Hello my lovelies!
By the time you see this, I'll probably be on the plane back, or even home reading this to you myself.
As usual, I took a few shots of the trip to share with you.
This first picture is a map of the USA so that you can see where New Orleans is. It is a city in Louisiana. Just follow the black line from VA to the state that looks like an 'L'.
Remember how I had my shoe fixed just before we left?
Well, as soon as I got in the airport past security, the other shoe broke.
In airports people tend to walk pretty quickly so they can make the next flight.
It was kind of tricky doing that with this shoe. :) (But we made it!)
This next picture is close to home.
Our plane just took off and we're flying over the beach by our house.
If you zoom in, you can see the oil refinery on the river.
Zoom in even closer and you can see our bridge way in the back toward the left.
Here are some fun clouds that we passed by.
They were really putting on a show.
When I get home remind me to show you a video of them as they passed by.
I took so many pictures that the man next to me thought I'd never flown before.
I told him that I fly quite a bit but that it just never gets old.
Maybe I don't fly enough for it to be boring yet.
Here's what they look like when you pass through. --All white, like you'd expect.
It really makes you appreciate the pilot and technology, huh?
The plane below is the first plane that I flew on. :)
Jackson, there was a restaurant in the airport that had a carousel on top that spun around.
There were mobile planes hanging from the arms that moved, so it looked like they were flying too. I know you'd love it.
There was a problem with the lavatory on the next plane.
So we had to sit and wait a while.
(A lavatory is a fancy name for the bathroom.)
You don't want to have issues on any part of the plane if you're getting in it.
It's worth the wait.
New Orleans is a city that has a lot of fun art scattered around.
The piece below is a painted trolley car.
(I will show you a picture of a real one in a few...)
Ethan, New Orleans is home to the NFL team, the Saints. This is their stadium.
It's right across from my hotel.
I didn't take pictures of my room this time but here are some posters from my conference. :) It's how they decorate the halls.
We have fancy elevators here. They are clear so you can see inside and outside.
I'm in one now.
And I go a-a-a-a-l-l-l-l-l the way up to the 21st floor!
Whew, that's high!
There's a pool here too.
I didn't get in it but I can see it from my room outside.
There are purple lights in it at night.
There are purple lights in it at night.
I've never had a hotel room come with earplugs. They also gave me other tips on keeping the room quiet. New Orleans happens to be big on Jazz music. There was a band here on Saturday night and you could hear it in the rooms. But it wasn't too loud. I didn't need the earplugs.
Shiver me timbers! When I opened me suitcase, there was a lad's patch from vacation!
(But I saved it for you.)
Then I ordered room service because I was too tired to go out.
I realized at bedtime that I forgot my toothpaste.
But I called the hotel clerk and she brought me some. Thank goodness! :)
The next day I started my classes. There are a lot of people that take turns teaching us things.
There was also an amazing Gospel Choir. I wish I could remember what church they were from or what they called themselves.
They had a lot of energy and spiced the place up!
They sang songs like Wonderful World, Love Train, O Happy Day,
and When the Saints go Marching in...
After class, I hit the street to check things out.
Here's a funny statue out in town.
I ate dinner at the Red Fish Grill.
Jambalaya Risotto and mmm was it good!
With a pecan tart for dessert.
Then I went down to the Music Legend Park and listened to a jazz band play.
It was an outdoor restaurant with a big patio.
Here's another statue.
It was dark outside and hard to get pictures of the other statues.
Most of them were of musicians.
This one kind of reminds me of Wonder Woman with Maracas.
The band was called 'Steamboat Willie'.
There was even a fountain!
The streets are so packed here that a lot of the policemen ride horses.
It's easier to get through the crowd. You're allowed to pet them. :)
It's easier to get through the crowd. You're allowed to pet them. :)
I went back to the hotel after I left the jazz park.
But the next day I went out again on a mission to see more things and to find a pair of shoes.
Here's an old theater that I passed along the way.
Here's that picture of the real trolley. I didn't ride it though.
Hey look, it's a hot dog stand!
Ethan, you'll have to tell me who this helmet is for. I can't remember. It reminded me of Gloucester High School. It even has our colors. Obviously, it's not them though.
I stopped by this shoe store that reminded me of old Unc-Unc. I saw this pair of boots and I thought about getting them but they were teal and well... I needed black ones. Besides, I'm not sure how often I'd wear teal shoes. If Unc-Unc were with me, he'd have said 'Get'em! Teal goes with everything!' Deep down, I suppose he's probably right.
Across the street was the best little dress shop.
I tried A LOT of them on. (And even bought a few.)
The lady next to me works there.
The lady on the other side of her works at another shop up the street.
They were fun. :)
Check out this dress Sophie!
(No, I didn't get it.)
I didn't even think about trying it on!
I'm pretty sure it was just a decoration anyway.
Before cell phones, a lot of stores had pay phones. (Like the one below.)
It was a phone mounted to a wall or booth. You had to have change to make a call and the change would only last a few minutes. Then you'd have to put more money into the phone to stay on the line.
