I really planned from the beginning to blog every few days like I did last summer about our adventures, but with so much travel in the first 8 days and then the excitement of New Orleans it ended up being too far from my mind.
What have we been up to? We started our trip back on the 30th of June, taking the ferry from Digby to Saint John NB where we then travelled to Nashua NH for the night. It was a long day, but the first day always is. I made sure we had some Friendly’s along the way which is a tradition once we get into New England.
It was worth it the next morning when we got up and headed to Hampton Beach. I love this beach for so many reasons. New England feels like home to me and the first time I was in the Boston area, my friend who I was staying with took me there. I was 17 years old and fell in love with this beach. We now love it as a family and it is always one of our first summer stops.
After spending a few hours on the beach we headed to a mall in Worchester. Having 3 girls that love to shop, this has been something we tend to do more on vacations now. It was a great mall and the kids were happy with their finds. We then went to Windsor Locks CT for the night. When we woke up the next morning we started the day early and headed for Washington DC. This was the first time we had stayed in CT before travelling to Washington, usually we stay more northern and the drive is super long because of the traffic we hit. This day worked out perfectly and after a few food stops we were in Hyattsville MD at our AirBNB earlier than expected. We love this AirBNB. This was our 3rd stay there and we definitely plan to go again the future. It is a large house with lots of room for us.
We planned to be here for 2 nights, so the next day when we got up we headed into Washington and decided to try some different places we had never been before. The kids have wanted to do a Wax Museum for years, so we decided to try Madame Tussaud’s in Washington. They loved it. It was my first time as well and thought it was pretty cool. I was taken back by how real they look and how well done they are created.
After that we decided to head to Rita’s. It is Caile’s favourite ice cream place, so it was a short walk and the hot day made it a perfect treat. We then headed over to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This was definitely not Noah’s favourite, but there were some very interesting pieces.
After our 2 nights in Washington we headed for Blacksburg Virginia. We have a co-worker that we used to work with and adore there. We had made plans with her early in the year to come by on our drive through. We went for a BBQ 4th of July supper. It was so great to catch up with her again and meet her husband. Her kids were away, but my kids enjoyed their X-Box and other things. They loved it so much they asked if we could go back on our drive home. 🙂
After Virginia we headed for Charlotte NC. This has been a city I have wanted to see for years. I didn’t get a very big taste of it since we were only there the night. Caile found a science centre called Discovery Place and the kids loved it. It was a great place to stretch and explore after the drive.
The next day we left Charlotte and headed for Atlanta Georgia. When Alex was younger she found an aquarium there that has a whale shark and she has always wanted to go. It is one of the biggest aquarium tanks in the world and it was pretty awesome. During our 2 nights in Atlanta we spent a chunk at the aquarium and then more shopping.
After Atlanta came our last big drive before our week of staying put. We drove to New Orleans. Sandy and I have talked about coming back every since we were married almost 15 years ago. We really wanted to bring the kids and show them this amazing city. It is so different than any we have ever been to and we wanted them to see that first hand.
We arrived on Sunday and started planning our week a bit based on weather. We bought a sightseeing pass which was a great way for us to get in a bunch of the attractions. On Monday we went into the City District and parked. We decided to take a bit of a walk down to the water. We wanted to show the kids the Mississippi River and the riverboat we were married on.
We then walked up to the Butterfly and Insectarium. The kids love these sorts of museums.
On Tuesday we took the street car from the city district to the French Quarter Market. The kids loved the market and all of the unique shops. We walked around that area for a while and then took a break at Cafe du Monde. We tried our first beignets there. Super yummy donuts covered in icing sugar. After that we walked over to Jackson Square. I love this area and remember it well from when Sandy and I were here.
We then headed to the Aquarium, another place we went to in the past and the kids of course loved it. I think aquariums are there favorite. Ella and Alex wanted to feed the sting rays so we bought tickets and they were able to do that. Noah and Caile didn’t have the interest. Alex and Ella loved it, definitely a highlight for them.
On Wednesday we took the kids on the Paddleboat Creole Queen that Sandy and I were married on. It was awesome to be back on the boat and we sailed down the Mississippi to the battlefield area. The tour guide gave an awesome presentation including information about Hurricane Katrina. Sandy and I were here before that so it was interesting to hear what happened during and after.
After the riverboat we came home for lunch and then headed for more shopping.
On Thursday we had made plans to meet a co-worker for lunch and try our first poboys. They were so delicious and it was awesome to see a member of my team in person. We don’t do that very often. It was a great lunch and the kids all loved Charlie and thought he was super funny.
In the afternoon we were excited about trying something that we had wanted to when we were first here, but didn’t at that time, a swamp tour. Most of the kids had been really looking forward to this. Caile isn’t a huge fan of alligators so she didn’t love the idea, but came along with a good attitude.
The swamps were so beautiful. Much more so than we expected. The tour was awesome, it was about 1 hour and 30 minutes and during the tour we all held a 3 year old alligator. I did as well. Not my thing typically, but I was encouraged by Alex and so I decided to do it. It was such a fun afternoon.
We have 1 last day in New Orleans and then we head to Pensacola. I am excited about trying a Gulf beach as it has been on my bucket list for years. I will be sad to leave New Orleans. It is such a great city, but look forward to coming back in a few years. Maybe we can celebrate our 20th Anniversary here. Who knows?! 🙂
I Dream of Summer 
Leave a comment