# New Orleans Avenue Plaza mini review



## DaveNV (May 20, 2019)

@amycurl:  Mini review of Avenue Plaza, for you and others who may be interested:  (I'll write a more detailed review once things here are completed.)  We've only been here two days, and things so far have been very pleasant.

We flew in on Saturday late afternoon, rented a car at the airport for two days, and drove to the resort with no issues.  The in-car Navigation made it a piece of cake. (Justification for a rental car:  We needed a ride from the airport to the Avenue Plaza, and I've been told it's about a $40 cab ride.  We also knew we wanted to drive ourselves out to see a few of the Plantations, and the formal tours were expensive, and took all day.  They share the bus ride with guests from other hotels, so they spend a long time collecting and dropping off those other people while you wait on the bus.  Friends did it, and said they'd never do it again like that.  So we rented a car.)

With two days of Valet parking at Avenue Plaza, it only cost us about $85 total.  Factor in the money saved on the cab ride to the resort, and the convenience of driving to the Plantations on our own terms, and it was an easy choice to make.  We dropped off the Budget Rental Car at their location at 1317 Canal Street, and walked the ~four easy blocks down Canal Street to catch the St. Charles Streetcar back to the resort.  Simple, easy, and worth doing again.  (Budget through Costco Travel was a great deal for us - get Fastbreak. we skipped a HUGE line at the regular counter, and we were second in line to collect our keys.  We were in the car and driving away in about five minutes.)

The Resort has Street View (Front of the building, facing St. Charles Avenue), and City View (the back of the building, away from the street.)  I asked which was better, and was told the City View rooms are quieter, but they didn't have any available.  We were assigned Room 804, a 1bedroom Street View unit on the eighth floor.  Three elevators, and they move pretty fast.  There is a certain amount of street noise, but it's an urban location in a very busy city, so some noise is to be expected.  It's not bad, just something to consider.  By bedtime, it's pretty quiet.

Accommodations are classic WorldMark. Clean, tasteful, and no surprises.  (See pictures below.)  The king bed we have is excellent.  Very comfortable, and a great night's sleep.  Small closet, (seven hangers), in-room safe, dresser with several large drawers. Tiny bathroom with tiled shower, no tub.  The Living Room furniture is comfortable, if a bit industrial, but works fine, for the intended purpose.  (Pull-out sofa, side chair, table with four chairs, TV cabinet with extra bedding in it.)  The kitchen has only a cooktop, no oven.  Small dishwasher, full size fridge.  No ice maker, just ice trays.  But there are ice machines on (I think) four floors of the 12-floor building. No balcony.

There is a complimentary laundry room on the second floor, with three washers and three dryers.  They ask you to tend to your laundry, so you're not inconveniencing anyone else.  When I checked out the laundry room, there was a woman sitting there with her child, who was watching TV while Mom read. A workout room on the 1st floor is open 24/7, and has assorted weight machines and aerobics equipment, (treadmills and such.)  There was one person working out when I went through there.

On the roof is a sundeck that gives panoramic views of the City. (Take the elevator to the12th floor, follow the signs, then go out into a stairwell and climb another three flights to get to the rooftop.  There are chairs and tables there to sit out, if you're so inclined.  Between the two sides of the building is a courtyard with a small swimming pool and jacuzzi.  When I checked it out one evening, there were two people in the pool and about eight in the jacuzzi.  A number of other people were hanging out in the area, sitting at tables, and having a good time.  Looks like it'd be a fun place to relax.  Not sure how well small kids would do with it.

We're still exploring restaurants, (Thanks, everyone, for all the recommendations!)  One find I specifically wanted to share with @amycurl was a basic breakfast joint about a block west of the Resort, called The Trolley Stop.  Classic breakfast fare, (bacon and eggs, pancakes, French toast, omelettes - that sort of thing.)  Prices are cheap, (maybe $10 or less), and they are very busy on weekends.  I'm a quick breakfast guy, and we've eaten there both mornings we've been here.  My "1 pancake, two eggs, three slices of bacon" breakfast this morning was $7.00.  The total for the two of us, with coffee, was $19.00.  Hard to beat that.  Food is good, coffee is okay, service is efficient.  Sunday morning it was packed .  The waiter said it's like that on weekends.  Today (Monday) there was only about four tables in use when we ate there at 7:00AM.  We'll eat there again.

