O How Lovely Was The Spring Break

After finishing a major paper one week and taking a major exam the next week, I was thrilled to have a spring break/vacation last week. The break from grad school also coincided with a week long spring break from my day job teaching school. Not one day was wasted on this trip with my wonderful (and very fun family) across parts of the South we'd never seen before.

Parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Northwest Florida with its amazingly beautiful beaches, with white, fluffy sand and clear turquoise-blue water; very pleasant swimming, sand castle building, and perfect weather. I couldn't have asked for more. Except maybe a Caribbean cruise :) Lot's of fun, in chronological order:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana:

View of Downtown Baton Rouge and the Mississippi River from the top of the State Capitol building:


Across the street from Tiger stadium, visiting the live tiger mascot:



A brief temple "drive-by":



New Orleans, Louisiana (Thanks Priceline for the great deal on the 4-star Marriott right on the edge of the French Quarter complete with a great view of the crescent city and the Mississippi river from our 39th floor hotel room):

Best girls ever:



Beignets from "Cafe Du Monde":



Jackson Square (with the St. Louis Cathedral in the background):



Bourbon Street in the French Quarter:



Effects of Hurricane Katrina:





"Musicians Village" being rebuilt (on stilts four feet above the Katrina water line):



Battle site for the War of 1812 Battle of New Orleans American victory, led by Andrew Jackson:



Pensacola, Florida beach (if this was not paradise, it was very, very close):



Camping in Northwest, Florida:





Seaside, Florida (the site of a mater-planned "New Urbanism" type community I've studied about in my graduate work and also where the Truman show was filmed):








"Lovely" seems to sum it up just right.