Spring Break in Nola (Part 4)

I feel like our last day in Nola was spent driving in circles. I know my way around the city pretty well, but I have come to realize I really only know certain parts.

Anyway, our goal for the day was to hit the Nike Outlet store. (Yes, really.) Sutton's final request was a new pair of Nike shorts and Satchel wanted a new pair of "Elites." (Elites are the cool socks.) Traveling with an 9, 11 and 14 year old is a multi-layered challenge! Even just having to listen to their music in the car was a challenge!

I planned to take us to The Camellia Grill for breakfast/lunch before shopping, since I had to learn over and over that hungry children are cranky children, but in deciding to take Canal to Carrolton, we ended up at the Nike store first. Sutton didn't find the shorts she wanted, but Satchel got two pairs of socks and Jiro got two new t-shirts. By the time we got to the Camellia Grill, there was a line and the kids once again whined about waiting. So I said, "Fine, we will go where I want to go." I headed down St. Charles to Magazine to Juan's Flying Burrito. It's really not that close to where we were, but I really wanted to go there. Pretty sure their mid-city location might have been a bit closer. Oh well. (Full review to come.)



It was busy too and had a wait, but we managed to get a table out back on the patio, which I did not know existed. Once everyone was fed, we were ready to go forth. By now Sutton had identified a running store on the opposit end of Magazine that sold the shorts she wanted, so we headed that way. Our mission was successful and we were told we missed seeing Will Ferrell by ten minutes. This fact alone totally excited the kids.

Our next stop was supposed to be Audubon Park to climb trees, but I never really found a good spot. Cousin Nancy had told me about the butterfly loop, but I couldn't find it. So, I just decided to take us back to City Park. It was a lot further away than I thought! Regardless, we made it, and had a great time in the sculpture garden.



We had an afternoon snack of beignets and iced coffee at Morning Call in the park, which is supposedly the same, but different from, Cafe du Monde.



Then the kids somehow talked me into going on a paddleboat.



It was more work than we thought paddling around, but it was also lovely.



Jiro was the stern and did a good job of navigating.



Next time I think I'll splurge on one of these instead!



By the time we were done paddling I was ready for a nap! Since we were super close to cousin Richard's house where we were having dinner, I opted to nap in the car while the kids ran around and climbed trees. I never actually napped, but I did get a few minutes of much needed quiet!!

We met up with Dick & Nancy at Richard & Beth's where we celebrated cousin Isabel's 12th birthday with a steak dinner. It was great to catch up with Richard & Beth. Sutton & the monkeys had fun seeing cousins their own age.



Our last night in the apartment was super quiet. Everyone went into their own room and did their own thing. It was a pretty action packed week so I am sure we all needed some serious downtime and alone time.

We left Friday morning after a quick stop at Dorgnac's for some Delaware Punch. (Jiro named his twelve pack "Billy.") I still had several places where I wanted to eat, but the kids really wanted to hit the road. We made it home in a record breaking 5 hours!

Overall it was a great trip, but definitely the kind of vacation that you need a vacation to recover from! It was lovely to come home to a clean house (Thanks, Warren!) and take a nap in my own bed!