California- February 2017 - Day 1

February 8, 2017 (Wednesday)

Trip time!! CA here we come…again! We had a morning flight out to LAX. The flight was good other than for some reason we ended up in the very last row on the plane – we did not pick those seats when we booked our flight. On the positive note the flight attendants were very nice and let us pick a meal for free. Amazingly we still had to wait for our bags at the luggage carousal.

The car rental location was pretty far from the airport (we booked with Alamo). Luckily there was not a line and we were able to get the car pretty fast. Mike selected a Dodge Dart, which was not bad other than the lack of charging capabilities (no USB charging ports).

Beach at Dana Point

We headed to Capistrano Beach, it was quite foggy so we did not get great views.  After the beach we headed to Dana Point for lunch at The Shwack Beach Grill. The food was just okay, which was kind of disappointing since the place had a really good trip advisor rating (#2 for Dana Point).

Continuing down the coast we stopped at the visitor center in Oceanside. We checked out the harbor and the strand. The pier in Oceanside is supposed to be really neat also, but since it was still very foggy we did not walk it.

It was getting to be late afternoon so we decided to just go check-in to the place we were staying – Riviera Oaks Resort and Racquet Club, which was up in the hills of Ramona. The place was really nice and it was very quiet. 

Year in Review - 2016

From a nearly missed flight to Miami, a family outing to the Kentucky Derby, followed by a week long trip out west to celebrate my parents 40th anniversary, a long weekend down in NC were we got to visit some SC friends, followed by my Keep Collective Annual Training which was down in Charlotte, NC (sorry I did not blog about that - it was a whirl-wind trip),  then a trip to Napa, CA to visit our first nephew.  That was not the end of it - then we road tripped down to Virginia Beach, and we closed the year with a trip with my sister to New Orleans!

We had a great time on all of our trips in 2016 and are looking forward to another year of amazing trips for 2017!

Our tentative travel plans for 2017 include trips to: San Diego and Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Las Vegas (Keep Collective Annual Training), Northern MI/MN/WI (Isle Royale!), and possibly Colorado.

New Orleans - November 2016 - Day 3 & 4

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Mardi Gras Tree - Tulane University

Again we ventured out early, this time we drove to the area that we were exploring – the Garden District.  Our first stop was the Tulane University to check out the Mardi Gras tree – a tree that is loaded down with Mardi Gras beads – quite a sight! Next we headed to the coffee shop, Still Perkin’, which was near where we were going to take part in another Free Tours by Foot tour. We had a little time to kill so we walked around the neighborhood prior to the start of the tour.  Originally, we had planned to take the streetcar, but my sister had really wanted to do a swamp tour and the time frame of the tour would have made getting back to get the car tight so we drove, which worked out okay since there was a decent amount of parking available in the Garden District.

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1

Our tour guide for the Garden District Tour was Denver Mullican. The tour started with a visit to the Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, which just happens to be the oldest of the seven municipal, city-operated cemeteries in New Orleans. The cemetery is a non-segregated, non-denominational cemetery, with immigrants from over 25 different countries. The cemetery was first planned back in 1832. There are about 500 sealed wall vaults along the exterior of the cemetery. The wall vaults were very important. A body had to lay in rest for a year and one day before being moved. Once a coffin or casket is placed into the tomb (or wall vault) it is sealed with brick and mortar for the minimum one year and one day. After the time period has ended the tomb may be re-used, but removing the seal, separating the human remains from what is left of the casket and then replacing the remains back into the tomb (either pushed to the rear of the vault or placed in the bottom). The casket is disposed of and the next body can be interned.  There are 1,100 family tombs and more than 7000 people buried in the single city block of the Lafayette Cemetery No 1. We also learned a bit about French law – lawyers with a law degree in the state of LA can only practice in the state of LA, those with degrees from other states are also not allowed to practice in LA. Finding who owns a tomb is a long tedious process since there are so many splits in the family tree. This is often the reason why the tombs become in disrepair. We spend about an hour of the two hour tour in the cemetery – it was very interesting! After the cemetery we walked around the neighborhood, where our guide pointed out some celebrity houses – Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, Nicholas Cage’s old house, the home there Eli and Payton Manning grew up and parents still live.

