My friend Kevin lives in Shreveport which is about 5 hrs north of New Orleans. I have visited him many times always in different places so why not make it New Orleans? I traveled with Erik and John. We left at 6:30 am from Mpls. (Thanks Brett for the ride.) and landed in sunny Louisiana just before noon. Kevin and Mario weren't going to be able to meet up with us when we land so we hand to make our way to the hotel on our own.
Once we got to our hotel and settled in we went for a run down St. Charles St. Most people would think we were crazy that this was our first thing we did but actually it was prefect. The weather was beautiful and what better way to get to know the town but to go run around it. We stayed in the Garden Dist. which meant that we had gorgeous houses to look at all along the way. It was wonderful and the timing was great because just as we finished Kevin and Mario were about to check in.
After Kevin and Mario settled in went to find a good place for Happy Hour. We found this pub just a few blocks down. It had good appetizers and fun things on tap to try. This is a photo of Kevin, Mario, me, and John. We sat on the upper patio. That was one of my favorite parts of N.O. All of the restaurants and bars always had outdoor seating or patios! :)
The night life is the most happening in the French Quarter on Bourbon Street. Kevin and Mario took us to all of their favorite places and some of the famous bars. We went to Lafitte's, The Cat's Meow, and Pat O'Briens, just to name a few. They were all fun and really packed. The French Quarter never never sleeps. It's always a party in New Orleans. :)
This is a picture of Kevin singing at the Cat's Meow which is this awesome karaoke bar.
Mario was one only other one brave enough to sing up on stag. This is a view from the top balcony inside and there was also an outside balcony where you could see beads flying and the night life of Bourbon Street.
We wanted to check out the Garden Dist. which we were staying because it is know for it's fancy houses and famous residence. The actual tours were pretty expensive so we just printed out a free walking tour went out venturing on our own. It was kind of funny and nice to be out walking.
This is a typical house that we saw even though each one was unique and different. Take note of the gas lamp at the front door. We learned that if any of the residents want to remodel they by law have to make it a restorative/upgrade. They can not change the structure as to preserve the history and style of the district.
Because it was Sunday we weren't able to go into the cemetery which New Orleans is so known for. There are many haunting tales and there unique style of the raised burial and grave stone.
This is the gang. Kevin was our tour guide, Erik was assisting, Mario was being funny, and John was pretending to be mad.
After our walking tour we headed to the French Quarter again to get spots for the parade. Our timing of our trip was perfect. We were there for the first weekend of the Mardi Gras season. Every Saturday during Mardi Gras there is a parade. We were there for the Krewe De Veux Parade. It was crazy, random, and wonderful. It was hard to capture it in pictures and its even harder to explain it.
This a picture to capture the Mardi Gras decorations that were every where. It was great! There were beads in trees and on fences. There were specific Christmas lights with the yellow, green, and purple. New Orleans was all decked out and ready!
We stood outside this bar that had a few drag queens up on the patio. They were the color commentators for the parade. It was hilarious!
Some of the floats were political as you can see with this one of Obama's face on a donkey. Some had to do with BP and the oil spill.
But all in all there was just alot of people and great costumes. It was way bigger than any other parade I've been too.
John and I had to do some laundry and when we asked the hotel were we could go, they directed us down the street to a bar that had a washer and dryer. Yep... only in New Orleans. :) The machines were right next to the pool table. It was pretty funny. I had to take a picture of this sign.
This Jackson Square during the day.
This is the mouth of the Mississippi. It's neat to see where all that water goes.
Our last night we finally got up the courage to try the famous drink called the Hand Granade. People would walk around the streets all the time with these. Yes, in New Orleans it is okay to walk the streets with a drink in your hand. Crazy, I know.
This is Jackson Square at night.
Cafe du Monde is a famous cafe in New Orleans. It is always busy especially in the mornings so we thought we'd go during an off peak time. We went at about 8:00pm on Sunday... it was still busy. :)
This is Erik enjoying his Beignet which was covered with powdered sugar goodness.
This is a Beignet in case you were wondering. It's basically deep fried batter goodness. Yum!
For our last morning before Kevin and Mario had to drive back we went to breakfast at this brunch buffet. It was fabulous! Actually every restaurant was awesome! It was so fun to try new foods and also experience the southern cajun flavors that are so famous. Yum! We ate so well!
The brunch buffet place was just icing on the cake. It had live jazz being played, excellent food, and the best part was the porch setting. It was just the cutest place tucked away in the busy city.
This is the one picture we got of the whole gang. :)
When we walked out of the buffet restaurant there was this great band playing the street. I took this picture to try to capture all of the live music that we saw all over. It was great! We got to meet Grandpa Elliot twice who is actually sitting on the right corner of this picture (you can see his denim legs and red shirt). He was made famous by YouTube and a piece call Playing for Peace. Look it up. He is a great singer!
Once we said good bye to Kevin and Mario we decided to do one touristy thing while we were in the area. We went to the WWII museum. It was awesome! I would highly recommend going!
This is a picture of one of the planes used in the war. It was bought on EBay and donated to the museum. They flew it here directly.
You may not have known that there even was a WWII museum and maybe questioning why it is New Orleans of all places. I did. Here is a quick explanation of why. The boats the are talking about can be seen in the photo above.
So that's was my trip in case I haven't told you about it already. It was so wonderful! Filled with good friends, great memories and laughs, beautiful music, and delicious food!
We stopped for lunch for a winter picnic. Look what table we are using...yep that is from my car! It's built in! :)
Once we got to our final destination, Bally's Creek Cabins, we went for a hike in the woods.
One of the best parts of the place was the sauna! It's the best in the winter!
In a notebook left for people to leave there mark, it said that the chickadees will eat out of your hand. Caitlin and I had to try it! One landed on my hand when I wasn't looking and I jumped and lost the bird seed and the bird. Shoot. But Caitlin was a little more calm for this birdy. :)
Since I dropped all of my seed a squirrel came to keep me company at my feet. I like to look at his whiskers. :)
We visited a past staff member at the Northwoods Folk School in town. We got a tour of the place and made home made pizzas. Yum!
We cooked them in the fire stone oven at the school. They tasted amazing and were done in minutes!
This is the light house I went out to with my college friends in the spring last year. It looks so different in the winter. The sunset was beautiful on the lake.
On our way home we kept our eyes pealed for amazing things. One of which was this eagle!
We stopped at Gooseberry Falls for a short hike. This was so fun because I can now say that I've seen the falls in three seasons. Spring, fall, and winter. The white in this picture is actually ice and snow, not still water. You could hear the falls still moving but could only really see it in certain places.
It was neat to be walking on the fall in places that you couldn't normally when the water is flowing.
Here's a good shot of the water still flowing and then going under the ice.
Just before getting back to DP we saw a Bard Owl. Can you see his eyes? My first official owl sighting! Pretty sweet! 
