I just came back from New Orleans where my husband and I spent 4 days with our 18 year old twin daughters . If you are planning such a thing, good luck.
Day 1 – The Departure
In order to maximize our time on this short trip, I booked a 7:15 AM flight. I didn’t mind the 4:45 AM car ride to the airport but in truth, it did not set a very good tone for the day. Most of the afternoon felt like purgatory to me, similar to the days when they when they were toddlers and missed a nap. I felt stuck in the virtual space between 5pm and bedtime during which NOTHING MADE THEM HAPPY. It didn’t help that the sky was overcast and it was not (they reminded me constantly) as warm as I had promised. I wanted to tell them they should be grateful, and I wanted to tell them how their crappy disposition was ruining my day, and I wanted to put them on the next plane back to New Jersey. But I stayed positive and optimistic which definitely helped them stay as close to positive and optimistic as they could. We managed to get to Jackson Square, through the French Market with a couple of light happy moments, past all the live jazz and noise and I didn’t even complain when the dinner I planned was cancelled because ‘everything on the menu sounded weird.’ They didn’t even want a beignet which was top on my list! After a million blocks of tolerance we found a placed called the Clover Grill where you can have acceptable diner food served by exceptional cute young men, this definitely helped the mood. The menu had some interesting choices like this one:
After fries and grilled cheese sandwiches we took our babies back to the hotel for two stoic episodes of Modern Family and a family game of UNO which turned out to be the remedy. There’s nothing more satisfying for teenagers then hearing dad call “UNO!” only to fix it so that he has to skip his next turn and add four cards to his hand on his turn after that. We went to bed on a good note but I was praying for a better tomorrow.
- Travel Tip 1 Remember that you too were once a teenager, even though it may be a painful admission of guilt, and also pack an UNO card game.
Day 2 – The Swamp
We woke up to better weather and a happier outlook, eating a good hot southern breakfast. Between us we had sausage, grits, biscuits, waffles, eggs, coffee, and muffins, and then we got off on the wrong foot with the car rental delay. The girls were pretty tolerant during the wait, but any down time is dangerous for us parents of teens who have cell phones. Moods can change on a dime and when we finally hit the road they had gone quiet. It was a long drive to airboat tour I planned for us but they did engage us in amicable light conversation and we arrived in our true family form – one hour late. Luckily the folks at Airboat Adventure were kind and set us up with Arthur, owner and our sea captain. I had no expectations for this excursion and I had no idea Airboats went so fast! I held my breath as the the boat zoomed through mud and swamps to our first stop and I repeated ‘have faith in Arthur’ in order to relax. I was pretty calm until a 12 foot gator named Big Al came over to the boat and ate raw chicken. Arthur gave me a pole so I could bop Big Al gently on the snout if climbed on board while Arthur wasn’t looking. There were several more of Arthurs gator buddies to meet that morning and my daughters were able to pet these giant reptiles. But, I didn’t understand that the reason they handed me their cell phones was to video the great reptile encounter nor did I even take a single picture. I wanted to enjoy the moment and watch and when I revealed that to them, well, thank goodness we were about to have lunch. Now, I can’t say enough good stuff about the crawfish, shrimp, gator bites (sorry Big Al) and the catfish platters. After we ate we went outside where there was some cool stuff for relaxing and taking pictures. Full, and happy again, we enjoyed the Garden District as a detour on the way back to the hotel. It was a little overwhelming to see, all the mansions and all the shopping and more food. But Magazine Street? That street is hip. Back at the hotel for a couple of hours to rest and to regroup just in time for the hotel’s free happy hour which put some bbq sliders and macadamia nut cookies in everybody’s tummy and set a good blood sugar level for our nighttime haunted carriage ride around the French Quarter. I can’t say I loved it, none of us felt scared or was crazy about the guide, but it was cool to see New Orleans at night like that, and when it was over we were near Cafe Du Monde where we all went and loved the coffee and hot beignets.
- Travel Tip 2: Keep them well fed, a good dessert can go a long way.
DAY 3 – The Big Event
The plan was to go the New Orleans Jazz Fest 2019 opening day. But the thunder, rain and tornado warnings changed all that. We hung around the hotel (where the pool was closed) waiting for the weather to improve but by 1pm I was worried that one of would say something we’d later regret so I made lunch reservations and called a Lyft. The food was good, the dessert was great and as much as we tried to be happy and dry indoors, we ultimately had to leave the restaurant. Still in the midst of a downpour, we donned some dollar store ponchos and took a wet walk to the most unvacationlike place I could think of – the Riverwalk Outlet Mall. But to be honest, I was also grateful it was open and close by. Once inside, the girls quickly found Forever 21 and a robot that served up frozen yogurt while I found Café Du Monde and a good hot cup of coffee. By the time the rain stopped it was too late and muddy for us to go to Jazz Fest so we walked back to the French Quarter and spent the early evening hours walking in and out of galleries until by a stroke of dumb luck we crashed right into a pirates wedding. I thought it was just a pirate themed tour but I heard the pirate officiator speaking and we stopped. There they were. The newest Mr. & Mrs. in full pirate garb with a band of drunken pirates surrounding them. Ahoy Matey! We had no eye patches or bandanas to blend in so we didn’t stick around for long but frankly, it was such a great way to wind up ending the day so we soon packed it in and walked back to the hotel tired, and wearing soggy shoes.
- Travel Tip 3: Pack dollar store ponchos and always march onward, through the rain.
DAY 4 – The Rescheduled Big Event
The unfortunate part about going to Jazz Fest on our last day was that we were flying home at 7pm and would have to miss the headlining bands. It was crowded and crazy and fun, and everything was new and interesting and cool PLUS the weather was perfect. We ate and drank and took in all the music and art we could between noon and 4pm when the walk back from the festival to the transport center was much hotter and much longer than we remembered going in, but lucky for us there was a welcome center with a bar and a cook, bathrooms and air conditioning. We sought to restore ourselves a bit before the final leg of the trip out of New Orleans and that is precisely when I read an email that said our flight had been delayed by 2 hours. What’s worse than having a flight delay when you are ready to go home? Telling your teenagers about it. I tried my best to not react, to not point out that I am only the messenger, blame the airline, all is not lost, it will be okay. Yes, we could have stayed at the festival. No, we couldn’t go back. We had comfortable seats, something cold to drink and we needed to choose to get in the car and leave, or stay outside of Jazz Fest and listen, at least for a while, until the heat and sore feet and the delay got the better of them and if I’m being honest, we all had really had enough.
On the airplane waiting to disembark in New Jersey at 1:15 AM, I asked my husband, “Do you remember where we parked the car?”
He said “Yes, in lot B near the post marked B1,” and then he asked, “You have the car keys right?”
I said, “No I haven’t seen them the whole trip. You don’t have them?”
He paused a minute, looked at me and said, “I looked, but I can’t find them.” This was followed by a brief mutual silence. “I was hoping you had them.”
We asked the girls if they had, or had at least seen the car keys. “No.” they both said followed by, “Are you saying that you don’t have car keys?”
All four of us, at that moment, watching the checked bags go round and round the luggage carousel started to laugh. It was the best laugh from the whole trip.
- Travel Tip 4: Keep the faith, and don’t forget to laugh.
