New Orleans with 6 year old is fun, fun, fun!

Old Mar 21st, 2011, 07:57 PM
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New Orleans with 6 year old is fun, fun, fun!

I just returned from spending a week in Louisiana with my 6 year old son. We visited relatives for a few days, then spent 3 days in New Orleans.

Having grown up close enough to New Orleans that it was easy to get to, but not close enough that you could get tired of it, it's interesting how ever since I first visited the city as a 12 year old, up until now, I can't find a way to not enjoy the city.

It seems everytime I think I've figured out the mysteries of the Crescent City, my life changes and I return there and see that the city is even far more interesting than I ever had dreamed of.

On this trip, it was most apparent to me why they say "Mardi Gras is for the children." That had escaped me up until I saw the St. Patrick's Day parade in the French Quarter with my son. Obviously, the debauchery of Mardi Gras doesn't exist at St. Patrick's Day, so you get to see what Mardi Gras was like prior to frat boys and wild tourists visiting and actually changing Mardi Gras to what they think it should be. As my son was totally bewildered with awe and happiness at the St. Patty's Day parade and the music, the beads, the revelry, as large smile came upon my face. I finally got it.

That being said, let me get to my trip report...

First things first, hotel: I bid $80 for a 4 star hotel in the FQ/CBD/GD and it came up with the Hilton Riverside. That is fine, except they charge $40/valet and $34/self parking. I figured I'd just park at Canal Place, as they charge $25/day. Both times I've used priceline for New Orleans, I've gotten a room at the Hilton Riverside. I can't complain, the hotel couldn't be in a better location, and I like the hotel overall. With a kid, I don't care about ambiance, I just want convenience and this hotel has it.

We ended up getting into town a bit late because of an accident on the Atchafalaya Swamp Expressway (I-10 bridge portion over the swamp), that caused us to only have time to check in and then get a bite to eat.

We took the Riverfront Streetcar to the Quarter and then headed to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. I would never eat at a place like this unless I had a kid, but since I'm somewhat of a parrothead myself, I secretly wanted to eat there anyway, lol! I had a cheeseburger in paradise (duh) that I washed down with Landshark beer and my son had mac 'n' cheese. This place is great for kids but that's about it (and like I said, I love Jimmy Buffett's music).

ASIDE: One of my son's favorite things about New Orleans was the streetcars. He wanted to take them everywhere, even wanted to wait when it would be faster to walk. If you have kids, get a day pass and take the streetcar around town! END ASIDE

The next day we took the streetcar to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait (for me) and OJ (for him). The beignets were good but our waitress only brought out 5 beignets when we ordered 2 orders (6), and my son was hungry so I pointed that out "Maam, there are only 5 beignets and we ordered 6." She got really angry and yelled "Oh my God! I'll get them for you!" Weird how the smallest things set people off. Oh well, no tip for her for giving attitude like that. That being said, the weather was absolutely wonderful and sunny, and the musician was playing some good music. It was some combination soul/gospel/jazz stuff and I bought his CD. He was very thankful and said I was helping to rebuild his community as the price was basically a donation to rebuild his church. I was happy I was able to help such a worthy cause.

Next we took the streetcar to the Audubon Aquarium and we purchased the combo deal "Zoo, Aquarium, IMAX, and Insectarium". We booked a 5PM showing for the IMAX under the sea show for the next day.

After that we took the streetcar to the St. Charles line and then transferred. We were heading to the Audubon Zoo. When we got to the Audubon Park entrance, I had to make a decision as to whether we'd walk through the park (which is beautiful) or take the shuttle. I made a calculated decision that since we'd be walking a bit at the zoo, it may be better to save our feet for the zoo. So we waited for the shuttle. The shuttle was small and overcrowded and not everybody fit on. They ended up walking.

As to the Audubon Zoo... Now, the last time I went there, I was probably 20 or so, so I couldn't really remember it that well. One thing I noticed this time, however, after having visited many zoos, is that this zoo really is world class. On this beautiful, sunny and 78 degree day, when we walked into the zoo, with all the palm trees, live oak trees, and manicured/landscaped grounds, where everything is lush and green, I immediately began thinking "This is better than any zoo I've ever seen." and I've been to the San Diego Zoo as well. The layout is logical, it is flat so that makes walking easy, there are plenty of food options, the exhibits are wonderful, and the shuttle bus is nice if you need a break on the feet. To my son and me, the highlight of the zoo is the Louisiana Swamp Exhibit. It really captures the essence of the Louisiana swamps. It was cool to see the alligators as well.

Now, it was around 2:30 and we hadn't seen but half of the zoo, so it was time to speed things up as we had a 5PM IMAX movie to catch, and we had the shuttle and then streetcar to take to get back. I figured we'd stay an extra hour and then head out. So, we ended up taking the tram around the zoo and stopped at the various areas that interested us.

We then took the shuttle bus and then the streetcar back to Canal street. The St. Charles streetcar was jam packed as it was rush hour. We had to stand the whole way.
When we finally got back to Canal St, we had 5 minutes before the IMAX started, as it was 4:55. So we ran down Canal St. to the Aquarium and then checked in. We ended up being around 8 minutes late, but fortunately the IMAX was just finishing up the last preview. So things worked out.

