New Orleans - The fire

On our way back from the graveyard, we had to pull over for several pieces of fire equipment.  About a minute later, we came across the building in question, almost immediately after the arrival of the first fire trucks.  from what we could tell, it was an abandoned restaurant.  We stayed for a few minutes to watch the firemen work.

A few minutes later, we had to move on because the entire street was blanketed with a thick smoke and the car was starting to fill up as well.

All along the route, I took the time to tell the kids the story of Hurricane Katrina, the lives lost and the devastation she caused.  I explained how now, almost a decade later, New Orleans is still struggling to come back.  It was very odd seeing boarded up houses next to rebuilt ones.  In some cases, there would be a whole street of newly built houses and then a whole street of damaged homes.

As I have mentioned before, I am fascinated with local architecture.  The shotgun and double shotgun house is a style that is unique to the South.  While I was fascinated, the kids could have cared less.  Thank heavens for the video games they had brought.

New Orleans, LA - Feb 18-19

Ahhh, New Orleans, the Big Easy.  There is so much to see and experience in New Orleans that one weekend just didn't do it justice. 

First, my disclaimer.  Although we usually pack our own food to keep our travel costs as low as possible, there is no way, no how, I was going to the food mecca and not savor the local flavors.  We went over budget on this trip but we samples some local cuisine and have no regrets.

We had an uneventful trip on our way to New Orleans.  No surprises and we were on our first choice flight.  We picked up our rental car and headed straight to town.

Our first stop (since it was just about lunch time anyway) was Mother's Restaurant which we had seen featured on the Travel Channel's show Man vs Food.    Even though it was still a little early for lunch, the line went down the block and then wrapped through the store.

You ordered and paid for your food at the front counter, found your seat and then the wait staff would pick it up at this window and deliver it to your table. 

Big Boy had been dreaming about his first Po Boy sandwich ever since seeing the Man vs Food episode.

We had to try a ham sandwich since it is what they are famous for.  It was big slabs of ham served up on a biscuit and was actually from the breakfast menu.

And I had to try the crawfish e'toufe'e

The Lil' Bit had to try my e'toufe'e and well, then she stole it.

Our next stop may seem super off to some and even maybe a little creepy to others but I really wanted my kids to experience a New Orleans cemetery.  Like no other place I have ever been to, a New Orleans cemetery is like a small city for the dead.  Due to the high water table, graves must be above ground or the bodies will float away.  in fact, this was actually a big problem during Hurricane Katrina.  Before you think I am unique in my weirdness, google "New Orleans cemetery" and you will discover that there are several cemetery tours offered.  we opted to find out own cemetery and just look around ourselves.

To be continued.

Can I call it or what?

If you recall, we visited Columbus, OH for the sole purpose of enjoying Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream.  I declared it one of the best ice creams in the world.  Well, apparently USA Today agrees with me.  They just posted the Top 15 ice cream parlors in the WORLD!  Note that Jeni's rings in at number 12.