More Road Trip Details -- Tennessee to Loisiana

Ready for more road trip details??
Well, on our way through Kentucky, down to Tennessee, we passed signs for Mammoth Cave National Park. I was sleeping, and I think Spencer and Natalie were also sleeping. But Brian couldn't resist stopping. So, we all woke up in the parking lot of Mammoth Cave -- the largest cave in the United States, I think. 

It was near closing time, but the park ranger said we could join their "lantern/starlight tour" if we wanted to. Doesn't that sound so cool? Walking through a cave at sunset, with your own individual lantern as a light?Well, we didn't do it, because it would have taken an extra couple of hours. But we did get to walk down to the Historic Entrance -- for free.

Notice (above) that Brian is walking waaaay ahead of the two kids, right? Well, that's because he happened to mention, excitedly, that we might see some BATS in the cave's entrance... From that point, we had two freaked out scaredies!! Samantha cried the whole way down the stairs, and hated the entire experience. I'm sure she was just waiting for a huge vampire bat to come out of the shadows and devour her alive, poor thing. (Maybe it was a good thing we decided not to do the lantern tour, eh?)

We only walked a little ways into the cave, even though it looks like we're really deep in here. See, there's the entrance, right behind us. And no bats!...

Out we go again, whew! We were glad we hadn't paid money to explore deeper, but we were also happy that we got to see the cave and say we've been there.

And, on to Nashville. That's where we had a great hotel with a pool and delicious waffle breakfast. And Natalie spilled/poured a whole container of syrup over herself, the table, the chair, her hair, the floor, etc. Good times.

So, Tennessee's capitol building is way up on top of a hill. We thought it would be a great idea to let the kids get out and stretch, and climb these steps to the top...

Too bad it was under construction, but we enjoyed the views and the walk...

Next stop, the Parthenon. Did you know that Nashville has totally rebuilt the Parthenon, just like in ancient Greece? It's a pretty amazing building. Inside is a museum, with lots of replicas of the Grecian Marbles. We didn't go through the museum, because... well,  on a scale of one to ten, how interested do you think our kids would have been, to see the Grecian Marbles?? Yeah... maybe some other time. 

But running around the outside was fun for our little rowdies...

So, on a trip with kids, the coolest thing in Nashville is actually the Rainforest Cafe, in the Opry Mills shopping complex. The kids LOVED it. Have you ever been? It's so much fun, with a vine canopy ceiling, simulated thunder and lightning storms every 10 minutes, and animated life-size jungle creatures. The gorilla show was our kids' favorite. I thought the elephants were super cool.

We sat next to a giant fish tank, but I guess I didn't get a good picture of the tank. Here are the happy kids, sipping their sprites before sharing a grilled cheese kids meal...

(btw, we learned that sprite is the best beverage treat for travelling; it's clear, so it cleans up better if spilled, and Natalie thinks it's just water, so we didn't always have to get one for her, ha!)

Oh, and here are the tigers... Super cool!

After lunch, we wandered over to the Opry Land Hotel. I LOVE this place! I went there with my Aunt Kathy and her family a few years back, and I've wanted to take Brian back there ever since. I took a ton of pictures, but I'll only share a couple. The fountain...

 And the gang, climbing the banisters by the fountain...

What a cutie, eh? She really does love to pose, these days!

Look at this stunning water fall! They have several of them, in the atriums throughout the hotel...

There's Brian, on the far balcony, next to this one...

(Aside: if you must know, our Opry Land Hotel experience wasn't ideal. Even surrounded by all those lovely waterfalls and flowering plants -- one in our group cried and said he wanted to go the car about every two minutes, another had a sick stomach and just felt miserable, another kept running away and had to be confined to the stroller and then screamed out her fury for the whole hotel to hear, etc. Lesson here... even amazing ambiance doesn't always make for perfection, if you know what I mean? But it was still a good time, and now we sort of wish we would have paid the $30+ to ride their boat around the indoor river -- or at least paid $7.50 for that tiny slice of carrot cake. ah... live and learn.)

Here's the Grand Ole Opry. We didn't go in (probably because it was right after our Opry Land Hotel experience), but at least we can say we've seen it, right??

On to Birmingham, AL. We stayed the night there, and then toured around a bit the next morning. We stopped at their children's museum and science center, which was one of the highlights of the whole trip for our kids. In the lobby, they have this amazing mousetrap/marble thingy. Spencer is convinced that Grandpa Dale can build one just like it for the grandkids...

A favorite experiment was the pulley/lift chairs. Spence and Samantha both spent a lot of time hefting their own weight on these...

Natalie was obsessed with all things "water" related. She liked these balls, and she liked touching the sharks and stingrays, because it meant putting her hands/arms/face in water (too bad we didn't get a pic).

Also in Birmingham, we went through the Civil Rights Institute, which is one of their top tourist attractions. I don't think we took any pictures inside, but we really enjoyed our visit. It was interesting to see Samantha comprehending some of the social injustices of our nation's past. I'm glad Brian suggested taking the kids there. Here's the park in front of the museum...

Hello, Mississippi! We initially planned to spend the night in Jackson, but it worked out better for us to go on to New Orleans that night instead. So, I'm afraid all Mississippi got from us was a wave and maybe a stop at a service station.

But just crossing that border means only TWO states left in the Union for me to visit, before I can say I've been to ALL FIFTY STATES!! (N. Dakota and Alaska.) And only TWO for Brian, too! (Arkansas and Alaska -- I'm betting I'll get to my fifty FIRST! ha!)

New Orleans, party city!! We got there after dark, with hungry kids and no hotel. No problem, we stood outside the Marriott while Brian used their wireless connection to hotwire a hotel for us. We ended up staying on Bourbon street. No joke. It was quite the night life! Bars, clubs, and caborets as far as the eye could see!

We ate at a great hole-in-the-wall restaurant, where Brian got a New Orleans sampler plate, with red beans and rice, crab ettouffe (sp), and gumbo. I got a shrimp po-boy sandwich, and the kid loved sharing the fish and chips. yum!

Bonus, we got to watch the debate while we ate... with a large metal bass as decoration. ha!

We actually stayed in a really nice Sheraton, and our room was facing the inner courtyard -- away from the party scene. (And I might as well mention, we went waaaay out and around Bourbon Street for several blocks, to get to our hotel without exposing our children to too much "atmosphere.")

Brian got up early and went for a bike ride around the French Quarter, and took some really nice pics of the city (about 25). Here's one...

 Then we all went swimming, which was glorious! Outdoor pool, high 70s, and we had the pool all to ourselves. Lovely!
(Pictures of the perfect pool are on the iPad... if I get ambitious, I'll add them here, kay?)

We also took a little walk down to the river. We went inside this beautiful cathedral...

And then let the kids play in the fountain in front...

Said hello to the Mighty Mississippi River. Our kids hardly understand how famous that waterway is. But they liked the boardwalk...

One of my favorite pics of the entire trip. Doesn't she look so pensive? I'll call it "Natalie and the Mississip."

And then a late breakfast of French beignets (donuts) on the patio at Cafe du Monde. Delicious! It was one of those nearly perfect moments, where we wished we could spend all day wandering the French Quarter, peeking in shops and eating fancy French or Cajun food. mmm! I think it may have been one of Brian's and my favorite days of our trip.

But we didn't get to linger too long. The road trip clock kept ticking, telling us we needed to be in Houston by that evening (I assumed responsibility of being the "road trip clock," if you were wondering -- you can confirm that with Brian!). So, we said goodbye to New Orleans and off we went to Baton Rouge, which is in the next installment. Stay tuned!!