From LA to FL to NC...

This post has the potential to be a lengthy one. It's obviously been quite a while, so pull up a comfy chair, sip on a drink, and ride along with me through the final days of our vacation across the U.S.

I must start by saying how wonderful it is to be back with Chad on all of life's journeys. We love road trips & traveling is what we do, so it was nice to have things back to normal, and being able to experience it all together again.

Well, last time I left you, we were on our way the next day to New Orleans. We arrived and took a little bit of time trying to find the downtown area that contains the popular Bourbon Street and surrounding attractions. We were in need of a good lunch to refill our sightseeing and traveling bellies, so we stopped at this little French-inspired jazz bar called Crescent City Brewhouse to quench our thirst and tide our tummies over. I had a huge salad and Chad had a Jambalaya pasta...mmm mmm. Here are some pics...

We then left there to go see what Bourbon Street really had to offer. We strolled down the street and I must say, I was very disappointed. It was really dirty, there were strip joints and prostitutes in every other building and it was just the opitome of 'diiiiiirrrrtttyyyyy!'. Some of the neighboring streets had nice restaurants and patios and shops, but Bourbon Street itself was a truly yucky place. I think my first trip will be my last. I'm sure there's more to see and that Mardi Gras is all what it's cracked up to be...if you're one to enjoy extreme crowds and boobs flying everywhere, but as for me, I believe I'll pass. Anyways, we had to take a cheesy Bourbon Street picture to put in our gaudy picture frame we got from one of the souvenir shops. This is it...sorry it's sideways, but I'm just too lazy to rotate it right now. :) Just tilt your head slightly to the right.

After a little bit more of walking around aimlessly, we stumbled upon our car and decided we should continue our 8 hours more to Orlando.

Orlando was fabulous. It's just a great city. Chad's parents have just moved into a beautiful new house with a nice heated pool that's screened in with a huge hammock we bought them for Christmas. There's a waterfall into the pool and a nice lake behind their house. Sorry I'm being so descriptive, but I don't have pictures of all of that. Sorry, I know, bad blogger Kelly. haha. We spent our days hanging out, watching movies, getting a manicure, eating out, and shopping. It was a great way to end our vacation.

And now we're home again in NC. Now, to clean up and get life in order again. Yay for home sweet home. Be back later with more.