Food in NOLA (Week 34: August 18-24)

We found out that the abbreviation for New Orleans, Louisiana is NOLA. Most of the food we ate in NOLA was seafood YUM! It was sooo good.

Our hotel restaurant was famous for its charbroiled oysters. You can see the chef making them on the grill and hear them popping as they were cooking.

Seafood gumbo and a shrimp po-boy.

Dainan was brave and ordered turtle soup with his po-boy! It has a fishy taste and the consistency of beef...hmmm

We found an Argentinian restaurant called La Boca, of course Dainan was so excited to try it. We ate grass-fed steak, empanadas, and gnocchi. It was delicious, but Dainan said the food had different flavors than the food he ate when he was there.

 Dainan eating the famous muffuletta.

Bayou tour in New Orleans (Week 33: August 11-17)

We went on a swamp or "bayou" tour along the Mississippi River. It was exciting as we got to see  alligators come up to the boat. The tour guide would throw marshmallows on the water to entice the alligators to come out.

This alligator was in a cage next to the gift shop and ticket booth.

We got to see some old gravestones and a cemetery along the river. (The one that is in the movie Interview with a Vampire).

This is a baby alligator named Elvis that we got to hold. I was a little scared, but the tour guide said he was a "professional" around people so he didn't wiggle or move too much as he was passed around the boat.

Dainan with an alligator head!

Here comes an alligator...

                                                                                     This is a wasps nest under the oil rig.

 Our other option for the swap tour...we chose the house boat instead.

Beginning of our trip on New Orleans (Week 32: August 4-10)

Hi Folks! We have gotten 2 months behind on our blog...so I am in the process of catching up.We went to New Orleans for an annual conference for Dainan's Society of American Archivists. I was lucky and got to come along for a vacation.  The next few posts will be pics from our trip. We had a fun experience as this was our first time visiting any of the Southern states.

Starting at the airport, we took a picture of the mural that we have passed several times, but have never taken a picture. It is neat as each tile is a small picture in itself that turns into a big mural when its put all together.

For example this is a picture up close of what the boy's face looks like who is holding the surfboard on the left side.

Some pictures from around the hotel. The conference was at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel for a whole week. This is where Dainan's conference was located in the ballroom and conference rooms.

A view from our hotel on the first night.

Sweet E's Cafe (Week 31: July 28- August 3)

My classmates from the Social Work program get together every couple months. This month we went to Sweet E's Cafe in Kapahulu for breakfast. This was my first time here and I enjoyed it! Here is a picture of the french toast filled with blueberries and cream cheese. Yum!

It has a nice atmosphere and delicious breakfast items. Thanks for the great time ladies! :)

Romney's 31st Birthday! (Week 30: July 21-27)

We are going to New Orleans next month for Dainan's annual conference and I am coming along for a vacation as part of my birthday present/our 6th year anniversary. On Friday, since it was my birthday I wanted to eat either saimin or pizza for dinner so we went to Sumo Ramen and Curry. Yum! After for dessert we went to Coldstone Creamery.

Gender Reveal Party (Week 29: July 14-20)

My cousin Adam and his wife Stephanie are expecting a baby and invited us to a "gender reveal" party to let everyone know the gender of their baby. They had pink and blue decorations around the house and we ate a nice dinner. For dessert, they had a blue and pink cake and once they cut the cake the color of the cake would reveal the gender of the baby. The cake was pink, and so they are having a girl! Congratulations Adam and Stephanie!

Kualoa Beach Park (Week 28: July 7-13)

Steve and Melissa wanted to go 4-wheeling at Kualoa Ranch but Romney and I backed out last second on them after deciding that Romney's coming with me to New Orleans for a work conference. So, we drove up with them and they dropped us off at Kualoa Beach Park where we babysat Katelynn so they could go play across the street. Romney and I were looking for an excuse to get out and go to a beach we haven't been to in a while. (Of course, that would mean that every beach on Oahu qualifies because it's been so long since we've been to a beach.) So we enjoyed the sun, sand, and water. We were joined by Caleb, Jen, and Hana halfway through the morning and then, when Steve and Melissa returned, we all picnicked together.

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Katelynn trying on her sun glasses

With full protection and binki, she's ready to finish the day strong.