Road Trip: The Big Easy

Ok so I can't upload photos right now due to technical difficulties, but I will add them later. I still must blog about my time so far in Louisiana.

We drove from Texas today into New Orleans, which took about 8 hours on the 10 east. (I still can't believe that the 10 freeway I've been traveling on for years in California goes all the way across the US...)

The coolest part about driving into Louisiana was that in a matter of about 20 minutes I drove across a river, swamp, and bayou on a long stretch of bridge surrounded by massive amounts of trees and vegetation. I saw Lake Atchafalaya, Swamp Henderson, and a Bayou with a French sounding name that I can't remember...

As we drove into New Orleans we saw the Superdome and a sign welcoming back the New Orleans Saints for the upcoming football season!!! It is great to see the city doing so well. We also noticed lingering damage from Katrina...a hotel or home here or there that was being rebuilt. As we entered the French Quarter the streets started to look a little scary, but our hotel turned out to be amazing. I can't believe we only paid $96 for a room that normally costs $350. The room is very large, and the decor is lovely, with quaint european flair. Our room turned out to be on the top floor, with a gorgeous pool and observatory deck on the same level overlooking the entire city. It's just as I imagined our honeymoon might have been!

I wish we had more than one day here, but so far it has been a blast. We partied a bit on Bourbon St, and also got some advice on more "local" spots in the city. Tomorrow we are going to check out a cemetary and perhaps the voodoo museum before we take off...and we are definitely planning a trip back here sometime soon. With a group of friends this city has the potential to be more fun than Vegas! Caution: You will need to endure humidity and rather large cockroaches while outside.