More to come.
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Old Mar 21st, 2011, 08:02 PM
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Did she bring the 6th beignet?
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Old Mar 21st, 2011, 08:08 PM
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Yes dawling...
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Old Mar 21st, 2011, 08:09 PM
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Then why stiff her on the tip?
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Old Mar 21st, 2011, 08:18 PM
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Trip Report continued:

Now, we went back to the hotel to rest up a bit. I asked the concierge about food options. He mentioned that there was an Irish Parade in the Quarter at 6:30 and it was 7:05. He said I could probably still make it as it takes a while to get across the Quarter. So, we took the streetcar over to Decatur in front of Jax Brewery. I found a nice open spot where we'd be able to view the parade nicely. We hurried a bit, because I didn't know when the parade would get there. The plan was to watch the parade and then eat after, I figured we'd be done with the parade by 8:00 and then we'd get something to eat then.

Well, in typical New Orleans fashion, the parade didn't get in front of us until 8:30. Then, it lasted an hour, so it was 9:30 when it was wrapping up, and we still hadn't eaten. I felt so bad because had I known that the parade would have started at 8:30, then we would have had time for a nice leisurely dinner and then we could have caught the parade.

As the parade was wrapping up, I knew that I had to find a place where the lines were short, the service quick, and a kid friendly place at that. Then I recalled that they had built a Camellia Grill in the French Quarter. The original one is at Riverbend. So I looked up the address on my phone number and it said Chartres Street and we were on Decatur, so I knew that was one block away. I went one block up and voila, there it was. We walked right in, and voila there were two available stools. So we sat right down and I ordered my favorite omelette, the chili cheese omelette. Yummy! I had a Bloody Mary and a coffee with that. My son had pancakes and bacon and a chocolate cherry shake. The shakes are awesome there by the way.

We got back to the hotel room and my son immediately fell asleep. When that happens, you know that your child is tired, as children usually have a lot of energy.

We went to bed fully exhausted and we had a full day tomorrow: the Aquarium and the Insectarium.
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Old Mar 21st, 2011, 08:24 PM
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starrs, because she really had an attitude. She made me feel as if it was wrong for me to ask for what I paid for (her tone and inflection as well as body language indicated this). Instead of the "I'm so sorry, I'll take care of this right away" or "Your order is on the house since we made a mistake."
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Old Mar 21st, 2011, 08:33 PM
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Well you were there.
I was was there in December and was really impressed at how all the staff hustled. We sat and watched in amazement at how quickly they got food out to the constant flow of people coming in. Everyone - waitstaff, bus boys, etc. Based on that, I can't imagine stiffing a waitress because the person who plated the food put 5 on the plate instead of 6. I mean, you pointed it out and she brought the 6th beignet. Not sure why one would stiff a waitress for fixing the problem. My guess she was in a hurry, but then again you were there and I wasn't. I waitressed at college so I suppose I give them the benefit of the doubt vs assuming "attitude".
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Old Mar 21st, 2011, 08:35 PM
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Wait. ""Your order is on the house since we made a mistake.""
Comp the order of 5 because 1 was left off?
We really DO have different expectations.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2011, 05:08 AM
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What a great trip report - How nice it is to see somebody finding fun for different ages and especially keeping a young child happy in a city that doesn't really have that kind of reputation!
I want to see the zoo now myself!!
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Old Mar 22nd, 2011, 05:50 AM
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Thanks ccolor, glad you're enjoying the trip report.

Continued:

The next morning we were going to have breakfast at a different place, due to the problems the day before at Cafe Du Monde, but the streetcar was right there at the Hilton, so we just jumped right on, and since Cafe Du Monde was so convenient, we decided to go again. This time, I chose a table that was not near the waitress from the previous day. We had an older Vietnamese man who was very polite, yet efficient. He had the order out quickly and there were 6 beignets this time. I tipped him 25% for his good service. So overall my image of Cafe Du Monde is still not tainted, there are sometimes bad apples.

After that, we headed to the Aquarium of the Americas. Now, I hadn't been in this Aqarium for 17 years so I wasn't sure how it would be. Let me tell you this, it was extremely crowded, so crowded that I couldn't really enjoy the exhibits. The only areas that I didn't feel crowded in were the Amazon Jungle atrium area and the Mississippi River area. The exhibits are nice and I particularly love the atrium but overall the crowds made it difficult to fully enjoy the attractions.

I think the summer would be a better time to visit the Aquarium, as the summer is the low season in New Orleans when there aren't as many tourists. By the way, the crowds were everywhere in New Orleans when we were there, more than pre-Katrina in my opinion. The zoo had a lot of people, but it can absorb people more easily than an aquarium can. The parade was jam packed, but that's to be expected as New Orleans has one of the largest St. Patty's Day celebrations in the US.

That being said, there is a great view of the MS River from the Aquarium in the MS River exhibit. The design and overall feel of the Aquarium hasn't changed much from pre-Katrina and the facility doesn't appear aging at all. I presume they did a remodel after Katrina.