There is a 24-hour Walgreens about three blocks west of the resort on St. Charles (two blocks past the Trolley Stop restaurant.)  Easy to pick up last-minute things there.  Bring your Walgreens saver card for better discounts.  At the other end of the block from the Resort is a convenience store that was more about alcohol and snacks than anything else.

We drove out the River Road today to see two Plantations. (I'll talk about those in my full review later on.)  We went to Oak Alley and Houmas House.  Both were very picturesque, and the tours very worthwhile.  It was a bucket list thing for me to see Oak Alley, and I'm very glad we went.  It was really nice.  We toured Oak Alley first, arriving just about when they opened (9:00), then Houmas House, and we had lunch at Houmas House restaurant after the tour.  Great food.  Then we hightailed it back to New Orleans (about a fifty-mile drive) to turn in the rental car.  It was an easy drive back on I-10.

Weather today was warm, bordering on hot, and humid.  About what you'd expect from New Orleans in late Spring.  There were tremendous thunderstorms most of yesterday, so I'm glad we had the rental car for two full days.  The Guide at Oak Alley today said it was torrential downpours there all day yesterday, and we'd have had a miserable time trying to see the place.  Today it was sunny and dry. By arriving so early, we had the place basically to ourselves.  Beautiful place, and those trees are spectacular.

Tomorrow starts three casual days of Hop On Hop Off bus touring of the city, during which we'll hop off to explore the Mardi Gras Museum, take a Riverboat brunch cruise, and do a couple of walking tours of the French Quarter and the Garden District.  We've already spent time in the French Quarter and on Magazine Street, and we know there's a lot more to see.

If anyone has questions while we're here, ask away.  I'm happy to try and help.  More to come after our trip.

Dave


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## DaveNV (May 20, 2019)

A little teaser picture.  I took this at Oak Alley this morning.  It's not the main view from the front of the Plantation, but a side view, over a large metal water fountain.  The fountain was about eight feet across.  I liked this one quite a bit. 

Dave


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## dsmrp (May 20, 2019)

Wow Dave that Oak Alley pix is just beautiful, so peaceful looking.


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## DaveNV (May 22, 2019)

Here's a few more images from this week:




This is Houmas House.  Beautiful grounds and gardens and a very interesting home.




This is yard art at Houmas House.  Somebody has a wicked sense of humor. 




The classic view of Oak Alley.  The 24 Live Oak trees that create the "allee" have their own gardening attendants.

More later.

Dave


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## DaveNV (May 22, 2019)

More pictures from our week in New Orleans:




Lafayette Cemetery. Fascinating historical place, with burials from nearly 200 years ago, up to present time.




At Oak Alley, this wall of names commemorates the 220 slaves who were kept there.  No other records exist for these people, other than a few mentions in Last Wills and such, where some were bequeathed as property.  This wall is an attempt to make sure their names are not forgotten.  Sad tribute.




Very patient turkeys greeted us as we left the tour of Houmas House.  I decided their names are "Hunt" and Peck." 

Dave


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## Passepartout (May 22, 2019)

Don't you have a boat to catch one of these days? Oh, Thanks for the plantation pix.


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## DaveNV (May 22, 2019)

Passepartout said:


> Don't you have a boat to catch one of these days? Oh, Thanks for the plantation pix.



Riverboat ride tomorrow morning.  Really Big Boat ride starts Saturday.  Still soaking up the culture here in New Orleans.

We went to the Mardi Gras World museum today.  What an interesting place!  Fascinating to see how they make the floats and "props," then re-make them for next year's parades.  They are highly creative and re-use as much as they can.  Quite a business!




















This sunburst is about ten feet high and fifteen feet wide.  It's HUGE! 

