New Orleans

We stuck to the tourist areas of New Orleans on our second trip there. We even took a river cruise to the Battle of New Orleans site (and I didn't realize we knew where it took place). I did walk north of our hotel on St. Charles Avenue, however, and I found once I passed a dairy and a block of homes (some more run down than others) a closed Catholic church and a mission with an encampment of homeless people next door in a vacant lot. I contrasted that scene with the beautiful homes across the street from St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church (Hannah's in love with the neighborhood) and the rag-tag prosperity of the toursity French Quarter. But our most enjoyable finds this trip were the shops and restaurants along Magazine Street in the Garden District -- particularly the crowded hipster hang-outs we drove by around noon on Sunday. Olivia, the last kid we have in our church's Chapel Choir, sang with the group up in the loft on Sunday morning, and they sounded very sweet. We rounded out the day at the World War II Museum, which is still heavy on D-Day displays but a lot more balanced than I thought it was going to be. But I enjoyed vacationing with the entire family (we sprang Rachel from the Alabama School of Math and Science) as well as our walks through the city.