Day 3 - up and out the door by 7:30. You have to realize how much of a "feat" this was for us! To get all 6 of us up and going (getting ready with one bathroom, packing up the full room, grabbing breakfast and loading the van up...it is huge!). It's not pretty in the moment, but I am so proud of the kids! Our trips are not easy schedules by any stretch of the imagination!
We loaded up the van and couldn't believe how humid it was already - 7:30 in the morning! It could be a long morning in New Orleans if it was already that humid.
On the way to the French Quarter, we drove by the Superdome to show the kids how big it was. We had watched a documentary on Katrina just the week before. We knew that our trip would see some sites that were devastated by Katrina's rage.
We drove to the French Quarter and found a place to park. We didn't plan to spend more than a few hours in New Orleans - we had a short list of things to see. Our first stop of the morning was Cafe Du Monde for some fresh beignets. Once we had our sweet treat, we walked across to Jackson Square and enjoyed them!
We walked around Jackson Square - awestruck by the history of the area - and then walked through the French Quarter area on our way to Louis Armstrong Park.
Will & I did a double take as we walked by this gate...wait, was that a giraffe back there?? lol
Can you tell that some of us are tired of walking...
After the park, Matt & Kaitee left to go get the van so that Maddie wouldn't have to walk all the way back to where we parked.
One last stop in New Orleans before heading out of town. It was here, at the William T Frantz Elem School, where Ruby Bridges was escorted by US Marshalls to school (1960). Due to a new legal ruling, Ruby would be the first African American student to integrate an elementary school in the south. She arrived at the school amid horrid protests. Her story is a very touching one - take a few minutes to watch a documentary (we watched a few with the kids before our trip).
We left New Orleans and started heading east towards the Gulfport area. While we will probably never come back to New Orleans, we were so glad that we had this stop on our trip. Matt & I aren't big city people. Nor do we like heat/humidity. We also don't like crowds. (yeah, we are old & crabby, lol!). We enjoyed the city and got to see a section of the beauty & heritage up close! We were there early enough in the day that we didn't hit many crowds...but that also meant we didn't get to get a taste of the city's eclectic nature. Maybe that's a good thing, given our personalities. However, one thing we missed...the street musicians. Not one to be found (heard) while we were there!
We made a mental note to snap a picture at the Welcome to Louisiana sign(it was too dark the previous night...alligators and such, you know!). Once we entered MS, we turned around and re-entered Louisiana for the picture. We also stopped at that rest stop for another photo opportunity.
We stopped for lunch and then continued on to Moss Point, MS for the surprise stop of the trip...an alligator ranch, Gulf Coast Gator Ranch! Thanks to a recommendation from my hairdresser, this was by far the favorite stop on our trip!
We all took turns holding a baby alligator, which was kinda creepy but kinda cool at the same time. Maddie wasn't too keen on the idea (gotta be honest, I wasn't either). We finally talked Maddie into holding the baby after we got back from the boat ride.
Of course, baby alligators grow up to be big girls/boys! There were over 100 alligators at this farm!
We loaded up on the boat and took off in search of alligators. We were thankful to see 2 while out in the boat. The guide told us that it was still early in the season, but once the weather warmed up, there would be quite a few gators in the water and on the banks.
I found this picture on the camera and said, "oh how cute, you took a picture from the alligator's point of view...captioned: Lunch!"
It was a fun and informative boat ride. As we came back towards the "ranch", we noted the Katrina Water Line on the bridge overhead. Our guide mentioned that we were still a few miles away from the Gulf.
So, if we were to do this day over again...one thing we would've changed was how we ran our stops. The alligator ranch was still working in "winter hours" so they closed at 4 every day. We wanted to get there with enough time to explore the "ranch" (we didn't know what all it entailed) and to guarantee a boat ride. I called ahead and was told that they don't take reservations - it was first come, first served.
Our initial plan was to explore Biloxi a bit and then to drive along the coast, ending up in Moss Point. Because of the uncertainty of getting in to the alligator ranch, we decided to bypass Biloxi and go straight to Moss Point. After the boat ride, we would head back to Biloxi and explore. Hindsight, we should've stopped in Biloxi first and then gone to the alligators. Either way, it worked out...just gave us an extra hour of driving.
We visited the memorial to Katrina victims in Biloxi. We took lots of pictures (with BOTH cameras), but no one took a picture of the overall memorial! It was moving to look in the glass display and see different items donated by Katrina survivors. We also looked at the markings on the pole (blue is Camille and red is Katrina) and couldn't imagine the storm surge that Katrina generated.
We drove along the shoreline for a while and came across this beach. I first saw the pier and thought that might be a good way to get out and stretch our legs...and see the Gulf up close. As we pulled in to the parking lot, Matt's jaw dropped and he immediately was excited to see that we were at the same beach where the Wade-In happened in 1960. He had read about the Wade-In, but hadn't pinpointed where it happened! He was thrilled to come across this.
We enjoyed our time on the pier - it was a beautiful day with a nice breeze coming off the water.
We got back in the van and started heading towards our destination for the night - FLORIDA!
We saw the USS Alabama as we passed through Mobile.
Once in Florida, we stopped at the welcome center and had some fun. We all loved the Welcome To Florida sign with the Blue Angel hanging overhead! The kids loved seeing (and touching) the palm trees and it was a great time to stretch, grab a snack and settle in as we made our way to our hotel for the night.
How cool to see the Navy Blue Angels as we headed to our hotel in Gulf Breeze, just outside of Pensacola. We were hoping to catch the sunset from our hotel's beach, but we just missed it as we crossed the gulf bridge. We headed to dinner and then back to the hotel for the evening. Another long day comes to a close.
