The 2014 Anniversary trip begins

I'm glad we chose last minute to go to New Orleans for our 17th anniversary.

I really, really love this city.  There is so much to do and see.  And it seriously is the best city ever for people watching.  But mostly, I love the architecture and the smallness of the Quarter and walking up and down the streets looking in all the shop windows. 

While we would have preferred to fly there.....no good deals came up so we decided to drive instead.  Not a bad idea.....we love a good road trip.

So with the car packed and loaded on Sunday, March 23rd at 12 noon........we headed East on I-10 towards Louisiana.

Since we had a stockpile of snacks and drinks in the cooler......there wasn't much need to stop for anything (except for the traffic jams, potty breaks, and filling up with gas).

We did not have reservations anywhere for that night, since we were unsure exactly when we were going to get out of town.  In this age of Smart Phones, Paul was able to seek out and reserve a hotel on the way.  * I would just like to insert here that when Paul reserves us hotel rooms.....he always does an outstanding job.  Some of my favorite places that we've stayed are places that he has picked *

We arrived in town about 6:30pm and located our hotel.....the Hyatt Riverside.....right on the banks of the Mississippi.

This is a picture we snapped out of our room window.  We had a lovely view of the river from the 20th floor.

But we didn't come to New Orleans to sit in our room and look out the window.  It was off to Bourbon Street.  We were about 5 blocks away......so off we went on our adventure.

But before we left, Paul liked this giant gold statue of Louis Armstrong.....so we had to stop and snap a quick picture of him.  Looking good Paul!

The way the Gainors do Bourbon Street is to walk up and down the street all night long.  Stop for our beer on the street.....it's cheaper and walk in and out of the clubs where the music and the band is good.  Sometimes we'll stay for one song.......sometimes we'll stay for 2 hours.  We never know.....we just let the music move us.

The decision was made to eat a quick dinner on Bourbon......so about 10pm we decided to pop into Willie's and get us some fried chicken.

This place did not disappoint.  It probably was the best fried chicken we'd ever had.  After a quick dinner, we wandered the street of Bourbon for awhile and about midnight decided we needed to head back to the room. 

Tomorrow the real fun begins exploring the city of New Orleans!