Louisiana Swamp Tour

It was our last full day in New Orleans, and we spent it with alligators.

A 25-minute drive outside the city was Jean Lafitte Swamp Tours. It was finally a beautiful day -- 70+ degrees and sunny -- and we saw about 10 gators sunning themselves in the swamp during our 90-minute pontoon boat ride. (It was certainly better than the day before, which the guide said turned up between zero and five alligators depending on the time of the tour.) The gators were all sizes, and one was gigantic, even larger than me!

We returned to the city in the early afternoon and spent the rest of the day walking around the French Quarter picking up a few souvenirs. We took a last stroll along the Mississippi River and to Jackson Square Park, where Paul was called upon to give a magician a $20 bill that he wrote his name on. It later appeared inside a lemon. And of course the kids got to swim in the hotel pool one last time, and they convinced us to get beignets one last time, too.

The next day was Thanksgiving, and we were in the car by 7:15 a.m. But first I watched the sun rise over the river from our 18th story window, where we also could see the riverboat we rode on Monday, along with the occasional cruise ship or container ship.

We intended to stop for the night in Chattanooga, but we got such an early start that we chugged all the way home, arriving sometime before midnight. Overall we drove 990 miles that day, and 2,440 miles over the entire trip. And by "we" I really mean Paul -- he was behind the wheel the entire time.

What a way to spend Thanksgiving -- supper at the Waffle House! But I hope the trip will be memorable for the kids for more than that reason alone. I know it will be for me.