You don't really see them anymore, so I had to take a picture.
Most of them aren't dressed up this nice. But it IS in New Orleans.
More fun art!
Oh, and hey, I did manage to find some shoes.
The next day was the last day of my classes.
This brilliant guy in the back is playing the violin.
He was the final speaker at our event and his name is Kai Kight.
He made a lot of us cry in a really good way.
-Not just with his words but also with his music.
When the conference was over, I walked the town again.
This time I went with a friend named, Michelle.
She actually lives in Virginia too and we attend meetings together in other places. She's a lot of fun! You'll see a picture of her in a minute.
Here's a horse pulling a carriage. There are a lot of these taking people through town.
This huge place is JACKSON square.
It's named after our 7th President, Andrew Jackson.
This place below is Cafe Du Monde! It's pretty old too!
It's been around since 1862.
It is known for amazing coffee and beignets. (Which taste kind of like funnel cakes.)
That is pretty much all that you can order here.
If you want your coffee with milk, you said 'cafe au lait'. Otherwise, it was 'black'.
The waiters all wear little paper hats like they do at Krispy Kreme.
(That's Michelle next to the waiter.)
Man is that coffee good too! I even put my pinkie up, just for you Sophie!
We sat outside for a while and listened to these talented fellas play their hearts out.
A lot of the windows here are decorated. (Year round, not just for Halloween.)
Here are pictures of two of them.
Now we're in the part of town called the French Quarter and there is a big outdoor market there.
Kind of like the flea markets that we go to but with newer stuff.
This sweet fella is a Pastor and a poet named Charles. He recited several poems to us that he wrote. He was probably the highlight of my trip. He was so happy and full of kindness. He was also pretty funny. He said we were all the same spirit but in different dirt suits. He is right.
One of his poems was about being a momma. Another was about strength from God. He's pretty talented. The good Lord knew exactly which ones I needed to hear. I bought them and will read them to you later if you'd like. Although, it would be better if you heard it from him.
Another man here made these beautiful nativities, chess boards, and other pieces out of Olive wood. It was all so stunning. He was very nice too. He even showed us a video of him making them out of piles of logs. I wish I had've gotten his picture.
Another funny art piece.
A statue of Joan of Arc.
We're back in front of Jackson square again in this picture,
but we're actually farther away on stairs that will take you down by the water.
Can you see the boat here? This is Steamboat Nachez. You can buy a ticket to eat dinner and listen to Jazz while cruising around the river. We didn't do that this time. Although it sounds super fun!
The bridge in the background is called the Crescent City Connection.
Then we headed back to the hotel and ate dinner on these fancy little couches in the restaurant there.
The only other time that I was in New Orleans, I was with your Daddy a long time ago. In fact, Ethan, this might be the place you got your start. ;) Haha. If you remind me, we can look at some of the pictures from the trip then too. (Maybe not on the same night that we read this though.)
This little town has been through a lot with hurricanes and flooding.
It's good to see so many of the older buildings and businesses still around.
Of course, it's also nice to see things that you don't usually see.
The first few days of the trip I traveled alone.
I enjoyed going at a slow pace without having somewhere to be.
There's also a lot of power in being quiet. -Also in disconnecting from the things you usually do and fully connecting with things that you know nothing about.
It stirred my heart to see so many things made by other artists.
Especially the passion in my new friend Charles as his eagerly shared his gift.
There's a scripture that tells us that the Good Lord knits us together too. We're not just gobs of old clay, left over from other projects. We are His prized possession and He even calls us all by name.
As I walked through the streets here marveling over things I saw, all I could think about was verses that tell us that in our spirit, believers will receive gifts of new sight and hearing. Scripture even tells us to taste and see that the Lord is good!
Sometimes we may not notice that we have these senses. We may even have to get away from our normal routines in order to experience them at first. But we can learn to recognize how they work. Eventually, we can learn how to be connected with the spirit life anywhere that we are. Doing this makes EVERYTHING so much richer. -Even boring, little things can have a big impact or significance, while spent with our Lord in prayer. We only need to believe.
As for me, I'm praying that I make it back safe to get all of your snuggles. We have a lot to make up for and I can't wait. Love you all. Sweet dreams and goodnight.
If you're an adult that has been following along, Hooray! You're a champ!
I'd like you to consider where your faith takes you. Are you experiencing anything new as a result of it? Does the Lord show up? If not, are you stepping out alone in faith to find him? It might be kind of awkward figuring out what your walk looks like. It might even be scary at first if you don't know where you're going. -But I assure you he's there, and that wherever you are, or whatever happens when you're together, it will be exactly what you need!
Prayer
Father, I pray that all of us have a meaningful spirit life and walk with you. I know that we are always with you. You hold us by our right hand. You guide us with your counsel to your perfect peace. Teach us how to stay in step with you and to experience your goodness with all of our senses.
To read other bedtime stories, click the 'Bedtime Stories' tag in the word cloud on the right.
