New Orleans...The Big Easy

New Orleans...Feb.6-10

Fontainbleau State Park welcomed the Mulder's to the South.  We just loved the swampy, jungle-like feel with the beautiful moss covered trees.  This park is located on the northern side of Lake Pontchartrain...a HUGE lake...630 square miles.  From our campground we traveled over a 26 mile long bridge, the longest in the world to get to downtown New Orleans.  Many of the pictures are from the state park...stunningly beautiful.

 We went on several bike rides including a 14 mile ride on a rail to trail path.  We are just loving biking together, you can see so much more than walking in a shorter amount of time.

 We have seen beautiful pelicans throughout the south.

 Swampy area where we biked.  Just cannot get enough pictures of the Spanish moss hanging from the trees.

 A gorgeous white sand beach and boardwalk on Lake Pontchartrain.  Today the weather was sunny and warm enough for swimming in the lake and many games of beach soccer, football and water rugby (and quiet for me to read on the beach...my favorite).

 On Saturday we spent a long day in the city.  There were tons of great decorations everywhere for Mardi Gras. We drove to a huge city park and were greeted with beignets...a first for all of us...hopefully not the last.  Then we rode several trolleys throughout the city.  This picture shows an empty trolley, but as the day went on they got fuller and fuller...more like a sardine can!

 We rode a ferry across the Mighty Mississippi...as we wanted to say that we had been "on" the Mississipppi.  It was a beautiful view of the city and the French Quarter.

 We had lunch at Bubba Gumps in the French Quarter.  We were able to sit outside and watch the hustle and bustle of the city below.  After lunch we visited a National Park site dedicated to the history of New Orleans.  It was very well done and gave us a lot of history of the area.

 After a short walk down Bourbon street, we headed to the Garden District on the trolley.  There were AMAZINGLY beautiful old homes.  We got off at Tulane and Loyola University and saw Audubon Park.  

 On the way home we passed by several old cemetaries.  It was so interesting to see how they had all the caskets above ground.  Another highlight of this new place was seeing the Winn Dixie grocery stores..as we recently finished listening to the book and watching the movie.  Such a cute story!! 

We wish that we could stay longer in this area, as we have really loved it.  On several friend's recommendation, we have decided to head to Gulf Shores, Alabama.   We will be there until Saturday.   We are excited to experience more of the Southern Charm of this part of the country.

Have a HAPPY VALENTINES DAY...sending our love to you!!