Friday, January 21, 2011

Road Trip - New Orleans

Hubs surprised us with a mini trip to New Orleans as part of our Christmas.    He felt like we had had such a long year that we all needed a little trip to have family time.     What a special and thoughtful gift!

We drove into New Orleans and decided to go straight to the aquarium.  Of course, when we got down to the Riverwalk and smelled all that wonderful food we decided maybe we should get some lunch first.   You would have thought we would have chosen some wonderful cajun food, but Little Guy spotted a Panda Express (his favorite) and went nuts.     So Panda Express it was!

Once our stomachs were full we headed straight to the aquarium.





Such a great aquarium!   

Since our feet were tired and we were ready to get settled, we headed over to our hotel.     We were staying at the Embassy Suites.     We participate in the HiltonHonors rewards program.  This allows us to accumulate points and trade them for free hotel stays.  

    

We love staying at Embassy Suites because a suite accomodates the needs of our family.   When you are traveling with two night owls and two light sleepers a suite really helps!   Also, the Embassy provides a full breakfast and a late evening managers reception.    This means that we generally only have to factor in the cost of one meal per day when traveling.

After bundling up in coats, hats and gloves, we got in our car and drove out to the New Orleans City Park for the Celebration in the Oaks.    This light display is the whole reason my hubs decided we should make the trip to New Orleans to begin with.    It was so worth the drive because it was so gorgeous!    

I can't even get one poinsettia to live and they had this huge tree!

 
 
 This tree looked like it was dripping lights.    It was mesmerizing.   
Give me a lawn chair and some coffee and I could have sat there all night long.


 
 
 


This picture isn't very impressive, but it is part of a HUGE train display which depicted the city of New Orleans.   The boys said it was their favorite part.    The volunteer train engineer came over and noticed how fascinated the boys were and walked them through explaining all the history.   He also answered all their questions about the types of trains and tracks.    We learned a LOT about New Orleans in that little section.
 
 
After such a busy first day in New Orleans, none of us had any trouble falling asleep!

5 comments:

Taylor & Krisa said...

We're copy-catting your trip next month! We're going to meet our friends down there and stay at the Embassy Suites and go to the Aquarium and Children's Museum and the Zoo if it's not too cold. I think the girls will love it - and I haven't been to New Orleans since before Katrina! It's time.

The JR said...

We make a lot of trips to New Orleans. Great place to go grocery shopping.

Looks like a fantastic trip for ya'll.

Stacy at Exceedingly Mundane said...

Looks like a wonderful trip! We've been to N.O. many many times, but never at Christmas. Looks like a wonderful time to go, with the lights and celebration :)

Allison said...

I've been wanting for us to take a weekend trip to NOLA for a while now. This post makes me want to wait until Christmastime!

Tiffany said...

Hi! I wanted to know if I could use one of your pictures of the Christmas in the Oaks. I'm writing up a post about Christmas traditions and what Christmas means to me and stumbled across your blog by searching for New Orleans Christmas lights... Of course, I'll link back to your blog. Is that ok with you? =)