One Smith Day: 2/1/13

After a long hiatus . . . we're back!

We left early Saturday morning to head toward New Orleans and a field trip we had planned with our friends.

Fun freeway driving!

I'm closer than I appear.

After parking we decided to take the kids on a little adventure because we were early.

New Orleans has a system of streetcars.

street·car
noun \ˈstrēt-ˌkär\

Definition of STREETCAR

: a vehicle on rails used primarily for transporting passengers and typically operating on city streets

We kept calling them trolleys.

¹trol·ley

noun \ˈträ-lē\

plural trolleys also trollies

Definition of TROLLEY

dialect English : a cart of any of various kinds

a : a device that carries electric current from an overhead wire to an electrically driven vehicle

b : a streetcar powered electrically through a trolley —called also trolley car

: a wheeled carriage running on an overhead rail or track

Turns out we were right - although I recommend calling them streetcars so as not to offend the locals.

Anyway, we bought everyone (except Matthew who got to bum a ride for free) 1-day Jazzy Passes for unlimited rides on the streetcar for the day.

At the streetcar stop there was an advertisement for Zatarain's made out of beans.

Kids on the Riverfront Line.

We got off at the famous Cafe du Monde stop, but the lines were out the door on both sides so we decided to skip the beignets. We can get pretty good beignets here in Baton Rouge anyhow.

So, we walked up some stairs to check out the view.

Jackson Square

~~Horse~~ Mule-drawn carriages for hire.

We walked up onto the levee and saw a man playing jazz on his saxophone.

Then we headed back to the van to pick up the stroller and go to the Imax/Aquarium to meet our friends.

We started out with a 3D movie about coral reefs.

Then we toured a rain forest area.

I forgot to take a picture of the penguins - they were cute.

We found some sharks.

Three Smiths and their friend's hand.

James and the boys.

Peter was looking forward to seeing the seahorses. They were cool.

There was a little pirate ship for the kids to play on. Matthew slid down on his tummy.

Go Peter!!

Then there was a feeling tank full of stingrays.

No people were stung in the taking of this picture.

After that we visited a little play area.

One of my favorite parts of the Aquarium is this huge tank they have at the end.

It represents the Gulf of Mexico.

It's full of sharks

And stingrays

And lots of other fish

And the awesomest turtle - this picture doesn't do it justice. This thing was HUGE.

After we were done visiting the Aquarium we returned to the van and had a picnic lunch inside. We had planned to have a picnic in the park by the river but it had rained yesterday and then again while we were inside looking at fish.

Salami sandwiches and cookies hit the spot!

Then it was back on the streetcar for more adventure!

We rode down Canal Street to take in the sites.

We got off and crossed the street to hop on the St. Charles Line.

The St. Charles streetcars are green.

Riding the famous St. Charles Streetcar

The streetcars were quite busy and seemed a nice way to get around town - as long as you aren't in any kind of hurry.

Or you can pay this guy money to tow you around on his bike. Lots of options in New Orleans.

We rode the St. Charles line for a while and then transferred back to the Canal Street Line to head back to the river.

Walking in New Orleans.

We headed to the River Walk Mall to check it out.

There was a huge fountain there.

Me - in the midst of the kids! Matthew is sleeping here. He fell asleep on the streetcar.

There were decorative tiles all around the fountain.

We walked down to the end of the mall to show the kids the Navigator of the Seas.

It was cool to be so close to the ship and wave at some of the people who were sailing today.

The ship was supposed to leave at 4:30, but it never did. We got tired of waiting and went back into the mall. We ran into some of our friends at the Fudge Shop.