We left there at around 1PM to go get lunch. Hint: Don't buy lunch at the Aquarium unless you want to get ripped off.

I was hungry for some red beans and rice and we walked around Spanish Plaza and they were charging $15 for a plate. Now, that may be okay for tourists from somewhere else, but that's a bit much for that if you ask me, so we went to the food court in the Riverwalk and I had red beans and rice for half the price. I also had some fresh Louisiana seafood to go with it.

Next up was the Audubon Insectarium.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2011, 06:14 AM
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To tell you the truth, going to the Audubon Insectarium was the one thing I was most excited about visiting as I had never been and I also wanted to see how they remodeled the Custom House.

We walked up Canal to the building and went in. Starting out, I was not really that impressed, there were a few exhibits with insects, mostly dead/fossilized/preserved, but some live. But then there was a place where you get to go "underground" into the bug's world and everything is 100x larger than normal. There are sections where you can put you hand in a hole and feel something, I didn't dare ask what it was. It was really neat for the kids, every kid I saw loved it.

Then we headed down to the end. I knew you could eat bugs at the kitchen at the end, but I wanted to save that for later. So, we went through the various exhibits. On one of them, my son got to pet bugs. He enjoyed that a bit. Then, for the highlight (for the kids), the 4D movie. For those that don't know, a 4D movie is a 3D movie with special effects, like seats moving, mist being squirted at you, smells, etc... For instance, when a bee comes on the screen the seats vibrate. The kids enjoyed this and sometimes some kids screamed when some of the special effects were unannounced. Great job Audubon Institute!

The last part of the zoo is the Butterfly Exhibit. It is a butterfly sanctuary, a Japanese meditation garden as well. It is extremely peaceful in there. I believe they played soft music in there, but perhaps I'm imagining that. I stopped for a moment and just relaxed. There was a very nice (and attractive) worker there who explained the whole room. Because there are exotic butterfly species in that room, anything that leaves that room has to be cremated so it won't contaminate the outside world. They also have to keep the room between 75 and 85 degrees year round, with 75-85% humidity as the butterfly species only tolerate tropical temperatures. She said that workers in the winter time in other parts of the museum come into the reflection garden to warm up. I think she likes her gig.

From there we backtracked into the kitchen. Time to taste some insects. First, I had the cinammon crusted mealworms, then the spicy mealworms, then the cajun crickets. The cajun crickets tasted like sesame seeds. My son absolutely loved eating the insects as well. Then, came out favorite, chocolate chip chirp cookies, which are made with crickets. They are rather good.

Where else can you actually eat the subject of the museum itself? It's kind of like eating BBQ lion at a zoo don't you think?

One final note on the Insectarium: It's not really for adults. I just don't see adults enjoying this, so unless you have children, I would not recommend it. However, if you have children, this may be the 5 star attraction in New Orleans.

In any case, we left the Insectarium and it was time to wrap up our adventure. We returned to Canal Place, got our car, and headed out.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2011, 06:18 AM
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By the way, the restroom at the Insectarium is an original restroom at the custom house, preserved in all its glory. It's got to be the most elegant museum restroom I've ever been in!
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Old Mar 22nd, 2011, 07:20 AM
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And after eating the crickets you can use their little, skinny legs to clean your teeth instead of toothpicks?

LOL - sorry bkluvsNola, I had to do it!!
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Old Mar 22nd, 2011, 07:34 PM
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ccolor,

Actually, they cut the legs off the crickets prior to serving. They only serve the "meat" LOL !
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Old Mar 22nd, 2011, 07:36 PM
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About eating insects, the way I figured it was if it was good enough for John the Baptist and Jesus then it surely would be good enough for my son and me.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2011, 10:05 AM
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Thanks for the trip report. DH and I have been wanting to go back to NO but thought it wouldn't be good for the 2 and 5 yr. old. This report makes me think about it again.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2011, 11:40 AM
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Thanks for the report. We are heading to New Orleans next week with our teen boys and I was undecided about the zoo. It is now on the must do list. Your comment about your son and the streetcars made me smile. When my sons were that age they loved taking public transportation when we traveled and it was usually one of their trip highlights.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2011, 03:52 PM
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Loved your report! Thanks for writing!
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Old Mar 23rd, 2011, 04:54 PM
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swalter518,

I had a business trip when my son was 2 and so he had gone to New Orleans, but I didn't get to do much because I was in training. He went to the Children's Museum and did shopping with his mom at the time I think. He enjoyed it. One comment though: Some of the sidewalks in New Orleans are not particularly "stroller friendly". Some curbs don't have ramps and some sidewalks were made in the 1700's before there were strollers so they are not in the best shape!
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Old Mar 23rd, 2011, 04:58 PM
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wtm003,

Thanks for the comment. It was funny, my son forced us to take the streetcar to go just one block. I didn't complain as I had bought all day passes so the more we rode the streetcars, the best value.

One thing I didn't get to do was take the Canal streetcar to Angelo Brocato's and get some ice cream. It is the best ice cream shop in New Orleans. I had wanted to do that but simply ran out of time. Another thing I wanted to do was to take the streetcar to City Park and do all the kid attractions there, but again ran out of time.

Have fun in New Orleans!
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