The Hop On/Hop Off bus has worked well. The tour guide on board is very informative, and has given us a great insight into the history of the city.  We're using the St. Charles streetcar even more than the bus.  It's more convenient and runs 24 hours.  The bus stops at 5:00 PM.  For those of you "of a certain age," the streetcar fare for Seniors aged 65 and older is 40 cents one way. For the youngsters among us who aren't yet 65, the fare is $1.25 one way.  There are fare cards you can buy, but I can't see any discount reason to buy them.  About the only advantage is not having to have the exact fare in hand.




St. Charles Streetcar




The Hop On / Hop Off bus.  A Double Decker with a tour guide providing nonstop patter.  Very informative!

Dave


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## Passepartout (May 22, 2019)

Looks like you are having a real good time. N.O. is not a favorite of ours, but it definitely has it's allure. Glad you're enjoying it. FWIW, we are experiencing NW 'sunshine'. Hasn't stopped raining for a week! Obviously the weather didn't get the memo that we live in a desert!

Jim


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## DaveNV (May 22, 2019)

And then there has been the food.  We've tried to be creative, and sample some of the local fare whenever we can.  It's been very good so far, and we still have a few more days to go. (Thanks again to everyone who made recommendations of where to eat.  There is just no way to do them all, either financially or dietarily.)  I have pictures of most of the dishes we had this week, if anyone wants to see them.  Just ask.

We ate dinner on Saturday at Deanie's on Magazine Street at Jackson Street. Great food, but pricey.  https://deanies.com

Dinner Sunday was at Court of Two Sisters, in the French Quarter. Extraordinary meal. The fresh catfish dinner was perfect. https://www.courtoftwosisters.com

Dinner Monday was local easy fare, at Raising Cane's Chicken, about a dozen blocks down St. Charles Ave.  Better than KFC or Popeye's, by a mile.  Quite tasty, and $15 worth filled us both.  http://www.raisingcanes.com

Dinner Tuesday was also a few blocks down St. Charles from Avenue Plaza, at Lula Distillery.  Great food, interesting adult beverages.  http://www.lulanola.com

Dinner Wednesday was a combination of leftovers from the last several night's dinners.  Too good to waste. 

Breakfast's so far have been at:

The Trolley Stop, mentioned up above.  Cheap eats, and pretty good.  Very casual. https://www.thetrolleystopcafe.com  (Coincidentally, on Gordon Ramsey's "24 Hours to Hell and Back" TV show on as I type this is doing an intervention at The Trolley Stop cafe.  Small world!)

Silver Whistle Cafe, next door to the Avenue Plaza in The Pontchartrain hotel. Casual atmosphere, food was good, but lacked imagination. http://silverwhistlecafe.com

Another Broken Egg Cafe on Magazine Street at Sixth(?)  Really good food, HUGE portions, and worth the walk from the resort to get there.  https://anotherbrokenegg.com/location/new-orleans-la-magazine-street

We've been to the French Quarter only one time so far.  We stopped at Pat O'Brien's and had a Hurricane, so my brother would lay off his teasing.  (He does know his way around a mixed drink, my brother...)  Actually, the Hurricane was pretty good.  I may have another - or two.   We're going to the French Quarter again tomorrow after the Riverboat cruise.  That cruise is supposed to feed us lunch.  Plans are to explore the French Quarter afterwards, and have dinner someplace.  Cafe du Monde is on the list, because I'll be disowned by coworkers if we don't have a beignet there.  (What is the big deal about beignets???)

I think @Passepartout Jim had it right - bring pants with stretchy waistbands.  I'm sure I've gained about ten pounds so far. But it's vacation, so it doesn't count.  I'll lose it when I get home.  

Dave


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## amycurl (May 22, 2019)

I feel so honored to at the beginning of someone else's thread, LOL!  This is great, Dave, I really appreciate it! Hard to believe that my daughter will be out of school and we will be on our way to NOLA in just a little under two weeks!


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## DaveNV (May 22, 2019)

amycurl said:


> I feel so honored to at the beginning of someone else's thread, LOL!  This is great, Dave, I really appreciate it! Hard to believe that my daughter will be out of school and we will be on our way to NOLA in just a little under two weeks!



