Friday, April 2, 2010
We didn't set an alarm for this morning, we decided to just sleep until we were ready to get up - that happened to be 7:30am. We got ready and packed our things and got them into the car, then we had a little breakfast before heading out. There were a few boxes we wanted to find before leaving Baton Rouge. Our first stop was at Baton Rouge Community College and it was a great day to be there. The campus was deserted so it made it easy to look for boxes and not be seen. We found both boxes that we looked for here and once we had stamped in and had the boxes back in place it was time to head to another location. That location was the USS Kidd. It is docked near the River Center and is a museum now. Again, we found both boxes we looked for but this time it took a lot more stealth.
This place was a lot busier that the last and it took us several tries and lots of waiting before we were able to retrieve both boxes - but eventually we got them, stamped in and then replaced them into their hiding spots.At this point we decided to put letterboxing on hold and do a little sightseeing. We drove to the Capitol and made our way inside. Our intent was to go up to the observation deck but that wasn't to be. They have had in closed since last July and it isn't scheduled to be reopened until April 12th (and by that time we will be back home). So we walked around the main entry, saw the House and Senate chambers and read about Huey Long's assassination. We then returned to the car and were about to head out and make our way to Lafayette when my brother called me. He and his wife were not too far from Baton Rouge so we decided to meet up for lunch. Thomas and I had about 30 minutes to kill so we decided to look for one more letterbox until they arrived. We drove to LSU and found Mama Cache's Skiouros letterbox. It was right were it was suppose to be and it was a quick and easy retrieval. I stamped in and rehid the box. By this time my brother was almost to Baton Rouge - so we picked a restaurant and met there. After a nice lunch and getting to know my new sister-in-law we all headed for Lafayette. Thomas and I made a pit stop on the way to my sister's house. I had a box I wanted to plant at the Lafayette Welcome Center.
I had a hard time finding a good spot but eventually found one that I think will work. After hiding the box we made our way to see the family.We arrived at my sister's house and in no time the whole family was together (except for my oldest nephew who is in Iraq, but he was there in thought). Tonight we had a crawfish boil. I ate so much and my stomach is very happy. It was good to see the family and we all had a great evening.
Easter Weekend
Saturday, April 3, 2010 and Sunday, April 4, 2010
We didn't do any letterboxing this weekend except for planting one box on Saturday. I placed a box on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Campus near Cypress Lake.
I think this is one of the best spots on the campus and I found a pretty good hiding spot. The rest of Saturday was spent visiting with the family and doing lots of eating. We had boudin, crawfish etouffee, cracklin and lots of desserts. On Sunday Thomas and I spent a little bit of the morning at Lake Martin just walking around. It was beautiful. We saw a couple of gators, lots of egrets and some turtles. We also saw one water moccasin and thankfully we where in the car and just saw it slither across the road. We then went to my sister's house for Easter lunch. My sister and brother-in-law decided to do a barbecue since the weather was so nice. It was an absolutely perfect day. Tomorrow we need to return to New Orleans for a very early flight on Tuesday.A Day in New Orleans and the End of the Trip
Monday, April 5 2010
This morning we told the family goodbye and headed for New Orleans. We were on the road by 7:15am and decided that we would have a relaxing day. We drove and made our first stop in Plaquemine at St. John's Cemetery. We stopped to find Blackberry Patch's Plaquemine Persimmon. We had a very nice time walking amongst all the old grave stones. I took a few pictures and then looked for the box. I found it right where it was supposed to be. I found a place to sit and stamped in and then rehid the box. From here we drove Hwy 1 to Donaldsonville and crossed the Sunshine Bridge. At this point we stopped for a little breakfast before taking I10 the short distance into New Orleans. We decided to make our first stop at City Park. We have never been to this park and we wanted to look for a few boxes and take some time to walk around. We looked for seven boxes and found five. The two we didn't find had notes in the clues that they may be missing.
The park is beautiful and it is hard to tell that it was under water after Hurricane Katrina. We spent about three hours in the park before moving on. From City Park we head to the French Quarter. I wanted to walk around here because I always enjoy this area. We went in and out of quite a few shops, had some beignets and then an early dinner at a little restaurant on Chartres Street. We walked to Jackson Square and sat and rested for a little while. I was happy to see the City so alive again. There were quite a few people and New Orleans seems to be regaining its old character. We decided we wanted to get a hotel close to the airport since our flight in the morning is pretty early. So here we are relaxing in the hotel and ready for our return to Santa Fe.
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