New Orleans Day Three

We left the hotel in drizzling rain to walk to the "Natchez" for a riverboat cruise lunch. I have seen many of these "tourist" catcher options, but we have never done one. The children chose to do this and they loved it!

Butch, Jane, and the grandbabies. Three of them are as tall as Mama, and the other three are as spitfire as here.

We boarded the ship and waited for the ride to begin.

I wanted to take Chrisite's picture so we could log how big her hair got throughout the day. We separated later and I never got another picture.

Ben posing beside the paddleboat wheels.

She no longer enjoys me taking pictures of her, so this is what I get... Cheese.

I taught them how to play "Old Maid". I also showed them how to cheat!

James may have gotten suckered several times by these two.

After lunch, some of us decided to head to the WWII Museum (by choice and force), while others headed to the aquarium. My children had been to the aquarium in New Jersey already so I opted for them to go with me. This is the preshow to the 4D movie about the beginnings of WWII to the end.

The chairs felt great after a long day of walking. We experienced riding in tanks and airplanes. It snowed and had fog too!

Guille clickety, clicking.

After we got back, we decided to hit the video games again... We went to dinner at the attached Riverwalk Mall. Christie and I closed down The Gap and headed back to the hotel to go check out the action at the Huddle House Awards Banquet. The children got tatoos and caricatures done on motorcycles.

Cole Baby play driving since his daddy won't let him drive a real car just yet. I might let him drive me home though. I am so tired!

Day Two New Orleans

We began our first day of touring with breakfast in the executive lounge. While this breakfast did not suit Guille and Jim, everyone else loved making bagels, eating yogurt and cereal, and watching ships go by on the Mississippi!

Daddy demonstrating how to use binoculars.

Breakfast was so good they needed a rest before heading out for the day.

As sson as we walked out the door, a sunglass vendor attracted everyone's attention. I believe the lady could have closed up shop when we left her!

We loaded the tour bus for a 2 and half hour bus ride showing us the city and the 9th Ward...which is the most damage occurred from Hurricane Katrina.

Daddy was a little hot from walking along the riverfront to get to the bus!

One of the stops on the tour was the City Cemetery. Everyone is buried above ground in this town! Once the bodies decompose enough...they slide the remains to the back of the tomb and put some more bodies in there. Hmph...not so sure about that!

Boo was not impressed by all this~

We decided to go eat lunch after the tour...and Gail, you would have loved it! Delicious food~ crab cake po boy for me, shrimp po boys for lots of the others, and Daddy got fried shrimp....THE BEST!

This picture is taken outside the restaurant... notice the signs say "do not touch".... guess who loves to break the rules.

Christie LOVED her crab cake sandwich too!

After lunch we debated about what everyone wanted to do. Jim, Cole, and Daddy wanted to take a nap. I wanted to let the children experience Bourbon Street (only in the daytime though). The children wanted to Bungee jump....so everyone got their wishes.

Jim's belly was so full he almost fell asleep standing up.

I had only been to Bourbon Street one other time in my life. Needless to say, I don't think this is where I want to be when Jesus comes back... it was awful. We were tempted to put blinders on the children to get off the street. It is all out there ~ literally and figuratively.

Bungee jumping...He loved it... even though I don't think this is really "bungee" jumping!

She loved it too!

This is what I get when I say look at me for a picture...Can you see the thrill~ tough people to work with for photos...

Posing!

When we got back to the hotel, Daddy had registered for the conference and there were "do rags" with Huddle House on the them. Of course Cole had to fix Ben one!

Cool huh? And take note of the background... Guille claims he didn't have a nap yesterday, but I have proof~ Looks like he is sleeping to me!

Daddy looks like Howard Cunningham on "Happy Days" at one of his meetings... or Andy Griffith and Howard~ The Grand Mattison Daddy!

To end our night... we decided to go for a swim... of course they end up in the hot tub!

JuJu was having a spell ~ they decided to throw her in the pool to make her happy!

I didn't take pictures, but at 8:00 they decided they were hungry again. We "busted" up in the welcome reception with wet heads and cleaned them out on the appetizers they were serving. I feel sure there will be new rules next year about how many people Mama and Daddy get to take with them to the parties!

New Orleans Day One

We started the day at Jane and Butch's. We were SUPPOSED to leave at 7:00... but you know how that goes! Anyway, while we were waiting Ben decided to get into the lemon squares (which are really circles) for a little before breakfast snack.
We stopped two or three times before lunch, but we decided to stop right outside Montgomery for lunch. Butch wanted Burger King for lunch...so we let him decide~ Gail, you would not be jealous of our meals today! These are the candid shots we took while eating lunch.

One of the goals of this trip was for us to go visit all the homes we lived in growing up. Some of you may not realize this, but I went to five different schools by the time I ended back up in Lincolnton. This was our house in Montgomery. I was in the 2nd grade when we lived here. We started school in Lincolnton and then moved in October when this house was finished being built. I had pneumonia while we lived there so I missed a lot of school. I always say my lack of reading comprehension skills was due to this spell of sickness. Anyway, Mama and Daddy let Jim live with Boo-ma and Har to finish out football season for his 9th grade year. When we came home for Christmas Murray offered the insurance agency to Mama and Daddy and they decided on the way back home to Montgomery that we would move back to LC. Needless to say, Jim never enrolled in the schools in Alabama and sat on the couch for two weeks while we waited to move back home.

We never knew the impact this would make on our lives. I went from growing up in a home with a stay-at-home mama who had homemade cookies cooked for us every afternoon to riding a school bus in Lincolnton and being dropped off at my grandmother's house for Mary to keep me. I thought it would be bad, but getting off the bus to a meat and three every afternoon at 3:00 sure was nice. Those were some of the best days of my life. My grandfather, Har, died when I was in elementary school, but I remember spending from 4:30 until 5:00 every afternoon with him waiting on Mama and Daddy to get home. I HATED watching the news with him, but now I am just like him. I love to know what is going on and think of him often when I see the WJBF logo. Sorry for the sidenote, but one day I want my children to know about my childhood memories.

One more sidenote... this house was red...the color of Mama and Daddy's now when we lived in it. I also thought it was the biggest house I had ever been in when I lived there.

After riding in the car from 7:30 to 5:00, we rode past the Superdome. This was in bumper to bumper traffic, but I hope to get a better picture tomorrow.

We were lucky enough to be on the "executive" floor and gained access to the club lounge. We ate appetizers and watched ships come while snacking.

After snacking, we decided to go for a walk around the River Walk area. This is in front of some fountain that I didn't read the fine print about. Doesn't Jamesy look thrilled to be here?

Cole and Boo watching the boats go by on the river.

Boo, Ju, Cole, and Sis were starving, so we stopped by Time Out for a snack!

We are settled in, ready for a long winter's nap, and a restful night. Good night New Orleans!