Tom and I decided to stop in New Orleans on the way there since it was the halfway point and it would let us show the kids the place their parents disappear to each summer. My sister and her family decided to join us, so we had 2 fun days in New Orleans before we went to Georgia. Tom and I love going to NOLA every year, but I was a little unsure how it would go over with the kids. It was a rough start with Jack recovering from a nasty stomach bug, and the kids were not initially fans of the sights and smells of the French Quarter. However, once their cousins showed up, they quickly rebounded. We covered a lot of ground in a short time - we toured the St. Louis Cathedral, watched street performers at Jackson Square, strolled along the Mississippi River, bought souvenirs at the French Market, devoured beignets at Café du Monde, toured a cemetery, marveled at homes in the Garden District, rode a trolley, climbed trees at City Park, were endlessly entertained at Storyland, browsed books in the very place William Faulkner wrote his first novel, and enjoyed meals at Acme Oyster House, Reginelli's, and Oceana. In the end, New Orleans won the kids over...just like it does to everyone.
We left New Orleans bright and early Wednesday morning and made the 8 hour drive to Eatonton, Georgia. The plantation as on Lake Oconee. It also had it's own private lake. And a media room, a pool, a hot tub, a barn with horses, arcade games, a pool table, and a separate guest house. It basically had something for everyone and my kids were in HEAVEN. They played from morning til night with their cousins. Bedtimes were pretty much nonexistent. As for me, I spent all of my time playing games with various family members, eating way too much food, and watching movies. It was awesome.
The night before we had to return home, we stayed up to watch the A&M/LSU football game. We had to get up at 4:30am the next morning in order to be on the road by 5 for the 14 hour drive home, but the game went into SEVEN overtimes. SEVEN. It was the most exciting game I've ever seen and A&M won after some hotly contested ref calls. The game didn't end til 12:30. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep that night. The kids and I all wore our A&M shirts in the car on the way home. Unfortunately, Ellie got car sick and threw up all over the back seat. We pulled over at the nearest exit and went into Target to clean up. It just happened to be in Baton Rouge, Louisiana - home of LSU. We walked in there the morning after the big game, wearing our A&M shirts, like we were rubbing our win in their faces. It was super awkward.
We finally made it home late Sunday night. Getting up for work/school Monday morning was brutal, but that vacation was totally worth it!
