Louis than Atlanta.  Mother's Day weekend was our only choice.  The kids were really good for the 12 hours we were in the car.  I was pleasantly surprised.  We loved our hotel.  We stayed at the Drury Inn at the Arch.  It was full of baseball fans, mainly cardinals, but everyone was friendly.  Here's the view from our room.

I was very impressed by how classy Cardinals fans are.  We received no dirty looks or snide remarks as we went around with our Braves garb.  When Chipper stepped up to bat the first time, the entire stadium rose to their feet and gave him a standing ovation.  I thought that was something else!  The cards catcher even called time so Chipper could enjoy the moment.  Here he is at bat.

Busch stadium is gorgeous.  Addie's friend Caleb in Oklahoma, is doing a Flat Stanley project and he sent Stanley to her and asked her to take pictures of him somewhere interesting, write about it, and send it back.  So Flat Stanley came with us.  She had a great time with that!

Saturday, the girls and Mike went up inside the Arch.  Not me!  I kept my feet firmly planted. Then we went to the zoo and did a lot of walking!  I wore the wrong shoes and had very sore feet.  Later, the girls swam in the hotel pool, then we went to the City Museum.  It was a very cool place with tubes, coils, and tunnels for kids to crawl through.  The girls had a blast, but I had a major anxiety attack because I couldn't find Caroline.  There was no way to follow them through all those small spaces.  I knew deep down there was only one exit and she hadn't gone out of it, but I just couldn't stand not being able to see her!  So I would definitely recommend this for older kids!  Here she is climbing in one of the outdoor tunnels.

Oh, and here is a neat photo Mike took of an elephant.  I've never seen an elephant playing in the water at a zoo before!

St. Louis is definitely a great place for families.  There were many things we would have liked to do, but didn't have time.  We can't wait to go back!