Day 35 (8/2) San Antonio and driving to New Orleans. (Lin) For the first time this whole trip, I believe, I didn’t set an alarm for all of us in the hotel room. Sleeping in until 8:30 was good for all of us. We eventually packed up, ate the huge breakfast at the hotel, and headed outside to explore a small section of San Antonio.

We started by going into a huge mall next to our hotel, descending a level, and entering the River Walk. Although it was super humid, Elliot loved the River Walk for all the birds he saw, and Helena was in flower heaven and went to town taking close-ups of all the many colorful varieties.

After walking a section of the River Walk, we climbed the stairs to the street level and meandered our way to the Alamo, where in 1836 the Mexican army laid siege to a group of American men and women as part of the so-called Texas Revolution. It was interesting to see how the Alamo is curated as a “shrine” – part religious and part American historical, perhaps. The kids were all like “eh” – it’s getting harder and harder to impress them. Perhaps we need to watch The Alamo on our next long drive.

After pulling out of San Antonio, we had a 8 hour drive to New Orleans. We drove through downtown Houston en route, meaning that the kids have now been in or seen (from the car) the four largest cities in the US in the past two months (NYC, LA, Chicago, and Houston). Really fun. We all agreed that Chicago has a more impressive skyline (although we are not a neutral party…).

After crossing into Louisiana, we hit several long sections where the highway is on a bridge over the bayou, with vast stretches of water broken up by trees.

We made a somewhat last minute stop in Baton Rouge to visit one of my academic buddies, Mike Pasquier–super great to hang a bit. We also got to sample some local cuisine in the form of Po’ Boys (sandwiches of a local variety), catfish pies, and fried pickles. Yummy, but greasy. I had to eat an apple to detox.

On the road again, we pulled into New Orleans around 11 pm. I’ve been here twice before for conferences, so it is great to have the family here this time. Our hotel is in the middle of the French Quarter, so we look forward to exploring the area tomorrow. Only two of our four kids had been born in 2005 when Katrina hit New Orleans, and neither of the older two remember it, so that will be part of what we talk about more tomorrow, I’m sure, even if we don’t actually get to the Ninth Ward.

It is hot here, although in an oppressive, super humid way. I have to say, the higher, dryer temps of the southwest are stronger in some ways, but so much more bearable in others ways.

(Click on the pics for larger versions of them.)