Southern Adventure: New Orleans

Oh, so I forgot to mention that we discovered a great seafood market in Baton Rouge called Tony's Market! It's the real deal and everything we had was amazing. If we lived there, this would be our go to place for fresh seafood. I was packed to the max and delicious!

 

 

With that being said, the next morning we took turns going for a run on the LSU campus. It was the best 4 miles I've ran since leaving Colorado Springs. The houses that boarder the campus are gorgeous and so was the lake we ran around. We took the boys for a drive around the campus to show them what a big university looked like. I'm not sure if they really understood but we still tried. :)

 

We then drove down the road to hit New Orleans. It was still pretty hot but we thought we could tackle some of the highlights before the hit moved in.

 

Typical NOLA street...lots of cars and buildings stuck to buildings.

 

Each building seems to tell a story.
 

We focused on the fun food.

My Dad is very fond of this Hurricane Mix and it brought back some Lake Powell memories.

Café Du Monde is also a favorite in the Jakulewicz home. Grandpa J has perfected the Beignets so if you ever stay with him in Colorado, you can request a little NOLA breakfast and I'm sure he'll hook you up.

The boys were way more interested in the kookie voodoo dolls, fortune telling machine and mardi gras decorations.

 

The skeleton's eyes moved making him extra spooky and cool.

This is just about when they realized this...

Lots of decorations!

 We finally got everyone out of the store and into the market. Lots of fun things to see and taste.

 

 

I was very amused by the mermen!

 We finally made it to the "donut" shop...if you tell the boys they are donuts, they just might try Beignets!

It worked!!

Tasty little things and they come with enough powder sugar to frost an entire cake!

We couldn't go to New Orleans without walking down Bourbon Street. Who knew it would be nut on a Sunday morning???

 It was getting hot so our last stop was at Deanies Seafood Restaurant. We had some tiny soft shelled crabs and some crazy messy Cajin BBQ Shrimp. If you like fried seafood, then go to Deanies. If not, I wouldn't recommend it.

I've never seen Daddy get so messy eating!! It was awesome. :)

That about wraps up our southern adventure!

Southern Adventure: Lousianna State University

Earlier this month, we took the boys to Baton Rouge to experience a real Southeastern Conference football game. The LSU Fighting Tiger fans welcomed us right in so we dressed to impress and hit the tailgating parties! Daddy had scored two tickets from an Air Force friend and his friends invited us to join in on their pre-game celebration. Lucas and Daddy were going to the game while Axel and Mommy had other plans.

 

Parking was crazy! There were purple and yellow people EVERYWHERE! Cabaña after cabaña set up on every piece of real estate within miles of the stadium. Some even had hi-tech fans, air conditioners, huge flat screen TV's and enough food and drinks to survive a storm!

 

 This was tailgating on steroids!! These fans were not messing around!!

We had about a mile walk to the stadium.

So cute!

My boys!

We brought Cokes for the boys to help get into the spirit while we visited with fans. I'm pretty sure Axel thought we were crazy...walking miles in the hot, humid weather, seeing all sorts of craziness, then sending Lucas and Daddy off into the stadium. What the heck were we doing??? Talk of ice cream perked him right up!

Friends of friends...thanks for you hospitality!



In front of the stadium just before Daddy and Lucas went in to watch the big game

Axel and I made the trek back to the car and people watched along the way. We hit the local burger joint for french fries and ice cream before heading back to the hotel. Axel loves some good jumping on the bed so that was our fun while the other boys were at the big game. :)

This is a BIG stadium so Daddy and Lucas headed straight for the top to get in a little "hike" and see the view!

Love this!

After watching people fill up the stadium, the exciting part started. In came the marching band!

They were in a sea of purple and yellow!

It took awhile to get the game going. There was lightning in the area so the game was delayed for about one hour. Lucas was a trooper and took it all in.

Not bad seats for being free. :)

Later on, they moved down for a better view. Lucas loved it and wanted to stay until the end of the game. I think it made Daddy's heart smile. :)

Not sure who this guy is but he sure doesn't look like a Tiger???

What a great experience for the whole family. I'm so glad we did this while living somewhat close to LSU. Football is BIG in these parts!!



The next day, we were off to New Orleans!

Daddy's Escape

My husband...and why I love this man!!!

 

He has a love for life!

 

Anyone who knows him, thinks he is half crazy. He doesn't stop and is on "Go Mode" 99% of the time. If he's not climbing, hiking, running, biking...he's dreaming (or driving, sometimes working). :) Just kidding Honey! We know you work hard and put in more hours than you probably should. His brain is constantly planning and scheming his (our) next adventure.

 

Daddy's time is so, so valuable and he refuses to waste it. Living in Florida has definitely tested him and fueled this necessity to make the most of the mountains especially when they are at his finger tips. He is a mountain man at heart and is happiest when they are within reach.

 

So, with a little escape from the hot, humid flatlands of Florida he took full advantage of being back in the mountains. In true Mike Anderson style, Daddy, maximized his business trip to CO a few weeks ago. I shouldn't have been surprised when he told me he was going on a "hike" in the morning before going to the airport. Of course he's going on a hike in the 9th hour. Who else would climb two mountains before heading to the airport to fly home?!

 

Why not, right?

 

HA!

 

Waking up at 4am and heading to the trailhead to watch the sunrise was first priority. The hike...it was not a little hike and involved skill in route finding and not for the inexperienced. Most websites recommend planning for an all day outing...8 - 9 hours. This was right up his alley. His airplane wasn't departing DIA until 2pm so there was more than enough time to climb numerous 14ners right?!

 

Good morning Colorado!

 

It was worth waking up early to see this.

Heart happy sight.

Beautiful skies. base of Mt. Bierstadt

I love this. Self portraits are fun.

Nice work Dad....looks like an incredible day! Here he is halfway up Mt. Bierstadt.

Stunning views.

Sawtooth Ridge....looks scarrier than it actually is.

Summit of Mt. Bierstadt, 14,060 ft.

Check out the rock balancing there...he was amazed no one had pushed it off! Don't worry, he left it alone for others to enjoy.

Nice little "hike"....hmmmm?! :)

Happy Man!

 

Out of Florida!

 

He met some friends along the way.

 

Summit of Mt. Evans 14,264 ft.