Kenzies kindergarten class had a field trip to the Portland Chinese Gardens today. And this one was special because the whole class got to take a REAL SCHOOL BUS there!
Brad went along as a chaperone and took some pics of the class having fun.
While Jodi was in DC, Kenzie got some chicks!
I love the way it looks when it snows in Colton!
Ms. Shannon surprised the kids with a valentine party. Here’s Kenzie with one of her best friends… Mackenzie!
Day 4 and it was time to go home. But since we had a late flight we had time to see a little more before we headed out.
We started packing in the hotel and quickly realized just how much stuff Kenzie had collected over the last few days. Between parades and Bourbon Street, it was quite a haul Fortunately the hotel had a place that we could donate most of it so Kenzie picked out a few favorites and we gave the rest away.
Then we went and checked out a few of the above ground New Orleans cemeteries. Because the town is just above, or in some cases below sea level, bodies are burred above ground.
After that we went to see some of the areas affected by Katrina. We found a neat website that offered a self guided approach to driving around the area and explained what you were seeing (and showed what it looked like during the hurricane) to give it some context.
I was very surprised to see how bad some of the areas still were. It’s been 14 years, and in some areas 1 in 4 or 5 houses are still abandoned and falling apart. We also saw several houses that still had the markings on the front door that search and rescue crews used to indicate that the building had been searched and how many dead/alive were recovered.
From there it was off to the airport and a long flight home. New Orleans was a blast with friendly people, great food, and plenty to do. Definitely someplace we’d like to come back to again one day!
Flight 104 to Denver then 105 to Portland.
On day 3 we decided to get out of the city and head into the swamps. But before we did, we made a quick stop at the “Insectarium” downtown. Kenzie checked out the butterflies and was even brave enough to try eating some of the real bugs they had on the menu. She and Jodi both ate “Cricket King Cake” and some wax worms.
After the Insectarium we drove south out of town and into the swamps for an airboat tour. The tour company is was a small family run business, and the guide was fantastic! He was definitely a good ol’ boy from the swamps. As we drove up to the place a couple of guys came walking out of the office with shotguns slung over their shoulders. Turns out the guides brothers were going out rabbit hunting while he was taking us on the tour. They were hoping to make a stew that night. You can see from the picture that hunting is definitely a family tradition here. During the tour we heard lots of hunting stories about going out for dear, pigs, nutria, alligators, etc. He told a funny story about when they first started the company taking some people out on a tour and seeing a wild pig out in the swamp. Naturally he grabbed his rifle and shot it. He said he realized pretty quickly that not everyone on the trip had the love of hunting that he had. 🙂
The tour through the swamp was amazing! Learned a lot about the area, the animals living in swamps, and the people. And for Kenzie I think flying through the swamp in an airboat was probably more fun than a Disneyland ride! I can’t recommend this enough. Not only the airboat tour, but the people at New Orleans Airboat Tours in particular were excellent!
We finished the day back in New Orleans and stopped at Cafe Du Monde for some more beignets and more walking around the French Quarter.
Our second day in New Orleans was all about checking out the French Quarter and enjoying the festivities. We took a tour of the historic district and then in the afternoon it was time for the PARADES! It was one parade after another from about 3pm to 9pm. People in New Orleans lover their floats!
Our weekend in New Orleans started out great! After flying all day from Portland to meet up with Jodi, Kenzie was ready to hit the town and score some beads on Bourbon Street. Technically Mardi Gras starts next week, but the town is already in full swing!
We all took a walk down Bourbon street and Kenzie LOVED IT! She got plenty of attention from the balconies and had a neck full of beads in no time. It was actually much more tame than I had expected, and everyone seemed really well behaved. In fact the only nudity we saw all night was one guy going topless in vain trying to score a necklace (video attached) 🙂
Flight 102 to St. Louis and 103 to New Orleans.
admin