I really enjoyed the Deep South. Although much of these parts are swamp land, there are also many beautiful sites along the way. New Orleans definitely being one of those. What a fantastic city! Weird and wonderful, vivacious and fun. There is live music all around. with one man shows and bands set up on the sidewalks. One guy even wheeled his piano into Jackson Square to busk. I hope he lived close by! There are street performers, palm readers, mimes and artists alike along the side streets. Horse drawn carriages trotting down the streets, steam boats by the wharf, stunning architecture. I would rank this as a must see city. I know the city was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina and while it wasn’t obvious, there were subtle signs: buildings still being repaired and a seemingly abundant homeless population. All in all, we had a great time in NOLA. I could have spent days exploring the sights; but a day was plenty with two small kids in tow.
We stayed at the KOA in New Orleans which was fine…except for the nearby airport and the train tracks. Seriously, each train that passed sounded as though it were literally going by outside our tent. And the whistles, holy smokes. Miraculously, it didn’t wake the kids and the trains stopped by 10pm and only resumed at 6:30 the next morning! I’m actually surprised (and grateful) we didn’t encounter more of this on our journey.
Another stop along our short trek across Louisiana was to a non-profit organization alligator farm that saves injured and orphan alligators, rehabilitates if necessary and reintroduces them into the wild when ready. Taio and I got to hold a baby alligator. Even at a year old it was tiny enough to fit in my palm! Another totally random and yet interesting experience!
