New Orleans

This morning we woke up and the ship was docked at New Orleans. We ate a quick breakfast on the Lido deck and then carried our bags off the ship. Since this was a 5-day cruise they let us carry our bags ourselves, which was super nice because we were able to quickly get off the ship and did not have to wait around only to sort through piles of bags to find our luggage.

We scheduled a late flight out of New Orleans so that we would have a little more time to explore. We even booked a rental car today. The only bummer is that last night I came down with a cold and today it was terrible. My eyes and nose were running like crazy and I did not feel good at all. I did not want to miss out on this last day of vacation so despite my sickness we carried on with our plan for the day. We did make a pit stop at a drugstore to buy a pile of cold medicine to help me make it through the day.

Our first stop was the Oak Alley plantation. We went back and forth on this and Alison expressed mixed feelings about visiting a plantation. It is hard because this place that has now become a tourist destination was very literally built upon the backs of slaves. The oaks in the alley were planted by slaves and the bricks in the buildings were laid down by slaves. We were ultimately glad we made this trip because seeing the plantation gives you a better understanding of the absolute evils of the slave trade in a way history books cannot. Seeing this location and hearing stories comparing the life of the plantation owners and the slaves is heartbreaking. Then you see the opulent mansion before walking through the squalid slave quarters and it makes you stop and think about racism and slavery and how this terrible evil was perpetuated upon generations of human beings.

When we finished the tour of the Oak Alley plantation we were hungry. We got lunch at the restaurant on site. They had a great cajun combo where you could get three cajun dishes (gumbo, etouffee, and red beans and rice) for lunch. We both had the lunch combo and it was excellent. It was exactly what you hope to eat when you visit New Orleans.

We drove back to downtown New Orleans for our final stop of the trip - the National WWII museum. This is one of the top attractions in New Orleans and it caught our interest because Alison's grandfather and my great-grandfather both served in the Pacific during the war. This museum was a really great experience. They combine the traditional museum fare of exhibits with a significant amount of multimedia to create a very interactive and informative experience. We started at the Road to Japan exhibit and spent most of our time there. We finished our visit on the Road to Germany, but we had to go through that section a little more quickly. These exhibits gave us a greater appreciation for the sacrifices our grandfathers made to defend our freedom. They were truly part of a great generation of Americans.

Our time was up and we drove to the airport. By this point, I was feeling downright terrible so Alison drove us to the airport. I managed to survive the flight home. We are glad to be home - it was a great trip and honestly, it was the perfect length. We had enough time to see the sights we wanted to see and relax in the sun.