Manning House

We grabbed lunch nearby at the VooDoo BBQ & Grill. It was tasty, it is a local chain place.  Then we headed to the Cajun Encounters for the Honey Island Swamp tour we had scheduled. If you drive to the swamp tours are $29 for adults and $19 for kids under 12, there is an AAA discount available and there were also $5 coupons in the visitor guide books. They offer pick up from New Orleans, but those are substantially more expensive. The boats they use carry 22 people.  It was cloudy outside so there was not much wildlife other than birds. My sister really had her hopes set on seeing an alligator. 

Cajun Encounters Tour

Cajun Encounters is pretty close to the Mississippi state line was we drove across so now we can say we visited the state – looked pretty much the same as Louisiana. J

Once arriving back to the rental house, we headed back out to Frenchman Street for some more music.  We ended up going back to The Maison. The first band (Royal Street Winding Boys) that was on we liked but then the next one (Leah Rucker) we did not really like.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Baton Rouge Capitol

My sister had to get an early start on the day since she wanted to drive back to her home in MO before dark.  She dropped us off at the airport, where we picked up a rental for the day.  We have been visiting a lot of capitol buildings (we are now up to 22!) so we headed up to Baton Rouge to see Louisiana’s. The capitol building was really tall (34 floors), the 7^th tallest building in Louisiana and the tallest capitol in the United States. The capitol has been in a few places before being at its current location. There was a park next to the complex that included an old armory building. On the other side of the complex,  were some barrack buildings. There really was not a lot to do in Baton Rouge – a lot of museums were closed on Mondays. The old state capitol building is not too far from the new one and we were able to view behind a fence.

Heading back to New Orleans, we stopped for lunch at a place called John Michael’s Good Eats in Geismar. They have a very large menu. I had the chicken fajita wrap and it was very tasty. We still had some time so we drove to the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center – park of the Jean Lafitte NPS. There were a lot of displays to look at and a few video options available. 

Before we knew it, it was time to return the rental car and fly back home. The flight home was not overbooked; however, once we landed we couldn’t find one of the suitcases. We had to file a missing bag. The airline delivered the bag the next day before noon.

New Orleans - November 2016 - Day 2

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Louis Armstrong Park

We got an early start on the day, heading to Café Du Monde (Café of the World) to try the beignets. The café has been around since 1862!  The beignets (French doughnuts) are smothered in powdered sugar so eating them is a bit of a challenge. They were pretty good. I did awesome and didn’t get any powder on myself, my sister on the other hand got powder all over her pants! Luckily it wiped off!

Andrew Jackson - Jackson Square

After our morning treat, we walked around the French Quarter area and headed to the Louis Armstrong Park. They were setting up for the Treme Creole Gumbo Festival, but nothing was happening when we were there and we never got a chance to head out there later in the day.  The park is pretty, with bridges, sculptures, fountains and gardens. Back in the day, the park was home to Congo Square, which was a place that slaves gathered on Sundays to sing, play drums, sell homemade goods and socialize.

The Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve French Quarter Visitor Center opened at 9am, so we checked that out. There were some displays of local culture to view at the French Quarter visitor center.

St. Louis Cathedral - Jackson Square

We had arranged to take a walking tour of the French Quarter, which met in Jackson Square. Jackson Square adeptly had a statue of Andrew Jackson on horseback. St. Louis Cathedral is located in the square. The Cathedral is the oldest Cathedral in North America – founded in 1720! We opted to try the Free Tours by Foot (you tip them as to what you think the tour was worth – other companies often charge about $20). Our guide was Kathy Harrell.  There were a lot of tours to pick from, many of them offered at more than once per day.  The tour seemed very popular, as ours was pretty much full (1 space left).  I would suggest booking your tour a few days in advance. The guide will email you the details about where to meet and other miscellaneous information.  Our tour started with a background on the local history and then we proceeded to walk around the French Quarter, learning about additional facts as we went. The tour lasted about two hours. The guide gave us all sorts of recommendations, we selected our lunch based on one of them – Nepolean’s. They are well known for the Pimm – a gin based drink.  The food was just okay, but Mike and my sister liked the Pimm’s. We had to wait about 15-20 minutes for a table. While we were waiting for the table we went down the street to Leah’s Pralines. Leah’s Pralines has been a main stay in New Orleans since 1944. There were a lot of different samples. We brought some Bacon Pecan Brittle for our dad – I am sure he will love it!

Colorful Houses in New Orleans

The New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park Visitor Center is under construction so there is a temporary visitor center set up at the Old Mint.  The Old Mint itself had a nice display on the main floor of the building – lots of pretty old coins. The second floor of the building is set up with the Jazz stuff.

