We jumped on Interstate 10 which would be our friend for days. Our destination on this day was New Orleans, Louisiana. Getting through Austin and Houston were not the best part of the trip, but Jeremy managed to navigate without too many hiccups – Google Maps and I may have caused a few of the turnarounds. We did make sure to get In-and-Out Burger (a close rival to Braums where burgers are concerned) before leaving Texas.
There was a great rest stop entering Louisiana with a shaded boardwalk. So, even though it was ridiculously hot still, we took a stroll.
It was good to get out of car and stretch. It also let the girls see some of landscape we would be driving through – delta, water, trees, etc.
We stopped at another rest area in the Atchafalaya region. It is a unique area of land and cultures. It is a large swath of land in Louisiana.
We took a short break to get an ice cream treat at Sonic before continuing on our way.
We made it to New Orleans in time to get supper at Mother’s Restaurant. Jeremy had eaten there numerous times on a previous work trip and wanted us to try it. They fix all the traditional bayou food – ettouffee, jambalaya, gumbo, fried fish, etc. We got a sampler plater and a fish and shrimp entre to share. It was good to taste all of it.
The next morning, we ventured out in the heat to see Jackson Square area mostly. We went to Jackson Square Cathedral,
souvenir shopping,
and topped it off with beignets from Cafe du Monde.
We meandered through a few other neighborhoods to see how the streets and architecture changed. We passed Sucre – a macaron place I had seen while looking for places to go in New Orleans. While we were planning to not going, passing it seemed fate, and so we stopped. Madison loves the things… Ellie also. There was a rainbow assortment of flavors, along with gelato. We picked a few flavors to try and a gelato to share. I think it was just enough.
We left New Orleans and had about a 3 hour drive to get to Gulf Shores, Alabama, our next destination. We drove through a spurt of pretty heavy rain, but otherwise, the trip went fairly well.
Our condo was just what we needed – right on the beach, 3rd floor (out of maybe 7??), 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, washer/dryer, kitchen, private balcony and a pool. It checked all the boxes for us. And besides the fact the bed Jeremy and slept on was a weirdly short king-size bed, it was a good place. The first night, the girls ventured knee deep into the water.
The next day, we were out all day – building sandcastles, hanging out in the waves, sitting in the shade of the umbrella, swimming in the pool, reading by the beach.
The last full day we also were on the beach most of the day. We did go out for dinner and do a little souvenir shopping that evening. (Our condo is the 3rd room from the left, 2 floors up in the picture below.)
Sadly, we were back on the road by about 10am the next day. Heading north on Interstate 65.
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