It's a great place, Amy.  I know you'll be comfortable here.  Be sure to ask if you have any questions. 

Dave


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## dsmrp (May 22, 2019)

Dave, glad you're having a good time.  My suggestion about Cafe du Monde and beignets is to go to the Riverfront shopping mall to their secondary location.  You will forego the ambiance of the French quarter & square, but you also don't have to stand & wait in a ridiculously long line.

New Orleans was wasted on my mother and brother last year.  Mom can't/won't eat anything spicy, and brother doesn't eat shellfish or much seafood.  That cuts out about 75-80% of restaurants.  Both can't walk very far and we couldn't take the streetcar cause the step up is too steep for Mom. Dad was a WWII veteran, but Mom wasn't interested at all in going to WWII museum. Oh well, they were just there to catch their cruise ship, and I was there to ensure they could get to N.O.


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## slip (May 22, 2019)

Sounds like a great trip. We didn’t make it to any of the plantations. I guess that just means we have to go back. Gotta love the food. Get a Muffuletta! I think I had three the week we were there.


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## DaveNV (May 23, 2019)

dsmrp said:


> Dave, glad you're having a good time.  My suggestion about Cafe du Monde and beignets is to go to the Riverfront shopping mall to their secondary location.  You will forego the ambiance of the French quarter & square, but you also don't have to stand & wait in a ridiculously long line.
> 
> New Orleans was wasted on my mother and brother last year.  Mom can't/won't eat anything spicy, and brother doesn't eat shellfish or much seafood.  That cuts out about 75-80% of restaurants.  Both can't walk very far and we couldn't take the streetcar cause the step up is too steep for Mom. Dad was a WWII veteran, but Mom wasn't interested at all in going to WWII museum. Oh well, they were just there to catch their cruise ship, and I was there to ensure they could get to N.O.



Funny you should mention that.  We were at the Riverwalk mall yesterday afternoon, and I saw their location you mentioned.  I considered eating there, but decided to wait for the real one in the French Quarter.  I'm hoping if we hit it mid-afternoon the lines won't be too long.  We'll see. 

Dave


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## DaveNV (May 23, 2019)

slip said:


> Sounds like a great trip. We didn’t make it to any of the plantations. I guess that just means we have to go back. Gotta love the food. Get a Muffuletta! I think I had three the week we were there.



I'll watch for a muffuletta.  Never heard of it.  I'm intrigued!

We're headed out to have breakfast locally, then down to the river to catch a riverboat.  

Dave


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## presley (May 23, 2019)

Is the haunted house on property open? It was closed for refurb when I stayed there and I didn't get to go inside.


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## slip (May 23, 2019)

DaveNW said:


> I'll watch for a muffuletta.  Never heard of it.  I'm intrigued!
> 
> We're headed out to have breakfast locally, then down to the river to catch a riverboat.
> 
> Dave



Central grocery, you can buy a whole or half. They are all wrapped up and you can grab one and go. 

https://centralgrocery.com/


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## rhonda (May 23, 2019)

DaveNW said:


> Dinner Sunday was at Court of Two Sisters, in the French Quarter. Extraordinary meal. The fresh catfish dinner was perfect. https://www.courtoftwosisters.com


MUST make it to Court of Two Sisters in some future visit.  It was my Mom's favorite.  We did, however, get to visit Tujagues on the last visit which was fabulous.  (My parents often mentioned it as a favorite spot while they were dating.)  All my roots go back to New Orleans and we love visiting to find/see family homes, family story locations, family grave markers, etc.  I'm always on the hunt for "gumbo like my Grandmother's" ... an ambition that requires many taste tests!  

Great report, Dave!  Thank you!


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## DaveNV (May 23, 2019)

slip said:


> Central grocery, you can buy a whole or half. They are all wrapped up and you can grab one and go.
> 
> https://centralgrocery.com/



I just looked it up.  Holey cow!  It'd take me a week to eat one of those! 