We had been out for quite a while and decided to go back to the house for a rest before venturing back out for dinner. We decided to try some pizza for dinner, so we headed to a place called Mona Lisa. Very cute little place - Mona Lisa’s everywhere you looked. The pizza was good, as was the garlic bread. The place was quite busy, we had a 20 minute wait, but by the time we left the line was much longer.  We wondered over to Bourbon Street, but it was pretty busy and we decided just to head back to Frenchman Street before heading back to the house.

New Orleans - November 2106 - Day 1

Friday, November 11, 2016

Time for another adventure!  This adventure took us down to New Orleans! We  booked our flight a few months in advance - $206 for Delta tickets! My sister joined us for the trip, but she ended up driving from SE Missouri since the flight options for her were about double what we paid. It worked out well with her driving since she could pick us up from the airport and we had our own transportation to our out of the city outings – plantation and swamp tour.

We were very worried that we were not going to make our flight because it was overbooked and we did not pay the extra money to select a seat when booking. When we arrived at the gate, they were offering $600 to take a different flight. The other flight options would not really work well since we were only going to be visiting New Orleans for a short time and my sister was already more than half way to the airport to pick us up.  The flight time kept getting closer and people still were not interested in bumping their flight. At the very end, they ended up offering $1000, lunch and dinner food vouchers and a hotel stay to get people to take a different flight. Luckily , they had enough volunteers and we were able to get on the flight as planned, but boy oh boy, just think of all the trips we could have made with that big of a travel voucher!

The flight was smooth and arrived about 20 minutes early. Prior to landing, Delta provided all passengers a chocolate truffle in honor of Veterans Day.

Oak Alley Plantation

Once my sister picked us up, we headed to the Oak Alley Plantation. It was about a 45 minute drive from the airport. There was a large parking lot (free parking). Ticket price for adults was $22. There was an AAA discount available. Oak Alley was built in the 1830’s, a time when sugar was king. Oak Alley was restored in 1925 and placed in a trust when that owner passed away. The most impressive part of the site are the double row of giant live oak trees, which form the 800 foot long alley that leads from the road to the front of the house. The trees were planted before the home was constructed. Many things have been filmed at Oak Alley – the movie Interview with a Vampire, the soap opera Days of our Live, Beyonce music video for Déjà Vu, and many commercials. We had lunch while at plantation.

Chalmette Battlefield

After leaving the plantation, we headed to the Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery – part of the Jean Lafitte NPS (read more about below). The site was quite small and did not have a ton to see or do.  There was a medium size display area inside of the visitor center.  We did learn about how the War of 1812 effected the area. It was the last great battle of the War of 1812. The fighting took place in January of 1815, technically the treaty ending the war was signed late in 1814. General Andrew Jackson hastily assembled an army that was able to defeat the British forces which largely outnumbered them. Jackson was hesitant to accept the help of Jean Lafitte (a known pirate who ran a smuggling and privateering enterprise of the nearby Barataria Bay). British Lieutenant General Pakenham had hoped to attack in foggy conditions, but the sun cleared the fog and made the British army easy targets. Jackson’s army lost about 100 men and the British Army about 2000, including 3 generals and 7 colonels.  The fighting lasted only about 30 minutes.

Next we checked in at the rental house. We waited too long to book a hotel, plus hotels were going to charge $35-$45 to park overnight so renting a house that provided free parking was a good option.  The house we stayed at was on Elysian Fields. The location was nice – not far to walk to the French Quarter area. The house was a shotgun style home – long and narrow. It was quite a mix-match of style. The place was not the cleanest – the surfaces were dirty and dusty. The bedding and towels were clean and the trash cans were empty but that was about it. Considering you get charged a cleaning fee, I would expect the place to be much cleaner.

