Ballin' in N'awlins

Today was action-packed. Wet, but fun. We started our morning with a trek from our hotel to Cafe Du Monde. We had to have beignets for breakfast--it's New Orleans! On the way there it started raining, and raining, and raining. And of course we didn't bring the umbrellas. It dried up just as we got there. But it wasn't busy there so we got in quick and we were served instantly. Powdered sugar everywhere! We forgot the camera so we didn't get any good pics. But for a good visual, just picture our little angels with white powder all over their faces and clothes. After the scrumptious breakfast, we sauntered back to our hotel and were caught smack dab in the middle of a monsoon. At that point we said, "Ok, we're just going to get wet." And we did! We laughed and sang songs on the way back. A great reminder of innocent times--and vacation time!

After checking out, we took the brood to the Insectarium. Although Cindy and I really enjoyed it, with the exception of Gus, who dared to eat a few bugs, the kids were pretty terrified of it. They kept wanting to leave. Personally I found it very educational and wonderfully presented. It was just not their cup of tea. However, for those bugs Gus digested, we rewarded him with a T-shirt that reads "I ate a bug at the Insectarium". Chocolate covered or not, we were pretty proud of him.

After, we searched for food. It's New Orleans, how hard could it be? Well, we headed uptown toward the zoo and we just couldn't settle on anything. About an hour and a half later, it was Wendy's for the kids and po-boys at a dive on Magazine Street. Not one of us was let down!

With lunch in our bellies, it was time for dessert. We had a special treat--snoballs! And not just any snoballs. We watched a show on Food Network not too long ago called "A Kid in a Candy Store", where they feature sweet shops all over the country. They did a feature on William's Plum Street Snoballs. We were sold! They make EVERYTHING from scratch. And what really got my attention was a flavor called Banana's Foster! Watching them make it from scratch on TV has kept me yearning for several weeks.

What's so cool about this place is that it is so unassuming. It's in the middle of a neighborhood, butting up to other houses. It has the humblest facade; you'd never know that it has some of the greatest treasures in the South right there inside. We walked in and were immediately greeted by the owner, the lady we saw on TV making the Banana's Foster snoball--Mrs. Donna Black. At this point I'm pretty giddy. Donna easily strikes up conversation with us and we let her know that we heard about her snoballs on Food Network. She mentioned to us that it has brought a lot of new patrons her way. She was very cordial and while chatting, it turns out she had a daughter in school at UL and had family in Eunice that Cindy new of--small world! And wouldn't you know, the snoballs were even better than anticipated! Of course I went for the Banana's Foster--AMAZING!!! Gus had the Watermelon, Gracie had the Rainbow, and Beedle, James and Cindy split an Orange. Everyone was content!

What next? Well, it finally stopped raining and we were so close to the zoo. We gave it a shot and they were still open, but only for 45 minutes. We did the "super-express" tour of the zoo and hit the important exhibits--elephants, jungle cats, monkeys and giraffes. Unfortunately, closing time came quickly. We'll just have to tackle the zoo again on a return trip.

The jaunt home was enjoyable--lots of laughs. We played the "what was your favorite thing we did?" game and ironically they all agreed that the most fun thing they did is staying in the hotel and watching movies. Pretty simple kids we have here!

Thank you, N'awlins! We hope to see you again soon!