New Orleans

The week before Thanksgiving the kids and I had an opportunity to travel with Seth to New Orleans where he attended the annual ETS meetings. He was already planning to drive and get a hotel room so we decided to go ahead and come along for a change of pace.

We packed up the car Monday night after the kids went to bed and at midnight we put them in the car and started the 15 hour drive. You may recall the sleep issues we were having with Talia the week before--she was awake for the first 3 hours of the trip (from midnight to 3am)! Crazy girl! Benj & Leila, however, slept all night and didn't wake up until we were about to stop for breakfast. We arrived in New Orleans around 3pm. The kids were definitely done with the car, but all said it was a pretty smooth trip. I was pleasantly surprised.

Seth's meetings started the next morning so he drove downtown and the kids and I hung out in the hotel all day. I had brought tons of puzzles, crafts, games, movies, and had some other tricks up my sleeve. We did a hotel scavenger hunt where we walked around the hotel and found hotel staples such as the ice machine, a couch, a TV, a newspaper, a coffee pot, a housekeeping cart, the pool, and the elevator (which we rode up and down to every floor). I was worried about naptime, but I put Leila & Talia on one side of the room and then Benj & I read books and watched a movie (with headphones) on the other bed. It probably worked so well only because Talia was exhausted from her sleeplessness the night before.

Thursday the kids and I took Seth downtown and then we headed to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain to visit with some Louisville friends who moved away about 2 years ago. We got to cross the longest bridge in the world, 24 miles right across the middle of the lake. For you Californians, it felt like driving on a really long pier. We had a great day. Kim has 3 little boys, roughly our kids' ages. The big boys really had a great time together, which was sweet to see, considering Will was one of Benj's first "friends" (we were in a play group together with 2 other moms when our first born sons were just a few months old).

Friday morning Seth had an inpromptu initial interview with a college in South Carolina. He had placed his resume on a table at the conference for that purpose and Friday morning he got a call on his cell phone from someone who had picked it up. He was in-between sessions and was actually able to meet with him right away. Needless to say, this was an encouragement to Seth. At lunchtime the kids and I drove back downtown to pick up Seth and a former professor of ours for lunch. We had a great and encouraging time with him. The kids, especially Talia, were very impressed with "Mama & Daddy's teacher." :) Friday afternoon Seth was able to hang out with us. We watched a movie together and then had dinner.

Saturday morning we had planned to walk around the outskirts of the French Quarter-- take a ferry across the River, go to Cafe DuMonde, do the Riverwalk, etc. but we woke up to gray skies and a steady drizzle which we learned was supposed to last all day. We decided to take our car across on the ferry and just drive around the French Quarter a bit. We ate lunch at a mall on our way out of town and found a Cafe DuMonde there where we ordered beignets and a latte to go. (Don't send me hate comments, but I could have skipped the beignets. The coffee was good.) We then headed across Lake Pontchartrain once again (Seth didn't want to miss out on the experience.) This time was even more interesting; due to the clouds we were unable to see any more than a hint of a horizon when we were in the middle of the lake.

Our drive home was also pretty uneventful. Leila was fussy in the late afternoon and early evening but all 3 kids were asleep by 10:00pm. We drove all through the night and arrived home just before dawn (6:00) on Sunday morning. We brought the kids in and put them in bed where they stayed until 10:30!! It was nice to get a bit of restful sleep before they woke up.

And in case you are wondering, this whole crazy trip DID fix Talia's early morning rising! She has been on schedule with the rest of the family ever since! Hopefully next year's ETS meetings will line up appropriately with the time change--otherwise I don't know what I will do. :)