- The last time I went to New Orleans was 1997 and yes, it was very different. Obviously I was only 18 then and it was pre-Katrina. Some stuff was familiar but it mostly felt like visiting for the first time.
- One thing I enjoyed was how not crowded it was. Sure, the French Quarter did have people but it wasn’t wall to wall or anything.
- Our airbnb was on the outskirts of the quarter and close to a lot of stuff. We went to Royal sushi twice during our trip because it was only a block away. We also went to the same jazz club and good brewery twice for the same reason. While I only went once, the rest of the family ate breakfast at the Ruby Slipper twice because it was literally right across the street. I enjoyed the proximity, as well as all the walking we got in. My steps per day were, respectively: 11,824, 12,213, 15,260, and 10,748.
- Seeing local jazz bands was really cool. Ash had that as one of his goals and I think we took advantage of it. The first night we went out, with my mom, they had a cool 7 or 8 piece that sang in the 30s style. The second night, we saw a smaller band in that style, then a guitarist who had a much better sax player as the primary guy, and then a dude named Stephen Walker, known for playing trombone. We got a good variety, I think.
- The beignets were really good and omg – cheap! I think you got 3 big ones for $4.37. I got two orders and it came to 10 even, giving all of us enough to try. I was glad I looked online to see that the location had a to-go window around the back. I figure we waited maybe 10 minutes or so but that wasn’t bad either. I just wanted to check that box.
- Breweries visited on our trip: 15. Sounds like a lot, I know, but if you only split a flight, you can squeeze in quite a few. Here’s my list in order of best to worst. This also encompasses Pensacola. Parleaux Beer Lab, Brieux Carre, Alga, Odd Colony, Ecology, Port Orleans, Courtyard, Iron Hand (Mobile), Coastal County, Miel, Crescent City, Perfect Plain, NOLA, Pensacola Bay, Care Forgot. Now we did swing back into Iron Hand on the way back to fill a grower, and we went to Brieux Carre twice, so there’s that. Some of these got higher ratings because they had one or two good beers but also, a good variety of styles. I dislike going into a place that has hobo styles like hazies and sours. Those aren’t for me so therefore, my rating will be lower.
- The WW2 museum is indeed a really cool spot. Every room and display was immersive and well-appointed. The start is really neat: they file groups onto a train and it looks like you’re riding to somewhere as they show video of guys’ testimony about wanting to join up for the cause. A really cool way of beginning your visit. As noted though, it got a little old by the end. We bought tickets that included this 20 minute theater experience, which was a little too rah-rah/pat themselves on the back, and the 48 minute movie that was pretty cool and interactive. They had smoke and air and 360 sound in that one. I don’t think we saw all there was to see but again, it was also exhausting. We got there at 9 and left at 3 and I was pretty tired after that!
- I was surprised I didn’t see too many homeless underneath the overpasses. Mostly just saw a few bums on the street. We’ve been to enough big cities in this country so my kids have seen a variety of homeless. I’m always wary of that though so that my kids feel safe. At one point, my boys were going to go off on their own and while my mom scoffed, I felt like an 18 and 16 year old would be just fine. Nothing felt dangerous.
- I wanted to eat more cajun food but in the end, and besides beignets, I had alligator sausage, fried alligator, and two different gumbos. All was very tasty!
- I think I’d go back but not with the kids. I knew going into it that it wasn’t exactly a kid place, though mine range from 12-18. I do still think they saw and did a lot of different things, but it wasn’t exactly for them. However, we tend to take them to a variety of places so they can experience America. I don’t want them to grow up and be so sheltered!
- I liked the vibe of the city; very walkable and friendly and so many opportunities to see cool stuff. I think the couple things that I didn’t see this time that I did back in the 90s were little kids tap dancing on street corners for change and big bands marching down the street, seemingly all the time. Those were two memories I have from the old days. Fair to say, a friend of my parents’ who was New Orleans born and raised said it’s “very white now” and maybe some of the Cajun/Creole culture never came back after Katrina.
incognitusscriptor.com 
You guys packed a lot in! You are doing a great job of traveling in the US and showing your kids a variety of places. I think it’s pretty common to have just a few places, favorite spots, to travel to and then after many years you realize that you haven’t seen too much variety! That’s great that you spent a lot of time at the museum. You must have learned so much and there must have been a large variety of things to see. Your break sounds nice and I hope you’ve eased back into work and the “real world” pretty easily :).