Now, before we get too far along, my siblings and I do not call him dad, father or even Tom. He is simply known as Horse; I won’t bore you with the whole story but my sister called him that when he gave her rides around the house when she was little. That name has stuck and to this day we all call him that so feel free to join in and call him that too.
Seemed like it was yesterday that Horse agreed to go and we confirmed all of the reservations and December would never come. But here were are at December 2 already!! The ship will not set sail from New Orleans until Saturday the 3rd however I don’t trust the airlines to get us to the airport on the day of sailing so we decided to go in a day early. Besides, who would not want to spend some extra time in New Orleans?
3:15 am
We have a 6 am flight out of Canton-Akron Airport on Airtran Airways so we better get the day started. (I always tell people that there is no good airline anymore but Airtran is as close as there is to a good one). We are already packed (well at least I have packed EVERYTHING I need!) so that much is done. We have a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then load the car to head for the airport.
4:15 am
Hearts beating faster and I no longer have to go to the bathroom as we almost hit a deer on the road to the airport. That would have just ruined our day!
4:30 am
We arrive at the airport and say our goodbyes before heading inside. I have been told that I pack like a typical female would and that I have entirely too many clothes. So I am concerned that I will go over the 50 pound checked bag limit and have to pay half as much as we paid for the original airline ticket. To rewind a little bit, I tried everything to weigh this bag. I used our “wonderful” digital scale at home. One reading said 9 lbs and then the next said 48 lbs. hmmm. So, let me weigh myself without the bag and then while holding the bag. Yes, that should work. 185 lbs! Yes!!! I have not been that weight since my freshman year in high school! Next reading shows 258 lbs; umm maybe AFTER the cruise buffet but not before it! Next reading shows 205 lbs! Wrong answer!! In the trash can you go pal! What to do next? I know, use the scale on the Wii Fit! Used my 6 year old daughter’s character who just happens to weigh 44 lbs. Put the bag on the scale and it registers at 38 lbs; twice! So, fast forward back to the airport...I reluctantly put the bag on the scale and it registers....38 lbs!! Yippee! Moral of the story, use the Wii Fit to weigh your bags! I wonder if I can convince Donna Palmer to have a Wii at work...just for the purpose of weighing clients bags. That’s the only reason, how Madden NFL gets on there I would have no idea.
5:00 am
All done with check-in and security so we proceed to our gate upstairs. While we are sitting there and discussing our trip, my dad discovers that he forgot to pack his dress shirts for formal nights. Ooopss....I may pack like a girl but at least I have all of the required clothing! No time now to have Momma bring one to us. Guess he will have to make formal night sexy with no shirt under his suit jacket. (I know what song everyone is singing now!!!)
6:00 am
All aboard! We are all on the plane and on our way to New Orleans via Atlanta.
9:00 am (keep in mind that New Orleans is on Central time or 1 hour behind Ohio)
Nothing exciting on the flights (thank goodness) and we arrive about 30 minutes early into New Orleans.
9:20 am
Taxi or hotel shuttle? We decide to try the hotel shuttle. $20 per person to go from the airport to the French Quarter hotels -- distance of about 20 miles. (Taxis are about $17 each person) I should just have paid $40 and gone to Cedar Point to have the pee scared out of me on a ride. This guy is cruising up and down all of the side streets, just honking and hoping people get out of his way.
9:47 am
With the side mirror on the van, we almost behead someone on a bike who is a little slow, deaf or just likes a thrill.
9:52 am
Girl sitting in the street working on a sewer line almost has similar fate to the bicycle rider when she refuses to move. I did not look but I am pretty sure she has tire marks on her bright yellow jacket now.
10:00 am
Arrive at the Marriott and I want to kiss the ground once we get out of the van. We pre-check in and they take my cell phone number so that they can call us when our room is ready. We check our bags with the bellhop and hit the streets.
We selected the Marriott on Canal Street for a couple reasons. 1) I am cheap and this was the best deal I could get. 2) It has a very good location. About 3 blocks from Bourbon Street and about 1/2 mile to the cruise pier. Highly recommend this property to anyone cruising from New Orleans or just wanting to spend a couple nights.
10:30 am
We walk around looking for a men's clothing store as someone (no names please) forgot their shirt and we have to purchase one. We find a mall attached to the convention center but no stores with dress shirts although a Saints jersey would look real nice. So we find another mall with a store, that shall remain nameless, selling shirts for $150 each and sweaters for $350 each!! Let’s keep looking! Finally find a reasonably priced shirt, now the ladies on the ship are spared from tripping as they stare at Horse’s bare chest.
12:30 pm
The hotel calls and says our room is ready but it is time to find lunch. We hear the Po’Boy sandwiches are something not to be missed. Just about every restaurant offers them so we find a place on Bourbon street called Remoulade and settle in. I order the Shrimp Po’Boy and Horse orders the catfish Po’Boy and a bowl of Gumbo. Both are awesome sandwiches and are reasonably priced at $8 for the meal.
2:30 pm
We had our Po’Boy so now it is off to the hotel to check-in and have a nap’boy. We have a room on the 17th floor overlooking the Mississippi River. We relax a little and just watch the ships moving cargo up and down the river.
6:00 pm
Time to visit the famous French Quarter at night and see what is happening. Let’s just say that since this is a family blog, we won’t report most of what we see on Bourbon Street. I found it amazing how different it is during the daytime versus at night here. When we ate lunch here, I would not have much of a problem bringing my kids along but no chance would I do that at night.
8:00 pm
We are getting hungry again so we begin our search for a good place to eat. We don’t mind the jazz music playing in most of the clubs and restaurants on Bourbon Street but we want a quieter place so we can actually converse during dinner. Just off of Bourbon Street on Conti Street is a seafood restaurant called Oceana Grill. We decide on the Gator Bites for an appetizer. These are grilled alligator meat in some spicy sauce. Real good and tastes a bit like beef. I tried a chicken Alfredo dish that was really good. I am used to traditional Alfredo but this was a spicy version. I sucked down a couple glasses of cold water to offset the spice of the appetizer and meal but well worth it.
9:30 pm
We watch some street acrobat performers. Pretty entertaining and they draw a very large crowd too.
10:00 pm
We head back tot he hotel. It has been a long day and I guess I am just not a party animal for the New Orleans nightlife. If you like to drink and party, you could have some serious fun in New Orleans but could also get in lots of trouble too. Still we felt safe walking around town and never worried about our safety. New Orleans is a very enjoyable town.
Good night all. More to come tomorrow as we prepare to board the ship that will become our home for the next 7 nights. Enjoy.
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