We started the day off in the Barataria Preserve section of the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park. This is a must see NPS site as it provides trails that take you through a swamp/bayou. Due to recent rains only the trails that consisted of boardwalks and pavement were accessible. So after a walk through the visitor center display, we headed out on the 4-mile round trip walk (consisting of 4 trails that connect) through the wetlands. This turned out to be a wonderful walk and very easy to do as it is all flat. If you are in the area, please take the time to do the whole walk. Along the way we were in awe of the wetlands and the display of life that is so different from Arizona. There is one section that got a little boring – the Palmetto Trail – but stick it out if you go because it is so worth it in the end. The second mile of the walk is amazing as the scenery is very calming and peaceful. On this portion of the walk we saw a nutria (non-native rodent), approximately 5 foot alligator, a turtle, and an egrit. On the walk back, we saw a swamp rabbit.

Once back to the car, we headed on to the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center, another portion of the Jean Lafitte NHP in Thibodaux, LA. This unit focuses on the Acadians; the ranger was very informative on the history of how the Acadians came to be here in LA and helped provide a good segue to the exhibit. The cultural center has a very well-designed exhibit and again is worth seeing to learn more about the Acadians and their unique culture. We wrapped up the visit to this unit by walking through an exhibit of paintings from a local artist. Kim found a couple of paintings featuring “Big Mama” that she would loved to have purchased.

Once again we hit the road, heading to our hotel for the night in Luling, LA. We checked in and took a nap prior to heading into the French Quarter for NYE. You know you are getting old when you have to take a nap in order to enjoy NYE.

Because it was NYE, and adding in the Sugar Bowl crowd, we figured we actually would not be able to find parking but we did. And it was FREE! We walked through the French Quarter, looking for a relatively inexpensive place to have dinner and after some time walking along the streets of this unique section of the city, we decided to return to Oceana for a second time. The food is THAT good.

We once again found it hard to decide on what to order but ultimately went with trying different items than what we ate the night before. Kim ordered the blackened chicken platter and Scott went with the seafood po’boy as he had been told it was a must have if in LA. The blackened chicken was ridiculously delicious. Scott found his meal to be just on the “ok” side but was glad to be able to say he had tried it.

A little after 11pm we headed out to the streets carrying our “drinks” (aka Coke and Dr Pepper) and made our way toward the river. This was an adventure because basically at one point you just couldn’t move. And yes there was a lot of naked breasts as women tried to entice people on the balconies to throw down some beads. Despite the crowd and noise it was great to be in NOLA for NYE.

We finally made our way to the river and found a good spot to view the fireworks with 12 minutes to spare. At the stroke of midnight we all yelled Happy New Year and then the fireworks began. And NOLA puts on a great show.

After the fireworks ended we made our way to the Café Du Monde, a coffee stand that had been running continuously since 1860. This was on Kim’s must do list. The café was super crowded as everyone decided that’s where they wanted to be as well after the fireworks. We opted for the “to go” line. Kim enjoyed a café au lait and Scott a hot chocolate. We also got an order of beignets, that we saved for the next morning.

To top the night off we walked all of Bourbon St and enjoyed the crowd, which was surprisingly light considering the circumstances. We got back to the car just in time for the rain to start and drove back to the hotel.

Spending NYE in NOLA was a pretty awesome experience overall.