USA Road Trip: The Deep South Part I
Hello friends! We apologize for the long time between posts, but we have been very busy the past few weeks! We've been being tourists, being carnies at camp, concert crashers, car sleepers and pep boys junkies. We have driven from Florida to Alabama to Louisiana to Mississippi, back to Louisiana and are currently in mid-Texas. We have put a few 1000 miles on the car, broken a CV Shaft and replaced a ball bearing thingy due to the terribly unpaved roads in Louisiana and Mississippi, we have eaten in cute little cafes, learned a ton from the Lord and some pretty cool kids, laughed a lot and made some great new friends! We added some new stops on the trip, so were not on our map anymore. But we are seeing so much cool stuff and taking lots of pictures and having a really great time. We have also learned a few things from our time in the deep south: the water here tastes like dirt, paved roads are optional, nothing is bigger in texas besides the heat, southern accents have been taken to a new level in Mississippi, Houston is the most confusing place we've ever been by far, people like to hold baby alligators, we learned the difference between a bayou and a swamp and Texas is over 800 miles wide. We also learned that if we were to do this trip 3 times, we would have driven all the way around the world. That is a lot of driving and googling random things. Now, on with the pictures!
After leaving Alabama we headed for New Orleans and had a great few days traveling around the city. We only had 2 and 1/2 days in the city, so the first day we went to the French Quarter and wandered around the sweet little shops, watched street performers and ventured Bourbon Street and ate dinner out. This was my favorite day, I loved the old homes and the tight little streets with terraces that had ivy and flowers climbing down towards tourists. The second day we conquered the art district, the river walk, the garden district and the cemeteries and ate dinner at home. The third morning we woke up and were ready to go on a swamp tour, but it was raining so we headed out early for our week of camp. A little disappointing, but it kept us within budget.
Here are a few pics from our time there! This is the St Louis Cathedral in the French Square.
For 3$ a day, per person, we were able to ride the street cars all around the city, definitely a great choice!
We rode first to the cemeteries and wandered around reading all the old gravestones and found some from the 1800's. So old! Terrell thinks its creepy my fascination with cemeteries but I love to see how we still celebrate the lives of those we love even in death.
I just love that everywhere you turn there are parades and artists and street performers.
Dont try this at home...
Thanks to your sweet suggestions we had some DELICIOUS Beignets at Cafe Du Monde and they were so cheap!
We watched a steamboat on the Mississippi River Walk.
Took a stroll down Bourbon street, we are still processing the things that happen on this lively street....Our one observation that we have not been able to shake yet is the fact that parents were carrying children down this 'adults only' avenue. Seriously people?
My dad suggested Oceana's, right off Bourbon Street, for an authentic Cajun meal that was affordable. We had Gumbo and Et Toufee, it was so good and so large that I only ordered the appetizer of Gumbo and we both had food left over.
The Gumbo was delicious!
On our way into the city my dad called and told us that a friend in New Orleans was out-of-town, but was going to let us stay in his apartment which therefore gave us free indoor lodging! Such a blessing! If we have learned one thing from this trip it is flexibility and that things work out WAY better than we imagine if we are patient. It has been so fun to watch and see how our plans change last-minute and end up being so beyond wonderful. We have been so continually blessed by our friends and people who barely know us on this trip that it is impossible to even attempt to return our gratitude, but we only pray that we would be able to show that kind of generosity to others around us!
Total cost breakdown from NOLA:
Lodging: 0$
Parking: 30$
Food: 65$
Transportation (street car): 6$
Total: 101$
Be watching for the next few posts to get you caught up with us on our travels! Sign up to receive posts via email by subscribing to 'become a carnie" at the top right corner! See you in Mississippi!