Feb 13-23: Louisiana

We were only in Louisiana for 11 days but those days were packed with activities.

First stop, New Orleans:

We planted ourselves at New Orleans RV Resort & Marina for 7 nights. We really enjoyed our location here on the water right next to the docked boats. It was a new, but familiar perspective for us.

This beautiful spot was only about 15 minutes from bourbon street downtown.

Makenzie and Gavin came to visit and explore New Orleans with us.

So cool to have our girls together enjoying time with eachother.

When we planned our stopover in this area, we had no idea that we were going to be here during Mardi Gras. As we started to research what we were going to do, we quickly learned that we had parades, celebrations and people to plan around.

One of the things we had to try was King Cake. This cake is only made during Mardi Gras. It reminds us of a cinnamon roll filled with just about anything you can think of. Our favorite filling turned out to be Bavarian cream.

It is usually a big shareable cake, but it can be found in a more individual size too. Every King Cake has a toy baby hidden inside. The person who gets the baby is said to have luck and prosperity and is the king/queen of the day.

For the kids first full day, we checked out the Audubon Zoo.

There were so many fun animals to see with great life messages. They remind us…

To Be Flexible,

To Support One Another

And To Chill Out!

Next we visited the Museum of Art.

So eye opening to see the thousands of years of art from some many different cultures all together in one place. Art captures our stories in so many more ways than just words.

One of our favorite things we did in New Orleans was an early evening VooDoo Tour. Super interesting hearing all the spooky history of New Orleans. There is plenty of spooky here.

With the weekend upon us, it was time to really get in the spirit. Mardi Gras is a celebration that lasts for weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday.

As time got closer there were more parades and many more people.

Each parade is hosted by a different Krewe. These are clubs and organizations that have formed for the purpose of celebrating carnival. Wow, they know how do it up big and colorful.

We saw two parades, the Krewe of Iris, the oldest, largest (3400) all female krewe established in 1917 and the Krewe of Tucks, a mixed krewe of about 2100 members.

Makenzie’s athletic training came in handy as we raised our arms and grabbed and groped for beads, cups, trinkets and toys that were being tossed our way.

Mak was definitely our queen, as she snagged a coveted gold baby!

It was shear madness and yet super fun, with stuff flying everywhere. Our bag of loot weighted at least 30 pounds, plus what we had each decorated around our necks.

These are the treasures that we kept. The rest we gave to a kindergarten teacher for their reward box.

At the crack of dawn, we took Mak and Gavin to the airport and said goodbye. It was a lot of fun experiencing Mardi Gras with them. We are glad we did it, but we are not in any hurry to do it again.

We had one last night in New Orleans where we chilled and enjoyed the beauty of our surroundings.

As we made our way towards Texas, we traveled northwest on Interstate 10 and 49. As we did we encountered these super unique areas of roads that go on and on for miles. These two lane roads are essentially long bridges built over shallow rivers. Definitely do not want to have a tire blow out on this stretch.

After a 3 hour drive we found our way to Indian Creek Recreation Area in Woolworth, LA where we spent two nights.

This was a relaxing spot out on a peninsula; surrounded, we could see water from all windows in the RV.

Not much to explore here but the lake itself. The temperature was perfect for walking, napping, and chewing on bones.

And painting.

We continued our journey northwest another 2 1/2 hours and found ourselves in the spooky forest.

Lake Bistineau State Park in Doyline, LA was definitely not like any lake we had ever seen before. The Tupelo and Cypress trees covered with Spanish moss growing out of the water made it feel very eerie.

We were here for two nights with a nice big spot and only a few neighbors scattered around. This was the perfect place to give the dogs a haircut.

Chance did not get the best haircut as the clippers died and the closest Walmart was about an hour away, but they are both cooler than they were.

From here we are headed to Texas. Cowboy country here we come!