Chily Expeditions: Finally, New Orleans 2015

We left Texas on 9/30 and headed east. Since we had some extra time before my job would start, we decided to try to get to New Orleans, again! In the past 5 years we had attempted to visit New Orleans, however, something always prevented us from getting there. The first time, our coach had a run in with a cement block, so we had to forgo NO and head to Red Bay, AL for repairs. Our second try occurred when we were leaving Florida, and had to head north to stay away from a killer tornado. We were able to stay ahead of that one, but sadly many people weren't and died.

Our first stop out of Texas on 9/30 was Cushauta Casino RV Park (also known as Red Shoes RV park) in Kinder, LA. It was only $20/night, and has nice long, paved pads. They provide a shuttle to/from the casino. We did go to the casino, ate supper, and did NOT win any money. There goes $20. The next morning, 10/1 we drove to Slidell, LA. We had reservations to stay at the Pine Crest Campground for 3 nights. This is a 30 minute drive into New Orleans, but we were told that we shouldn't stay in the RV parks in the city. We usually do what we're told :) This was a nice park. The sites were kinda tight, but the people there were extremely friendly and helpful.

On 10/2 we decided to do the Plantation tour first. There are many plantations, so it was difficult to choose which one to tour. We drove by several, and decided to tour the Laura Plantation. The San Francisco Plantation (surrounded by oil refineries), The Oak Alley plantation (which is beautiful, but ran out of time), and Houma's House Plantation were ones we had driven by. Time allowed us to take only one tour. The Laura plantation is a french creole plantation. This place has been restored and the history is amazing. Although, one of the smaller plantations, the history of the family, slaves, and life on the plantation is remarkable. I highly recommend taking this tour. After the tour we drove to downtown New Orleans. On our drive there we saw the "above ground" cemetery, and the Super Dome. We ate at the Napolean House. This is a neat little historic place with decent food. Our seating was an open wall concept with access to the street and passersby. Had our first Boudin. Not bad.

Laura Plantation. Great guide.

Banana trees on the plantation, and Kirk

This was Laura's retirement home on the plantation

View of slave housing from deck of the plantation home

Napolean House. Open wall concept to street. We love to people watch.

First time seeing this type of cemetery

The new Mercedes Benz Super Dome

The Food Tour stopped to entertain us while we were eating at Napolean House

Street view from our table at Naplean House

On 10/3 we returned to New Orleans. My brother, Rudy had recommended that we have the beneigts at Cafe de Mundo. We also had the cafe au lait, which is a must with the beneigts. We stood in a very long line, as this is "the place to go", but it went fast, and the people in line were interesting to talk to. The beineigts were great. Next, was Jackson Square (everything is walking distance). Never a dull moment on the streets. So much to see, so much happening on the streets. Later in the day we had Charbroiled/grilled oysters at Dragos in the Hilton. I normally HATE oysters, but these were wonderful, and I want more. We walked Bourbon Street and saw many interesting sights, took the trolly car just because (and to give our feet a rest), and stopped at Pat O'Brians where Kirk made me drink the original Hurricane. They even package the Hurrican glass and place it in a bag for you to take home. Yay, I have a souvenir. Kirk and I are so glad that we finally made it to New Orleans. The weather was perfect and we had an awesome time. We love New Orleans!