Louisiana Thanksgiving

For thanksgiving this year, Paul's mom flew down and we drove to Louisiana to spend the holiday with David's sister's family. Paul's mom had never been to New Orleans, and had just one request - to visit a cemetery. New Orleans cemeteries are indeed unique, since the high water table means all of the graves are built above ground. So on the day before thanksgiving we drove into the city and visited Lafayette Cemetery Number 2. There's nothing particularly special about this cemetery, we chose it because it looked typical and was near the garden district. We wandered around for a bit, checking out the spooky (and dilapidated) vaults and graves. From there we drove a short distance away and parked on first street and walked around the garden district, seeing the elaborate mansions. We walked by the Rosegate House, where author Anne Rice used to live, and the 1869 Italianate Carroll-Crawford mansion. We then had lunch at Atchafalaya, a popular spot in a converted house, with a local menu.   

Overview of the cemetery.

A burial vault in the cemetery.

A mansion in the garden district.

Lots of amazing iron work.

Some neat trees in the garden district.

A cool little restaurant!

Lunch time!

David with his brunch waffle.

We then drove over to the famous French Quarter, parking by Washington Square park in the nearby Marigny neighborhood and walking to the heart of the French Quarter. While incredibly touristy, this part of New Orleans is perhaps one of the best examples of urban design in the country. The architecture, walkability, and lively shops and restaurants all add up to an amazing neighborhood. Yes, Bourbon street is a mess at night. But during the day it's nice to wander around Royal street and Jackson Square.

First stop - the French Market. It's touristy but fun.

Walking through the French Market.

Jackson Square and the cathedral.

A band playing in Jackson Square.

A neat little alley.

There are signs throughout the district labeling former names - here, the Spanish name for Royal Street.

Colorful buildings!

Lots of great architecture to look at throughout the French Quarter.

Balconies and narrow streets. They should just ban cars completely here.

Of course we got some stuffed snowballs on the way home.

The next day was Thanksgiving, and we had a deep fried turkey! It was a relaxing day, hanging out with family, watching TV together, and going back for delicious leftovers.

Ricky starting the turkey.

Classic thanksgiving plate.

The day after thanksgiving we started with some coffee from Haven in downtown Covington. It's a delightful cafe and a good place to start the day. Ricky brought us some bikes and we went for a bike ride down the Tammany Trace to Mandeville. The Trace is a bike/ped trail along a former railroad, and cuts through forest and swamps. The rest of the family drove down and met us at the playground/beach in Mandeville. After hanging out for a bit, we stopped by The Candy Bank, a candy store located in a 1907 bank building.

The cute interior at Haven.

David and Natasha biking on the trace.

Mandeville Beach.

Always have to be careful in Louisiana!

Beautiful old tree in Mandeville.

That wrapped up our thanksgiving trip to Louisiana, and the next morning we drove to Atlanta, of course with an obligatory stop at Buc-ees on the way home. Lousiana, we'll be back!

St Lucia - Chocolate Making & Beach Day

The second half of our St. Lucia family vacation started with a lazy morning and breakfast at the Mango Tree Restaurant. Breakfast was included with our stay and was very hearty (pancakes or french toast, assorted breads/muffins, fruit, fresh juice, etc). It was a nice way to start each morning.

Can't beat these morning views!

There were lots of fruit trees at the resort, here's a banana.

A cat that hung around the restaurant.

Breakfast time!

Great morning views.

For later that morning, we had booked an 11:30am chocolate making class at the nearby Hotel Chocolate/Project Chocolate. St Lucia has a few large cocoa farms and there were also tours that took you back into the jungle on an hour hike to look through the plantation... we opted to just make the chocolate bars. 😉 The class was fun and pretty short. We learned how to grind the cocoa beans, add the cocoa butter and sweeten to taste. Afterwards, we put them in a mold and our instructor took the bars off to chill for a while so we could easily take them on our way.

After the class, we wandered around the Project Chocolate grounds overlooking the farms. They had a pretty newly renovated "food hall" of a few quick service vendors selling lunch foods, drinks and deserts as well as a bar. Many of these featured cocoa or chocolate in some way or another.

Paul and Betsy emulsifying their chocolate.

Views from the chocolate tent.

David grinding the nibs.

Everybody hard at work.

Family chocolate time!

Paul is shocked by the variety and quality of lunch at the Chocolate Project.

Back at the hotel, we opted to just hang out at the resort for the rest of the day while Paul's family went on an ATV tour of the south part of the island. We took advantage of some pool time and took a little stroll around the grounds, and also to the nearby UNESCO viewpoint and back to the Soufriere viewpoint. It was a nice relaxing afternoon.

Afternoon pool break.

The view of Petit Piton from the viewpoint just up the road from our hotel.

Later that evening, the resort had a "Caribbean buffet" planned for dinner, so we made our way down to the restaurant to check that out. The cost was a bit of a surprise at $50/person, but it was a good experience and it was nice to try lots of different small dishes. 

Which is it, resort pool? No Diving or Dive at your Own Risk?!

Sunset vibes from the Mango Tree Restaurant.

Not a bad way to end the day.

For our last full day in St Lucia, we again grabbed breakfast from the resort restaurant and then opted for a trip down to the nearby beach (Malgretoute Beach, AKA Paradise Beach). The little spit of sand was just about a quarter mile from our resort, but on a very steep road with no sidewalks, so we had to have a car take us. The beach itself was nice, if a little rocky. The water was warm and very clear. We probably should have brought or borrowed some snorkeling gear, but maybe another time.

After hanging out by the water for a bit, we wandered over to the beachside bar for a drink and lunch. Apparently, our resort has a deal with the bar and they were able to just charge everything to our hotel up the hill. It was here that Chad discovered how literal some St Lucians can be when he asked for a "cheeseburger with just lettuce, mustard and tomato" and received no meat. It was easy enough to sort out, but was a funny experience.

Morning dew with the Piton in the background.

Malgretoute Beach on a nice sunny day.

David chilling in the Caribbean.

We saw a number of shells on the rocky beach.

Tropical vibes.

Daquiri #[insert large number]

After the beach be went back to our villa, and of course the pool again. Later that afternoon we made our way back to the Mango Tree Restaurant for snacks and a drink before heading back to the villa for the evening. All-in-all a couple of chill/relaxing days.

Beer and views.

Beer from the Chocolate Hotel on our patio.

Fine, we'll have another drink.

David is too cool.

Sunset time.

The following morning we got up, grabbed our last breakfast and started packing/prepping for our return to Atlanta. Our transfer to the airport was planned at noon. On the drive we were able to see the nearby St Vincent (the next major island in the Caribbean chain to the south) about 90 miles away, which was pretty cool.

Little hand to help up the hill.

The resorts little shop.

Flowers for days around here.

St Lucia is a pretty solid vacation destination. You don't have to go the resort route, either. We ran into a family (from Michigan no less) that had rented a car and was staying at an Airbnb, so that's definitely a possibility here. If we had rented a car, we likely would have driven around and seen more of the island, including a trip up to the capital city of Castries... but that would have been logistically difficult with five people. We'd recommend if you're looking for a lounge-around trip that the area of St Lucia we stayed at (near Soufriere) is a good option. It's just about 45 minutes from the airport and easy to access. There were lots of other resorts/hotels either on the coast or up in the mountains and a variety of tours/excursions to keep you busy in-between relaxation time. At only a few hours from Atlanta by air, we've probably been slouching on the Caribbean, so maybe we'll be back to visit some of the other islands in the coming years!