New Orleans - Day Two

With Michelle's photography conference

starting at the Convention Center,

(which is why this trip came about in the first place)

Charlie, Hope and I

were footloose and fancy free to do some exploring.

The city is pretty easy to navigate.

Known as the Crescent City,

it's nestled in the crescent of the river

with huge Lake Pontchartrain bordering its north.

So almost any way you head, you'll run into

water before getting too lost.

Also, their public transportation is wonderful.

$3.00 a head per day to ride the trolleys,

and/or buses.

And there is a ferry that goes across the Mississippi...

pedestrians are free, cars $1.00.

Something I loved to do as a child was to ride

the Staten Island Ferry!

So try to imagine my delight

riding a ferry across the Mississippi!

(It doen't take much to make me happy :)

And we rode it 4! times

I have decided that tugboats are officially my favorite...

...and I am getting my full of them here in NOLA,

but I'll spare you all of the pictures I've taken so

far of the varieties navigating the waters...

just giving you a taste :)

Our ferry trip landed us in Algiers Point

This is a common sight throughout New Orleans... even though this pic was taken in Algiers

where we strolled around, and where we were wished

...and where we ate at the

Tout De Suite Cafe.

Great music with an equally great hamburger!

One of our trolley rides took us to

Audubon Park across from Tulane / Loyola Universities.

Alot of activities going on simultaneously....

a walking/bike/skateboarding path being used rivaling rush hour traffic,

 playgrounds with a ton of kids,

 ultimate frisbee being played,

duck-feeding,

benches being used by people reading books (not a kindle in sight),

etc. etc, etc.

City parks are really a great place to visit!

(Hope and I actually made a return visit the next day... all in hopes of getting a turn on the swing!)

And Charlie almost jumped out of his seat when he spied

a cheesecake restaurant on our ride to the park.

So it was not surprising that we had to make a stop on the way back

to the French Quarters in order to indulge.

But the big question, "Which cheesecake to choose!?!

Our day was about to end,

so it was back to the ferry via trolley to pick up the car,

which was on the other side of the Mississippi.

I'll have you know, it takes a real man who can do

"Sing, sing, sing on a hot summer's day..."

with his daughter while we waited :)

And after our wonderfully spontaneous day,

we headed back to our home away from home.