Chad and I were lucky to take a trip, just the two of us, to New Orleans in May. My Dad and Grandma graciously flew down from Seattle to take care of Eden and Alden.

I haven’t slept so well in years. We had a relaxing, culture filled time. Before we even saw our hotel room we were off to Mardi Gras World. It is a working warehouse used to design and build all the floats used in their many parades. Walking in was just happy. It was so lively, colorful and gigantic. It made Mardi Gras seem much less about drunken frivolity and sex. There is a lot of history, culture and artistic craftsmanship that forms the foundation of the celebration.

Most of our weekend was spent just walking around the French Quarter, people watching and listening to the musical ensembles that were perched all over the area. We also got some reservations at some tasty restaurants. I couldn’t seem to go a meal with out having oysters or some other local seafood.

On our first night we went and saw a movie, which apparently breaks all vacation rules. It was well worth it. The next day, Chad had arranged for us to do a swamp tour. The swamp was so serene and beautiful. I do not know how anyone can brave swimming down there though. Between the alligators and snakes, etc. Yikes. The driver on our way out to the swamp pointed out a lot of the damage from Hurricane Katrina. Most everything looks just fine on the surface but so many places are condemned, abandoned or have squatters. The historic districts had much less damage than the real residential areas did, it seemed.

We went to a fun bug museum together to escape the heat. It was so well done and the kids would have loved it. Later we poked around the outdoor market for little souvenirs for the kids and we found Chad a couple of great stylish hats. One evening we walked to a far corner of the French Quarter to Frenchmen’s Street, famed for their great local music. We stumbled on a group that played music exceptionally well. The style was upbeat and a little like blue grass and jazz and folky like the music in O Brother Where Art Thou. We loved it. We walked back through Bourbon Street on the way back to the hotel and were entertained by the multiple venues with live music packed into each block. You could stand in the middle of the crowded street and hear at least 3 types of music blaring.

We went to the Garden District and wandered the streets looking at all the Southern mansions. We poked into Lafayette cemetery and found one family tomb filled with ‘Aldens’. Then we went to a Live Jazz Brunch. There was a trio of older gentlemen playing all the really classic Jazz ballads and songs. With pressure from a class assignment to break a social norm I volunteered to lead one of their songs when they came around to our table. It was a really fun, though embarrassing, time.

Chad and I had such a great time together. The kids did just fine with out us, for better or worse. We were happy to be back at home and spend some time with the kids again. We also got to spend a couple of days with Gramma and Dad before they flew back to Seattle. The kids loved having them here and we had fun just hanging out and making a trip to the zoo and a wagon ride at Wheeler farm.