Dave


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## DaveNV (May 23, 2019)

rhonda said:


> MUST make it to Court of Two Sisters in some future visit.  It was my Mom's favorite.  We did, however, get to visit Tujagues on the last visit which was fabulous.  (My parents often mentioned it as a favorite spot while they were dating.)  All my roots go back to New Orleans and we love visiting to find/see family homes, family story locations, family grave markers, etc.  I'm always on the hunt for "gumbo like my Grandmother's" ... an ambition that requires many taste tests!
> 
> Great report, Dave!  Thank you!



Thanks, Rhonda.  I appreciate the kind words!  It's been fun this week.  I've only been here once before, thirty-some years ago, for part of one day.  Never stayed overnight here.  This week has allowed me the time to enjoy things at my own pace, without undue pressure to do and see everything.  My intent by posting this thread was to provide "show and tell" for others who may come after me, or perhaps to bring up something new for those who are coming to visit again, but who haven't seen what I did.  It's all about sharing, right?  

Dave


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## DaveNV (May 23, 2019)

So today we started with an early breakfast at The Trolley Stop again, then took the St. Charles Streetcar to Canal St.  We walked down Canal to Spanish Landing, and boarded the Creole Queen paddlewheeler for a brunch cruise downriver to Chalmette Battlefield, site of the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812.  There was a narrator who provided ongoing descriptions of sites we were seeing along the route, and a very detailed historical description of the Battle of New Orleans, the major players, and the outcome of it all.  Quite worthwhile.

The Creole Queen stopped at Chalmette Battlefield for about thirty minutes, long enough to take a Ranger-led walk, or go into the Visitor's Center for a quick history lesson, and do a bit of souvenir shopping.  We opted for the Visitor's Center, because we knew time was short.  Very informative, and worth exploring again by a different means of transportation, so there would be time enough to more fully explore things.

On the boat ride back they served a nice buffet of several southern dishes, including a traditional gumbo, and a seafood pasta.  I think the chocolate bread pudding for dessert was the best part. 




Creole Queen paddlewheeler




Chalmette Battlefield Officer's Quarters building, added after the battle, based on drawings of buildings on the location at the time.




And then, of course, we HAD to walk over to Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter for coffee and beignets.  They were tasty, and the iced _cafe au lait_ was nice, but frankly, I don't see what all the fuss is about.  It's just a fried square doughnut sprinkled (in some cases, SMOTHERED) with powdered sugar.  What am I missing? 

As for the huge lines I've heard about:  No line at all at 1:00PM on a Thursday afternoon.  We walked right in and sat at a vacant table.  So I guess we got lucky?

We decided we'd had enough of the heat in the middle of the day, so we jumped on the Hop On Hop Off bus for a ride back to Avenue Plaza.  On the way I snapped this picture of amazing ferns growing on the balcony of a business along Magazine street.  For those of you in southern climates, growing ferns like this is probably easy.  Where I'm from, ferns tend to be houseplants.  These are pretty amazing:




Magazine Street ferns.

We're back in our room at Avenue Plaza for now, resting up and recharging cell phones.  Thinking about trying Mr. John's steakhouse here at the resort for dinner.  But first I think I need a nap.  

Dave


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## geist1223 (May 23, 2019)

As you are walking around the Garden District look at all the Fernsmgrowing inn the trees. Locally they are referred to as Resurrection Ferns. When it is dry they will die back. Then with a rain the come back to life.

For me fried dough with sugar is fried dough with sugar no matter what fancy name you give it. Though it is always good.


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## DaveNV (May 23, 2019)

geist1223 said:


> As you are walking around the Garden District look at all the Fernsmgrowing inn the trees. Locally they are referred to as Resurrection Ferns. When it is dry they will die back. Then with a rain the come back to life.
> 
> For me fried dough with sugar is fried dough with sugar no matter what fancy name you give it. Though it is always good.



In forests in Western Washington, ferns grow well.  But they're a lesser variety of fern, and nowhere near as full as these hanging ferns on that balcony. 

