Takin’ it Easy in the Big Easy!

Last week, the Campbell family took a good old fashioned family vacation. A few months ago, John and I decided that we should take advantage of the whole “kids under two fly free” thing before Jack turned two. Luckily, Southwest had a fare sale just a couple weeks later and we were able to score two cheap flights to New Orleans. John has always wanted to see New Orleans and my dear friend Stephanie has lived there for the past few years—we always wanted to get out to see her and now seemed like as good of a time as any. So the Campbells were off to our first vacation as just the three of us!

We landed on Saturday and spent the day walking around the area near our hotel. We found the best sandwich place ever (Cochon Butcher) and took a quick trip to the Gap to find a pair of gloves for Jack.

the pork belly sandwich at Cochon Butcher with cucumber and mint, house made potato chips

the bbq pork sandwich with coleslaw and the best potato salad I’ve ever tasted

Apparently we found the coldest week ever to visit NOLA because we couldn’t find a single pair of gloves…either they were all sold out or NOLA Gaps just don’t have very high demands for baby gloves. Anyhow, we bought some socks and slapped them on Jack’s hands, told him they were mittens, and called it a day. Oh, and then John took the stroller on a too-small escalator and almost killed all of us. Kid you not, it got stuck at the very top of the escalator and we were all trapped. The woman behind us (who started out a ways behind us) suddenly was right on top of me as John and I “climbed stairs” in place while trying our darndest to push the stroller (with our kid in it) off the belt. We are still not 100% sure what happened…the stroller just barely fit and I think when we got to the top, the rubber stroller wheel got caught in the belt. Finally, as the entire mall full of people was up against us saying things like, “Oh no!” and “We’re about to be in some serious trouble here!!!” as John and I pushed with all our might to get the stroller unstuck, the wheel popped off and we were free! John was able to wiggle the wheel out of the belt and we literally ran away as the security guard came to inspect the hijinks. Parents of the year right here! I blame John…I told him I wanted to take the elevator. His exact words were, “Nah, let’s risk it.” Good risk, John.

We woke up the next morning and headed out to the famous Sunday Brunch at Brennan’s. That was truly the best Bloody Mary of my life.

John also enjoyed his libation.

Jack was a big fan of the drinks at Brennans too. His favorite? Agua.

You guys, that’s lump crab meat…with a poached egg on top….drizzled with hollandaise. My pants never fit the same again…

Jack enjoyed his berries and bananas…but what does he know? He was a fan of the free hotel breakfast just as well.

Jack was a treat at Brennan’s…except when he grabbed himself in the middle of breakfast and yelled “MY PEE PEE!!!” at the top of his lungs. I have no idea where he learned that or where it came from…but of all places for it to come out, I’m glad it happened at Brennan’s. Those stuffy people needed to crack a smile.

After brunch, we headed to the Aquarium of the Americas. Jack was a delight—running from one exhibit to the other yelling: “Fishies! SWIMMING!” and “Snake! Sleeping!!” He was SO thrilled to be able to run around and see everything. And we were thrilled to watch him.

There was this cool thing called “Parakeet Pointe” where you could feed the parakeets from this little stick with some seed. Jack wasn’t sure at first. The parakeets were probably not sure at first either. Surely they could sense that John wasn’t good with parakeets.

Eventually he loosened up a bit and before we knew it, he was feeding the birds all by himself.

We eventually tried to leave but I was like freakin’ Cinderella…these birds kept landing on my arms, my shoulder, my hand…they wouldn’t leave me alone. Finally, I gave my stick to some old lady standing nearby and made a bee line for the door. Parakeets are fun, but let’s not fool around: the Campbells aren’t cut out for parakeet ownership. I needed to get out of there before one of them snuck into my diaper bag to come home with us.

Jack took a stroller snooze while we walked to our next destination; Café du Monde. Yeah, those are socks on his hands and a pacifier in his mouth—what of it? You’ll be happy to know that Jack is now paci-free. The morning after we returned home, Jack and I threw away all his pacifiers together and had a discussion about what a big boy he is…I was shocked at how well he did. For a kid hooked on his “meh” he sure was content throwing it in the garbage.

When we woke him up for beignet, he was not a happy camper. Until he tasted the heavenly goodness that awaited him. Then all was right with world.

Seriously? You woke me up for THIS?

Ha ha, this looks funny.

Mmm...this is pretty good.

Maybe I'll just take a little bite….

Holy Buffalo! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!

I need to eat this every day of my life.

Life is good!

Our first full day in New Orleans was a success! Fancy brunch, aquarium and parakeets, stroller nap and French Quarter walk, sugar-covered beignets. Yes, it was a good day. Until the inevitable happened, of course. We ended the day with a quick nap all together in bed. When Jack woke up, he was burning hot. We decided to forego dinner and just order pizza to our room. We spent the rest of the evening trying to keep his fever under control and cleaning up toddler puke. Ah, nothing like a  vacation to get away and relax!