Once we were all unpacked, we headed out in search of food and music.  Frenchmen Street was the closest most popular area we were near. We decided on The Maison. The food was good and reasonably priced. The band (Dinosaurchestra) was also entertaining. After we left the restaurant, we walked around Frenchman Street – the Frenchmen Art Market was open. Lots of really neat art. My sister got a really cute key holder. (please send me a picture to use)

Virginia Beach - October 2016 - Days 4 & 5

October 2, 2016 (Sunday)

Cape Henry Lighthouse

We headed to Fort Story to check out the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse. The lighthouse is on an active military base so you will have to get your vehicle searched, which is not nearly as bad as it sounds. It takes only a few minutes. There are actually two lighthouses, the oldest one was built in 1772. In 1878, it was found to be unsafe due to cracking on the walls and the wooden staircase being soaked in oil from the lantern.  The new Cape Henry Lighthouse was completed in 1881 and was built in cast iron – it is not open to the public. The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse was the first federal constructed project under the Constitution. There is a fee for climbing the lighthouse – cost varies – with AAA it was $7. Once to the top you are rewarded with beautiful ocean views (it was quite warm up at the top).

While at Fort Story, we visited the Cape Henry Memorial, which is a part of the Colonial National Historical Park. Cape Henry first landed in America on April 26, 1607 and then on May 13, 1607 the Jamestown settlement was established. The site is comprised of a Memorial Cross. There is a nice boardwalk which provides lovely ocean views! We were able to view some dolphins and a submarine!

After a quick lunch, we headed out to the Virginia Beach boardwalk to check out more art booths and some music. It was a bit rainy, but we did not melt.

One of my sister’s friends lives in the Virginia Beach, so we were able to meet up with her and her family for dinner.  After dinner, they took us on a tour of some of the local military bases – so neat seeing the ships up close!

October 3, 2016 (Monday)

George Washington Birthplace National Monument

It was time to head back in the direction of home. We stopped to visit the George Washington Birthplace National Monument (no fee).   First stop was the visitor center where they had many displays and a video.  The site was established in the 17^th century by Englishman, John Washington (George Washington’s great-grandfather), as a colonial plantation. George Washington was born on the site on February 22, 1732. We took the guided tour, which got us into the house that is on-site. It should be noted that the home that is there is not at all related to George Washington.  The home that Washington was born in was destroyed in a fire in 1779. The grounds are very pretty.

Cannon at the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP

One last NPS site to visit on the way home - Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. There are four different battlefield sites to visit. We visited two of them. There was a video to watch at the visitor center and driving tours to take at the different sites. Not a lot to see, but interesting.

Continuing toward home, we stopped to eat at a place called Angus & Ale in Berkeley Springs, WV. It was okay just okay. There was not a lot of food options around that were open.

With one last night on the road and we stopped at the Holiday Inn Express in Cranberry Township, PA.  It was probably one of the worse Holiday Inn Expresses that we have ever stayed at. 

Virginia Beach - October 2016 - Day 3

October 1, 2016 (Saturday)

It started out as a very rainy morning.  We stopped by the grocery store to get some lunch food before heading north up the Atlantic coast. We took the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which was quite unique. The Bridge Tunnel is 23 miles long! It is one of only ten bridge-tunnel systems in the world. Taking the Bridge Tunnel saves motorist 95 mile and about 1 ½ hours!

Since it was rainy, we just happened to be driving by the NASA missile launch facility visitor center – Wallops Flight Facility is the official name.  Wallops is NASA’s principal facility for management and implementation of suborbital research programs. It was free to go in and check out the exhibits.  We spent maybe 30 minutes to an hour there. 

Wild horse at Assateague Island National Seashore

Lighthouse at  Assateague Island National Seashore

Continuing north, we finally reached our first planned destination for the day – Assateague Island National Seashore – Toms Cove Visitor Center in Chincoteague Island, VA.  There is a $5 entrance fee – or free with pass. There were a ton of mosquitoes in the area.  Lucky for us, the rain pretty much stopped by the time we finished a quick lunch in the truck. On the drive to the visitor center, we did not see any wild horses, but on the way out we saw quite a few! The visitor center was relatively small with just a few displays (mostly aquatic life) and a book store area.  There was a guided walk that was about to start, but we opted not to go on it since we wanted to get to the other portion of the park (about an hour farther north).

Sunset from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Assateague Island National Seashore has a second visitor center in Maryland. There is an $8 entrance fee – or free with pass. We saw lots of wild horses at the Maryland location! We headed to the visitor center first. This visitor center was a lot larger and had more displays and the short video was worth the watch.  We visited the lighthouse, which provided lovely views.

After we got back to Virginia Beach, we had a quick meal at the hotel and then headed out to the boardwalk. It was a total coincidence that the Neptune Festival was going on during our visit. There were art exhibitors, beach volleyball tournaments, fireworks and a sand castle building contest. The fireworks lasted probably about 20 minutes and were okay.