Florida or Bust: New Orleans Easter Parade Madness, Daiquiris Through a Drive Thru and a Baton Rogue Come Down

Day 12

We arrived at our campsite late again. I couldn't believe we had to pay $20 flat. Why should we have to pay the same as RV's when we don't use any hookups?

We kind of got lost looking for Big Biloxi campground. GPS was not being our friend.

This was probably the worst campground yet.

I expect more from national forests.

We played parachute with Meadow. She didn't quite get it.

Our usual scenery along the coast.

Most of this area was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. There were only a few houses here and there.

After driving for an hour or so we were in Louisiana.

As it was Easter morning we didn't see anything open for breakfast. We also didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for brunch.

As we got into New Orleans, Scott and Blake spotted a cafe that we thought we would check out. Turns out it cost an arm and a leg.

We weren't going to pay $25 per person. We just don't roll like that.

We thought we would just park and walk around until we found something.

New Orleans felt different from anywhere else we were on the trip. Despite being hangry it was great to finally be in NOLA.

We realized we were near the French Quarter and headed towards that area. We noticed big crowds, I thought that was because it was a touristy area. As we got closer we realized we had stumbled onto a parade.

Everyone was having a good time.

I guess New Orleans just really likes parades for any reason.

Every float was throwing out beads, stuffed animals, cups, you name it.

Meadow was mesmerized by the crowd.

It felt like a family friendly version of Mardi Gras.

The folks in the parade were dressed in their Easter best.

It seemed like some people like us had just stumbled upon the parade.

The crowd really got excited when the confetti guns went off.

As fast as it started the parade finished and everyone went on their way.

Meadow got so much stuff and people kept giving us more.

She was pretty happy to have a new cadre of stuffed friends.

After that excitement we walked around looking for someplace to eat again.

It's amazing how European the city feels. It's not like any place I'd been in the states.

We decided to get something to eat in the French Market.

We went with a little place called Mother Nature's Cupboard. We all got po boys. I went with the crawfish.

Blake and I got the green tomato.

And then we walked some more.

We exited the French Quarter and went toward downtown.

It kind of felt like parts of Manhattan. I wasn't expecting that.

While walking around downtown we read about the areas history on Scott's app Field Trip.

There were a bunch of hipsters taking a break from a group ride.

Eventually we turned around because we wanted to check out Lake Pontchatrain.

Heading back through the French Quarter we ran into another parade. This city is awesome.

I guess people can just get permits from the city and do their own thing.

Now I know why this city has been slowly building back up since the hurricane.

We meandered through Louis Armstrong Park back to the car.

I love all the details in the architecture.

We arrived at the lake after a brief drive.

Apparently it's too polluted to swim in. We also ran into another parade on the way over.

I totally would've went swimming.

Some people were going in the water anyway.

Driving into New Orleans I saw a daiquiri bar. Then I saw that it said Drive thru. We spotted another one leaving the city and I said we had to try it out.

We all thought there was no way there was actual alcohol in them. After picking out our flavors (I got swamp water) we gave a taste and indeed they were alcoholic. We felt wrong drinking and driving so we stopped to enjoy our drinks in a Dollar General parking lot.

I love New Orleans. If only we didn't have to get back to Minnesota in a few days.

We drove to Baton Rouge to find a place for dinner.

We could not find any food in Baton Rouge. How do people live here? It was by the campus that we discovered places still open. Sadly Mellow Mushroom was closed for the day. 

It was 420, so I figured that the college campus would have food. LSU is in town and we found this place. Afterward we drove back into Mississippi to our next campground.