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Bienvenue to my New Orleans road trip pictures! |
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After a harrowing set of
flights to and from Europe in February for my school's Mid-Winter
Break, I decided on a road trip for Spring Break in April. My
mother grew up on the Gulf Coast, and I've heard her tell stories of
travelling to New Orleans for all my life. It was time for a trip
there myself, and my mother came along as a guide.
For tourist advice, I took along two guidebooks: Frommer's New Orleans 2009 (pictured above in my hand in the left-hand picture) and AAA's Alabama, Louisiana & Mississippi Tour Book 2009. Both had lots of great tourist information, cost-saving tips, maps, tidbits about local culture, and self-guided walking tours of the French Quarter and Garden District.
It's almost 1000 miles each way from Ypsilanti, Michigan, to New Orleans, Louisiana. That's one long drive! The gas alone cost $170 round-trip.
We left Michigan after church on Sunday, April 5, 2009; spent the night in Florence, Kentucky; and made it in late on Monday, April 6, 2009, to Metairie, Louisiana, where I had reserved our hotel.
On Tuesday, April 7, 2009, we drove out to Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, along US Highway 90, the way my mother used to come from Pensacola, Florida, to New Orleans. It was amazing to see how much is still completely damaged from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, 4 years ago.
On Wednesday, April 8, 2009, we got to the French Quarter early (the parking is much cheaper!), took the National Park Service free walking tour, walked around the French Quarter for hours, took the St. Charles streetcar to the Garden District, walked around there, and took the streetcar back. That afternoon, we drove around and ended up walking around Lakeshore Park along Lake Ponchartrain.
We drove back starting Thursday, April 9, 2009; spent the night in Franklin, Tennessee; and made it home on Friday, April 10, 2009. While we had good weather in New Orleans, the drive back to Michigan was all through thunderstorms and chances of tornado and snow.
For tourist advice, I took along two guidebooks: Frommer's New Orleans 2009 (pictured above in my hand in the left-hand picture) and AAA's Alabama, Louisiana & Mississippi Tour Book 2009. Both had lots of great tourist information, cost-saving tips, maps, tidbits about local culture, and self-guided walking tours of the French Quarter and Garden District.
It's almost 1000 miles each way from Ypsilanti, Michigan, to New Orleans, Louisiana. That's one long drive! The gas alone cost $170 round-trip.
We left Michigan after church on Sunday, April 5, 2009; spent the night in Florence, Kentucky; and made it in late on Monday, April 6, 2009, to Metairie, Louisiana, where I had reserved our hotel.
On Tuesday, April 7, 2009, we drove out to Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, along US Highway 90, the way my mother used to come from Pensacola, Florida, to New Orleans. It was amazing to see how much is still completely damaged from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, 4 years ago.
On Wednesday, April 8, 2009, we got to the French Quarter early (the parking is much cheaper!), took the National Park Service free walking tour, walked around the French Quarter for hours, took the St. Charles streetcar to the Garden District, walked around there, and took the streetcar back. That afternoon, we drove around and ended up walking around Lakeshore Park along Lake Ponchartrain.
We drove back starting Thursday, April 9, 2009; spent the night in Franklin, Tennessee; and made it home on Friday, April 10, 2009. While we had good weather in New Orleans, the drive back to Michigan was all through thunderstorms and chances of tornado and snow.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip!