Back in September, Casey and I took a trip to New Orleans! I have been wanting to take him there for the past 8 years and show him where I grew up and the crazy and fun places New Orleans has to offer (and there are lots!) So when one of my very best friends called me and told me she was getting married, I jumped at the opportunity to go. And so we were off....
(Oh, and somehow in the months and weeks leading up to it, the rest of my family - parents and siblings - decided to go also. So it sorta turned into another fun-filled Peart Family Vacation :) And a big thanks to dear friends Carrie and Randy for their "suthern hospitality" in letting the whole Peart clan crash at their place.
Anyway, in the small amount of time we were there, I was deteremined to show Casey everything. First things first....SWAMP TOUR! Yep! This one was also for me. In all the years I lived there, I never went on one of these. So the whole family went....
In no time, the alligators were swimming up to the boat. The guide was feeding them marshmellows (aka "swamp crack") because they are attracted to the color white. Note to self: Never where white when falling into a swamp.
Then the guide let us take turns holding a baby alligator that he had brought along for the ride. This was quite a hilarious experience. Mom was first, and she got real friendly with the alligator....
Then later, I did it....
"Hello, little alligator!" And if you're wondering, they were not at all slimy or slippery as I was expecting them to be. By the way, I should mention how jealous Caiden was when he heard we were going on a swamp tour. He LOVES alligators. And I have nothing to do with this one. He just plain likes them. He also happens to like the show "Swamp People" on the History Channel. (If you've never seen it, you should watch it. It's...amusing.) Anyway, I convinced Casey he needed to hold this little alligator....for the children.
And for fun, we made Rebecca do it too, who was....a little apprehensive.
Oh, and Caiden was insistent that when we saw an alligator to stroke it between the eyes so it would fall asleep. I think maybe they learned this one on Diego, of which is inaccurate. Unless, our guide was wrong....and I'm not sure of his intelligence level. But if he knows anything, I'm thinking it's alligators. He demonstrated the correct way to make a baby alligator fall asleep - flip him upside down and stroke his belly. Makes sense to me.
Then things got a little crazy when he tried to pull a larger alligator into the boat....
Moving along.....then we headed down into the heart of New Orleans - the French Quarter - and did some shopping and sight-seeing.
St. Louis Cathedral...
crazy, spray-painted Mime
the French Market....
Bourbon Street....I picked the most appropriate picture...ha! Just kidding, we walked down Bourbon during the day, so it was totally calm....to us. Casey said "Wow, people are crazy". I said "Yeah, come back at 2 in the morning and you'll see what crazy really looks like."
and my all-time favorite place to get fat - Cafe Du Monde. Yummy. Yummy. Beignets.
and then we walked along the Riverwalk and the Mighty Mississippi River...
(and I just want to clarify that I'm not a total fat cow, I'm 5 1/2 months pregnant here)
As I mentioned, it was my friend Whitney's wedding and it was so fun to catch up with a bunch of old friends too....
Then, of course, I had to give Casey the tour of good ole Mandeville and show him where I lived....our houses....
(yeah, I have no shame....I'm aware that someone lives there, but I lived there first!)
I was told that when Katrina happened a BIG tree went right through the roof of this home - and right through my old bedroom too (top left window)
We also went by my old schools, and went to church at my old ward and ate at EVERY place we loved. By the end of the trip I was real glad to be able to blame my fatness on the baby. Of all things, I think I miss the food the most. Definitely not the humidity. I forgot how freakin hot it is there and wondered how we did it when we were little....and I wondered how and why on Earth anyone would want to be pregnant and live in that heat. Ugh!
We also toured the Oak Alley Plantation....
The oak trees were unbelievable.....
Then on the last day, we toured a cemetary near the French Quarter. That was interesting. If it hadn't have been so hot, it would've have been pretty creepy. There's so much history in places like these. And the amazing part is they still hold funerals and burials there today.
You can tell which ones get visitors.....
and which ones don't.....
And that was our lovely trip to New Orleans. Hopefully, not our last....
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