I've seen a lot of small ferns growing around the Garden District.  Lots of great plants, actually.  At Houmas House they had a huge oak tree covered with small ferns, all the way to the end of the branches.  It was mighty impressive.




Houmas House ferns covering an oak tree limb

As to the fried dough, maybe that's the thing - I'm not into deep fried things.  It seems greasy to me.  I'm not a big doughnut eater.

The Concierge here at Avenue Plaza said she likes "savory beignets," rather than sweet ones.  She named a place where she gets them, but I can't remember what she said.  (Edited to add:  I saw her, so asked.  She said The Vintage on Magazine Street is "the" place for savory beignets.)

Dave


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## geist1223 (May 23, 2019)

When we were in NOLA last October they had a Beignet Festival at City Park. Every kind of Beignet imaginable  - standard sugar, various sweet ones, savory ones, etc, etc. There is at least one Festival in NOLA every week. The next week was Blues and Barbecue at Lafayette Square, etc.


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## DaveNV (May 23, 2019)

geist1223 said:


> When we were in NOLA last October they had a Beignet Festival at City Park. Every kind of Beignet imaginable  - standard sugar, various sweet ones, savory ones, etc, etc. There is at least one Festival in NOLA every week. The next week was Blues and Barbecue at Lafayette Square, etc.



This town does know how to party, eh?

Dave


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## DaveNV (May 24, 2019)

presley said:


> Is the haunted house on property open? It was closed for refurb when I stayed there and I didn't get to go inside.



I finally got a chance to ask about this. They said No, it’s still closed, and probably will be for at least another few years. 

Dave


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## clifffaith (May 24, 2019)

Dave, you must be waddling by now with all the good food!


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## DaveNV (May 24, 2019)

clifffaith said:


> Dave, you must be waddling by now with all the good food!




LOL!    It's been pretty tasty, but I've actually been pretty good.  I've been trying to eat till I feel full, and take away the rest for later.    I've found (to my surprise) that my taste buds are pretty specific - I do like the fresh seafood items a lot, and seafood things in other things (e.g. crab/lobster/crawfish seafood pasta), but find I can't handle the overly-sweet stuff or anything greasy. 

Some meals are better than others, and I've left a few places feeling pretty stuffed. We had dinner last night at Mr. John's restaurant next to Avenue Plaza.  Insanely expensive meal, but the food was probably the best fresh fish (Amberjack, if anyone knows that fish) I've ever had.  It was cooked to perfection, had a fantastic sauce, and was just exceptional.  Add in the appetizer (crab-stuffed shrimp, wrapped in bacon and grilled, served with a spicy aioli drizzle and a sweet chillie sauce) and I waddled out with a very, very big smile.  It was a great meal, and no leftovers!    No complaints all week about the food here.

Tonight we'll end our NoLa visit with a farewell dinner at the Creole House on Canal Street.  

Dave


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## DaveNV (May 25, 2019)

Well, as seems to happen after a week or so at timeshare resorts, it's time to say Farewell.  We've thoroughly enjoyed our time in New Orleans, enough to want to return and see more of it.  It's been a throughly pleasant experience.  The weather has been really good, although a bit (ok, a LOT) hotter and more humid than I'm used to.  Food has been just excellent, and I've enjoyed a lot of great things, cooked by people who didn't learn it from a cookbook.  (I can still fasten my pants this morning, so I think I came through this mostly unscathed.  We'll see what the scale says when I get home.  )

I think, rather surprisingly, the most enjoyable part of this week has been the people.  I have found them generally to be very pleasant, respectful, and kind.  There is a natural grace and goodness about people here that comes through in their treatment of others.  Even the panhandlers on the street have been polite.

The only person I came across who seemed to have a generally bad attitude was a woman on the elevator here at Avenue Plaza yesterday.  She railed long and loud about the awful housekeeping staff here, who tried to break into her room, and refused to speak English to her when she challenged them - the woman went on and on, displaying a very ugly, uncharitable attitude.  When she got off the elevator, the others in the car looked at each other, and somebody said, "Wow!  How does she live with all that hatred?"  I agreed.

