New Orleans

When it finally came time to begin our journey back west, I started planning our route through the south. Being on the Gulf Coast, I knew New Orleans would be a place we would want to visit. I looked over the map and the calendar. We planned to leave Alabama on Sunday, February 19th. I noticed the following Wednesday was labeled “Ash Wednesday,” the start of lent. But if Ash Wednesday is on the 22nd, that means Fat Tuesday is the 21st, so the Bellers are going to Mardi Gras.

We camped on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain, at Fairview-Riverside State Park. New Orleans is located on the south side of Lake Pontchartrain, about 45 minutes away, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. To get into the city, we drove across “The Causeway,” a 24 mile long bridge which, up until 2011, was the world’s longest. It remains the longest bridge continually over water.

The campground was nice, with well spaced sites, open grass and

Ben scored a ton of beads as well as toys, balls and stuffed animals from the parade and generous passersby. He fell asleep near our furthest point from the truck and had to be carried back. We were amazed at his ability to sleep as we passed through the parade route with marching bands, drum lines, and millions of rowdy revelers.

The heat, the excitement and one hurricane drink we shared turned out to be too much for all of us. We made our way back to the truck and returned to camp before the sun had set and the party had a chance to get too wild.