Again...

Well, I posted the video, but I decided to write a little about my trip.
We first left the house early in the morning. We had to be to the airport at 5:45 a.m. We made it just fine. We took off from SLC and had a lay-over in Denver. From there we had to hurry to catch our next flight, to New Orleans (N.O.) It was quite a run, but we made it! Our flight was a little bumpy, but nothing really to worry about. I got a little air sick, but nothing terrible. When we got there we walked down to the luggage area with a few other people that were on our flight, and the worst thing that could happen in an airport did...OUR LUGGAGE WAS LOST! Yep, that's right. There we were, in the middle of a strange place, with NOTHING but our carry-ons! The airline (United) eventually found our luggage, and it didn't transfer planes when we did. So it kept on going to who-knows-where! The told us that it would be to the airport by 5 p.m. and that they would bring it over and we would have it by 6 p.m. We got on the bus, trusting that this is what really would happen, and went to our hotel. We checked in, and without being able to change our clothes, went to the welcome dinner they had set up for us. We met a few new people from Colorado, but eventually hooked up with a few people from the Service Dept., Dan and his wife Greta, and Chris. This ended being a fateful meeting. We pretty much hung out with these guys for the whole trip! It was great though. I didn't really feel uncomfortable around any of them, and I made a new friend, so that was good.
We checked the front desk for our luggage around 7 p.m....still no luggage. We then called the airline and tried to get info about where our bags might be. They said our bags had not come in yet and it could be as late as 2 in the morning! I was soooo mad! So we just hung out, the five of us, and waited it out. We visited and decided to take a walk around to just look. WOW! What a different world! (I'll get more of that later...) We came back to the hotel around 10 p.m., went up to our room and called the airline AGAIN. They said they could not track where the luggage was at that point. We went down to the lobby...and THERE IT WAS! Our luggage had arrived. Talk about being in a panic. So we finally were able to shower and then go to bed.
The next morning we had a walking trip around the French Quarters. It was so amazing to hear the history behind the city! We saw so may cool things, like a house that was build for Napoleon, but her never made it there to live there. A beautiful cathedral that dates back into the 1800's a d so much more. The iron work there is amazing! We then had a luncheon and went back to the hotel. We decided to go walk Bourbon Street and the shopping district and see the sights. You really can't imagine what it is like until you go there. People lying in alley's sleeping, drunks everywhere, you find yourself holding on just a little tighter to your purse. It is a very crazy atmosphere. They really never close. The bars on that street are open 24 hours. That night we just hung out and explored the city. We did some shopping and just hung out.
The next day we had a tour of the site where they store and manufacture Mardi Gras floats. It was really cool to see how they use many of the same floats, just repaint them and add different accessories to it. We even got to try on a few traditional costumes worn in a Mardi Gras parade. From there we went back to the hotel. We (the group) decided to go to the open air French Market and walk around. We also went to the mall and looked for stuff for the families. That night we had dinner at the Hard Rock New Orleans. We then went to Harrah's casino and played a little Black jack and Three card poker. We stayed out only until about midnight. We had to catch our flight home the next morning.
On our flight from N.O. to Denver I got really sick. I lost feeling in my arms and feet. I got really nauseous and almost passed out a few times. I was so shaky that I could hardly walk after our plane landed. I am not sure why I got sick, but all I know is that I was bad! Luckily, I though ahead of time and brought phenerghan and took one as we waited for our connecting flight in Denver. I did much better on the next flight, but I was certainly glad to be on the ground in SLC. We stopped for a bite to eat on our way and once we made it down to my mom's to pick up the kids, we were greeted with big hugs and kisses! We handed out our gifts and then got the kids and drove home. There is nothing better than sleeping in your own bed.
Vacations are fun, but nothing beats coming home to family!
Would I visit N.O. again??? Definitely! I might even take the kids to see a few of the parades. (Which, by the way, the parades are totally G-rated. It is only on Bourbon St. that anything "questionable" happens.)