We're packed and ready to check out, but first, one last breakfast down the street at The Trolley Stop.  The food there is quite good, no surprises, and very affordable.  We've become somewhat of regulars there, enough that the wait staff greets us with a smile and a "Welcome back!" when we walk in.  Nice folks.  After breakfast, we'll hop a cab and head to the Cruise Ship Terminal to begin Part Two of this three-legged vacation.

Let the good times roll. Yes, indeed.  

Dave


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## chapjim (May 25, 2019)

Dave,

This is one of the best "journals" I've seen posted here.  Thanks for taking time to detail your week in N.O.  It sounds like you did the things that were at the top of your list, about as much as one can do in a week.  As most people find, there's way more to do in N.O. than you can do in a week.  You'll be back.

Your photos are spectacular.  What kind of camera were you using?

Enjoy your cruise!


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## DaveNV (May 25, 2019)

chapjim said:


> Dave,
> 
> This is one of the best "journals" I've seen posted here.  Thanks for taking time to detail your week in N.O.  It sounds like you did the things that were at the top of your list, about as much as one can do in a week.  As most people find, there's way more to do in N.O. than you can do in a week.  You'll be back.
> 
> ...



Thanks very much, Jim.  I appreciate the kind words!

We deliberately took things slower here, knowing we couldn't do everything.  We did just enough planned activities, and did a lot of "on the day" exploring as we felt was worth the effort.  We slept good, full nights, only needing to set an alarm two mornings, to meet scheduled activity timeframes.  It's been a very restful week.

The pictures I posted came from one of two sources:  My Nikon P500 digital camera, (a fixed-lens multi-zoom camera), that takes really nice images, and (believe it or not) my iPhone 6S cell phone camera.  I didn't use any editing software, so these images are how they came out of the camera.  All the exterior images are from the Nikon. The interior images, the trolley, and bus  pictures all came from my cell phone.  Glad you enjoyed them. 

Now, let's see what sort of mischief I can find on a cruise ship...  

Dave


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## easyrider (May 25, 2019)

Thanks for the updates Dave. I really enjoyed this !!!   We are thinking of heading to the same places next year.

Bill


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## DaveNV (May 25, 2019)

Thanks, Bill. I have a lot of pictures and information I didn’t post, so if you have questions, please ask.


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## slip (May 25, 2019)

Definitely, makes me want to go back and check out some of the things we didn’t get to do. 

Enjoy the cruise!!


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## amycurl (May 27, 2019)

Okay, I was thinking about calling the concierge at Avenue Plaza about the best/easiest/not-so-expensive place to order an anniversary cake for the in-laws (ideally, one that we could either pick-up within walking/streetcar distance or could be delivered to AP.) Does this make sense to folks? I think the in-laws booked directly with Wyndham, so their names should be on the reservation.


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## Greg G (May 31, 2019)

Thanks for the great running journal Dave,  and superb pictures.  Love the plantation shots and the sunburst at Mardi Gras World.


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## DaveNV (Jun 1, 2019)

amycurl said:


> Okay, I was thinking about calling the concierge at Avenue Plaza about the best/easiest/not-so-expensive place to order an anniversary cake for the in-laws (ideally, one that we could either pick-up within walking/streetcar distance or could be delivered to AP.) Does this make sense to folks? I think the in-laws booked directly with Wyndham, so their names should be on the reservation.



I wouldn't try walking with a cake on those sidewalks.  Very uneven and extremely "trip hazardy." I'd say to call them and ask what your options are.

Dave


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## DaveNV (Jun 1, 2019)

Greg G said:


> Thanks for the great running journal Dave,  and superb pictures.  Love the plantation shots and the sunburst at Mardi Gras World.



Thanks Greg!  I'll be adding to it and posting a full review after I get home.

Dave


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## amycurl (Jun 1, 2019)

My daughter has taken over the cake arrangements, and I think her first question to any bakery will be, "Can you deliver?" LOL.  (Somehow, it's more charming coming from a 12 year old buying a cake for her grandparents...)


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