*Warning, lengthy post!
After living in The Big Easy for 10 months my parents finally made the trek south to see where I spend my days! They got in late Thursday and after an adventurous ride to the hotel we chatted about the itinerary I had planned.
Friday we met up for breakfast at the Lakeside Sucre. After some yummy pastries and coffee I took them on an impromptu tour of Whole Foods. Mom's reaction when walking in the door: "It stinks in here. Smells like bologna." That's my mom! Next we actually entered Orleans Parish and did a little driving around. The weather was hit and miss with rain, so we headed to lunch at Tracey's where we each had a po'boy. I had heard the roast beef was to die for, and while I don't think I am willing to offer my life for a sandwich, it was pretty darn good!
Originally the itinerary called for a steamboat ride, but with the weather looking kinda yucky we rescheduled that for Saturday and drove to the Riverwalk instead. We wandered around through the shops and made our way to the Southern Food & Beverage Museum. There we read about and saw exhibits on sugar cane, chicory, shrimp, and other local dishes. Dinner that night was at my go-to spot, Rum House followed by dessert at the Magazine Street Sucre!
Saturday we started our day with a trip to Blue Dot Donut. This is a new spot run by retired cops that offers donuts such as Maple Bacon, Peanut Butter & Jelly and Banana Nut. Once all three of us were on a sugar high we headed to the French Quarter for the day. There we meandered through the streets checking out the random street bands and taking in the scenery. I introduced them to a Pimm's Cup drink, which, to me is a refreshing light drink, but they didn't seem too impressed. Any way, the weather was gorgeous and just right for our Steamboat Natchez ride. The Mississippi River is definitely higher than normal, but luckily they were still letting vessels travel the waters. We rode down river into St. Bernard Parish, then back up to the Crescent City Connection bridge. It was a very relaxing boat ride.
Sunday was yet another beautiful day weather wise so we hopped on the streetcar and rode down to the Quarter. It is nice to see St. Charles Avenue from the streetcar, I think you notice more that way than when you're cruising in a car. Once we reached the last stop we got off and went to Cafe du Monde for beignets. We scoped out St. Louis Cathedral and checked on the river again to make sure it was still there. After riding the street car back to Joseph Street we got back in the rental car (might as well put miles on that instead of my car, right?) and went to the Sucre Kitchen so they could see where I spend forty hours a week.
When we got back to my house the crawfish boil that was going on for Nick's departure (that will be a different post) was in full swing. Mom and dad got to chat with Evan about how the boil works and see most of the process. Then it was time to dig into the mud bugs! Mom had some difficulty keeping her food off the floor and the first batch we had was a bit spicy, but I think they liked them. Post boil everyone headed to Creole Creamery for an ice cream dessert. Yum! I took them on a little drive up to The Fly afterwards where we caught a beautiful sunset and got to see the level of the Mississippi River yet again!
We were on the road early Monday morning making our way to the West Bank (that looks like it is South of New Orleans if you look on a map) to Marrero for our Swamp Adventure! Thankfully the weather was again great as we headed into the marsh areas on an airboat. Besides alligators we also saw a turtle, some long legged water birds, a snake, and a raccoon.
This was the biggest gator we saw. The guide, Steve, said you can tell an alligator's age by measuring the distance from their eyes to their snout. For every inch you assume a year. Also, this guy had rounded teeth so we guesstimated he was about forty years old!! Apparently gators love marshmallows because the Steve baited him closer to our boat with them! During the tour everyone on the boat got to hold a baby alligator! Steve was definitely a native of south Louisiana because he had quite the accent. He was a really nice fella and knew a lot about the area. 
That afternoon we went to the Old New Orleans Rum distillery for a tour of the facility. It is a rather small operation, but it was cool to see and hear how the rum is aged. At the end we got to sample four different kinds: Crystal, Amber, Cajun Spice, and their 10 Year Special Addition.
We ended up back in the Quarter once again, this time we stopped in at Meltdown Popsicles for some unique flavored treats. I got a Strawberry Basil pop, mom got Sweet Lime Basil, and dad tried the Watermelon Ginger. All of the cold concoctions are made in shop in small batches. We took our popsicles to the French Market where we checked out all of the vendor's booths and split a mini crawfish pie. Dinner that evening was at Fresco Cafe, a little pasta, pizza, sandwich place. Once we finished up we drove out to the movies and watched Bridesmaids. Dad commented that the theater was bigger than a city block in Lexington!
After the movie it was late and time for everyone to turn in for the night. In the four days they were in town we put over 225 miles on the rental car and used five different Groupon/Living Social deals! With nearly everything on our itinerary checked off I would say that though it was a fast paced visit, it was a lot of fun! I am glad that we got to take in so much and see tons of things I had not even seen since living here! Besides Friday's showers, we could not have asked for better weather. Overall a great success in my book!!
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