Day Five: Dani’s Last Night in Town, October 30^th

Sunday is traditionally a day of rest but of course that didn’t happen for us. We started out with some more amazing food at this cool diner and made our plans to go on a swamp tour and venture out of town for the day. I felt unwell for quite a while but when it was time for the swamp tour to start I knew I had to rally.

The swamp was beautiful, we saw lots of birds and learned about the plants and such. Our tour guide Captain Ted was over the top to say the least, quite a character. We didn’t seen any alligators though! Probably because it was cooler and pleasant out.

The closest we got to a 'gater!

On our way back into town we stopped in the French Quarter to cross some New Orleans cuisine off our list, pescatarian style. To go with our bloody marys we tried blackened alligator, crawfish etouffe, oysters rockefeller, and seafood gumbo, it was all delicious!

Back at India House we knew we had to rally, it was Danielle’s (our Canadian friend who sounds straight out of Alabama and is super duper awesome) last night in town! We had a whole new set of costumes to break out too. Dani decked out as a flannel-clad Canadian and we made an axe so she could regulate Bourbon Street. Rach and I had picked up

Eleoink!

these little kid costumes at the Wal-mart in Alabama. Each consisted of a little animal had and matching (or not) clip on tail. I was a dinosaur, Carasaraus to be specific. Rachel was a tiger, growllll, in LSU territory no less. And Dakota, well Dakota had an elephant head but they were out of elephant tails so we had gotten her a cute pink pig tail instead. Dani dubbed her “Eleoink” a rare crossbreed haha!

The rest of our costumes consisted of work out clothes and comfy shoes, time for some active wear! We caught the street car with a medley of people in various costumes and if it was possible the people watching on Bourbon was better than ever! We had a blast and the only downer, which turned out to be quite funny was when the cab driver rudely told us “to just give me my money and go.” So I gave him exact fare $10.25 (quarter included) and told him that he wouldn’t get a tip for being so rude. Apparently I sounded like an old lady telling him off, if only I had the purse full of bricks to really give him a piece of my mind.

Day Six: HALLOWEEN, October 31^st

Halloween day! It felt like we’d already had Halloween but here finally it had arrived. We got up to see Dani off then fueled up with mimosas and dank breakfast and the adorable Ruby Slipper Cafe. Today’s destination was a plantation just outside of town. We headed out there with Louis, one of our beloved Aussie’s. Perhaps it was fate’s sense of humor but most plantations were closed on Mondays so the one we did find to go was a funny blend of history and not-so-much history haha. The tour of the house was interesting enough, especially learning how short people use to be! However, for the second time in two days we had a preachy tour guide. The people on the tour with us also had very little sense of history which provoked some entertaining questions. After the tour we got to wander around the grounds which was the best part! Dakota and I chased chicken/turkey things, we checked out some old buildings, played with spanish moss, and got candy on our way out!

Back in town we hit up the drugstore for the necessities: cash, postcards, drink fixings, and a bottle of champagne! It is our last night in New Orleans after all! After some down time we broke out the final costumes: Fairies!

Dakota truly out did herself! She made each of us tutus and wings, each in different colors and completely unique. We used the extra fabric to make armbands, anklets, sashes, whatever else we could think of to add. To top it all off we went crazy with eye gems, shimmer makeup, and body paint! It was like getting to be a kid again and playing dress up. I may have had the best time just getting ready haha! The rest of the night was fun as well but very crowded again. We made our way back to the hostel before too long and just hung out there, chatting and enjoying a warm Halloween. Our timing worked out well as there were shootings down on Burbon! Everyone who came in talked about the horrid traffic and that the cops had blocks shut down, pretty nuts! We were very content to be far away from that.

Day Seven: We WILL be back, November 1st

Tuesday morning we loaded Velma up once again and headed to Magazine Street for our final New Orleans meal and to say good bye to friends. At this point we were all starting to run out of energy, we had given New Orleans our all! Saying “see you soon” we headed out of New Orleans for Atlanta passing through Mississippi in true road trip style.

Until next time NOLA!

With love from the road,

Cara