Monday we hopped on a trolley car and headed toward the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden which is part of the New Orleans Museum of Art (which was closed on Mondays).
Where's Michael?
Afterwards, we headed to the local Du Monde Cafe for beignets of course.
On Sunday, we headed toward the Mississippi River and this is what we encountered.
Wasn't expecting to see a Holocaust Memorial down by the Mississippi River but there you go.
My first time at the Mississippi River.
Lunch of fried fish which I promptly dropped in my lap and got my new pants all greasy.
The aftermath. We stayed and watched the cleanup crew which is a well oiled machine.
We booked a short vacation to a city we had not been to before, New Orleans. We thought we were going early enough to avoid the Mardi Gras crowd but we were wrong. Mardi Gras parades and festivities are in full swing.
On arrival day the weather was unseasonably cold but the sun was shining and no rain so a win. We are staying at the Eliza Jane, a converted warehouse, it has a lot of old world charm. We had a very southern dinner at Palm & Pine of pork shoulder, broccoli cheddar spoonbread, and cane syrup pie with preserved lemon ice cream. It was comforting food especially since it was cold outside.
Saturday we headed to the Louisiana State Museum. It had two exhibits: Living with Hurricanes: Katrina & Beyond and Mardi Gras: It's Carnival Time in Louisiana. The hurricane portion was very sobering but educational. The Mardi Gras exhibit was definitely from the white privilege point of view.
We embraced another southern meal for lunch at the Gumbo Shop in which we ate, you guessed it, gumbo. We also ate red beans and rice and Michael talked me into dessert of pecan pie with vanilla ice cream. It was a very good meal in a charming location.
Statue of Andrew Jackson
Louisiana State Museum
Our first Mardi Gras parade. We enjoyed the spectacle of it all.
I celebrated the holidays with work mates. We all received these new jackets plus other goodies, a gift exchange and yummy dinner.
All of the consultants ended up with a stocking with their name on it on Carol's door. Merry Christmas.
Another day in paradise. Today we headed west into the mountains to Waimea Canyon State Park. Michael called it Dramamine day. We took the slow winding road up the mountain and the fast steep way down. Michael said it was his first time driving on the crest of a mountain. The weather cooperated and no rain or clouds.
Next stop Na Pali Kona. This part of the canyon we can see the ocean. Pu'u O Kila, the hill of Chief Kila.
Sunday was excursion day, we headed North to the rainy side of the island. Going through the tunnel of trees is my favorite part of the island.
First stop Opaekaa Falls.
Maunakapu and Wailua River.
