Remember the Alamo!

While making our way across Texas we made a quick stop at the Alamo in San Antonio. The Alamo is fascinating piece of Texas history. The Alamo is open during specific hours during the day so if you do plan an touring this historic sight make sure to allow yourself enough time to tour the compound prior to it's closing. There is also a great timeline of the history of the Alamo located inside, which you will want to make sure you take the time to catch up on it's history if, like me, you don't have a an understanding of the Alamo as it relates to the history of Texas.

After spending a few hours touring the Alamo we enjoyed an early dinner at San Antonio's uniquely designed shopping plaza's called the Riverwalk. It is a beautifully designed shopping district with restaurants and shops located along the San Antonio River which cuts through the heart of San Antonio. One attribute that makes the Riverwalk intriguing is that it is located 2 stories below street level.

A word of caution...when eating outside under a heavily treed area, sit under an umbrella! Un-suspecting diners can become an easy target for large birds overhead who feel the need to relieve themselves on diners below! We were about 2 inches away from a messing disaster.

The Family in Front of the Alamo.

Katherine and I at the Riverwalk

A view of the Riverwalk from the street.

At our site in San Antonio. By far our tightest fit. We barley had enough room to walk between the slide outs from our neighbors camper and ours.

Enjoying dinner outside with the family at the RV Park.

 

 

 

The kids feeding ducks at the pond near our campsite.

Tristan, Sidney and Helaina getting the hook out of a fish.

Helaina's first catch of the day.

Sidney with her first catch.

One of about 50 perch that Tristan pulled out of the pond.

 

"Remember the Alamo"

-General Sam Houston, Battle of San Jacinto April 21, 1836

Enjoy the Ride!

Seth and Katherine

New Orleans - Mardi Gras!

 

As we pulled out of Gulf Island National seashore on the morning of March 2, they were just kicking off the Mardi Gras parade in Gulf Breeze Fl. We didn't stay for the parade because we were on to our next destination, New Orleans! The nations mecca for the Mardi Gras celebration.

 

Just to be clear, we didn't plan on attending Mardi Gras, we're not that good. We just simply got lucky to be in New Orleans the week of Louisiana's largest party.

 

We were a little apprehensive about driving into New Orleans with the kids for Mardi Gras, after all, it certainly doesn't seem like a family oriented destination. Before driving in we did some on-line research to find the best places to visit during Mardi Gras and where to park. I also talked to a few locals at our RV park to get the inside scope before heading off for the big party.

 

For those of you who may not already be aware, Mardi Gras, for the most part, is very family friendly. The Mardi Gras that we all see through TV and the media paints a very different picture of what the celebration really entails. Most are familiar with the French Quarter and Bourbon St. (Which is not where you would ever want to bring your kids!) The party on Bourbon St. is only about 10% of the Mardi Gras experience.

 

The real celebration of Mardi Gras involves parades, lots and lots of parades. It is by far the largest parades I have been to. The floats were magnificent and there were huge crowds of locals who stake out the same spot year after year and spend the day having a B-B-Q right along the entire parade route. During the parade the floats through out tons of toys and trinkets for the gets, including thousand upon thousands of beads!

 

One interesting innovation that we found at the parades is the use of "Ladder Seats". This seemed to be a uniquely New Orleans invention. Many of the locals would install seats on top of A frame ladders for their kids to sit and get a view of the parade even from the very back of the crowd. What a great idea!

 

We met some great people at the parade who we became quick friends with. They were telling us that people would mark their spots along the parade route with blankets, chairs, ladder seats and then leave for the day...and nobody would touch them. They then disclosed to us, "two weeks later when the celebration is over, if someone left something on the street around their it would be gone in 10 minutes". Even the thieves have a sense of respect for Mardi Gras!

 

The particular parade we were at had Quintin Tarantino as the celebrity monarch for the Krewe of Orpheus parade that we attended. I'm not a big fan of his but it was still fun to see him on the float.

 

 

 

This was a fountain made from old beer tap handles.

 

 

 

The kids posing next to some ladder seats. If you look closely you can see the black wheels on the top. This is used to role the ladders along the sidewalk instead of carrying the awkward shaped contraption down the street.



All of us waiting for the parade to start. We got there about three hours early and did not come very prepared...no chairs or blankets.

Sidney and Izabelle taking a selfie while waiting for the parade to start. 

Who's having more fun?

The girls getting in on the craziness!

 

Enjoy the Ride!

Seth and Katherine

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Gulf Islands National Seashore was absolutely beautiful. It is located near the famous Pensacola Beaches on the Florida panhandle, but tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the touristy areas. There was only a handful of people around during our 2 week stay and it felt like we were on our own little deserted island. The water was clear and turquoise and the sand was powdery white. Dolphins played in the surf not far from the shore. We stayed at Fort Pickens Campground which is located in the National Park. The beach was just down the boardwalk from us. We made massive sand castles, marveled at the colorful sunsets over the ocean and fell asleep hearing the waves every night. It was paradise!

 

 

 

Sometimes in the waves of change we find our true direction.

-Unknown

 

God Bless,

Seth and Katherine