Chapter 17 – Louisiana
New Orleans
The three-hour drive along I-10 was uneventful for the most part; they managed to get past Mobile before rush hour. The short-term house rental in New Orleans was close to the places the family would visit over the next two days, including the many attractions at New Orleans City Park and at Audubon Park.
After checking in at the house, Ziva took Tali and LJ with her to a near-by supermarket to purchase some groceries for breakfasts for the next three days, dinner the next night, and snacks. She figured they would be eating out for lunch and some dinners, including take-out for the meal that night. The kids didn't know it yet, but she had booked the family on the riverboat Natchez dinner cruise for the last night they would be in New Orleans.
The supermarket had a deli department with hot to-go food, so the three DiNozzos chose foods to take back to the others to eat at their home-away-from-home. Tali chose chicken filets, macaroni and cheese, and southern-style green beans. LJ decided the meatloaf looked good, as did the corn-on-the-cob and potato wedges. Ziva added some dinner rolls to the pile and in the frozen foods aisle, she grinned at the two youngsters when she placed a gallon container of chocolate ice cream in the cart.
"Sugar cones too? Please Ima?" LJ held up a package of eight cones that he noticed near the ice cream case. When Ziva nodded, the boy nearly danced to the card to place the box of cones in with the other groceries.
After dinner, Ziva loaded information about the next day's activities to the kids' tablets. All of the sightseeing would be centered around New Orleans City Park, including the Louisiana Children's Museum, the City Park Labyrinth, the New Orleans Botanical Gardens, and the City Park Miniature Golf Center.
Tali and Anthony were fascinated with the images of the labyrinth and looked forward to the challenge of navigating the maze. Tali wasn't too thrilled with the on-line descriptions of the Children's Museum; to her it seemed to be more for little kids.
LJ looked at all the pictures of the miniature golf course, hoping to find a hole like his favorite one back home, but he didn't see any animal-themed holes. At the favorite mini-golf course at home, LJ always found a way to play the lion-themed hole twice on a visit there.
Beth and Rivka were mostly interested in the Children's Museum. Both wanted to see the 'Move With the River' exhibit in person. The photos on the website showed kids building dams and levees among other interactive parts of the exhibit.
" 'member when we built the dams and played with the water and dirt in Ima's garden? Abba made us clean up before we went to lunch…" Riv reminded her sister.
"Yep; Ima wasn't home 'cause of her school classes. LJ and the dogs got all muddy too," Beth grinned. "And Abba got in the shower with his clothes on!"
Rivka laughed, "How could I forget? He was soaked after washing the dogs and making sure we all got cleaned."
In the morning, after a breakfast of Ziva's own version of a popular food chain's breakfast muffin with egg, cheese, and Canadian bacon, the seven DiNozzos piled into the van to spend the majority of the day at the City Park's various venues.
First up was the Louisiana Children's Museum and the associated outdoor areas. LJ and the twins chattered excitedly all the way from the parking lot to the main entrance.
"Looks like this is more for little kids," Tali noted to Anthony as the two walked side by side. "Did you see that some of the play areas are specifically for toddlers?"
"Yeah, and there are a few that are for 'under four' also," he replied. "Are we gonna be bored with this while the other three have fun?"
Tali shrugged, "I hope not. I guess we are sorta stuck with this since Ima and Abba chose what we will be doing."
"Say something, Tals?" Tony had overheard most of the conversation between the two older kids.
"Um… no, Abba…"
After paying the admissions fees, each family member was given a museum map along with their paper bracelet. Tali glanced at the map and sighed. The little kids would have a lot more fun than she was anticipating.
At the 'Dig Into Nature' exhibit, the family learned about native animals, plants, and their habitats in the State of Louisiana. There was also some water play tables where the kids could build dams and levees and make waves in the water.
None of the kids were all that interested in the 'Follow That Food' area, although Tali and Anthony did read about some of the farming techniques unique to the area to avoid having the fields flood. The kids were all happy to skip the pretend grocery store and kitchen and head to the second-floor exhibits.
'Move With the River' emulated the port of New Orleans and the movements of cargo and ships on the Mississippi River. The one-hundred-foot water table caught all of the DiNozzos' attention as they explored the simulated locks, dams, drainage systems, ports, and tributaries along its length. The 'Cargo and Destinations' part even had Tali planning how to move a shipment down the river to the port for shipping all over the world.
The next area, though, is where Tali and Anthony both decided that the museum wasn't so bad after all. The 'Make Your Mark' exhibit showcases how New Orleans got its magic from art, music, history, architecture, and culture. Interactives gave them a chance to create music, art, and building models. Tali and Tony were captivated with the 'Jammin' House' and its music makers from drums to horns to a bass.
Every one of the seven stood with mouths agape in the 'Bubble Studio' when they realized that the bubble in which they were now standing was bigger than all of them! When time came to leave for the next area, all seven agreed that the 'Make Your Mark' was the most fun thing in the museum.
Tali and Anthony led the others onto the Lagoon footbridge to get to the Labyrinth. They were somewhat disappointed that the maze was not three-dimensional, but rather a paved brick area with clearly denoted paths on a circular base.
"I was kinda hopin' it would be like the corn mazes at home at Halloween," Tali sighed. "Although since Abba told us his secret for getting through, they are not quite as much fun."
Anthony smirked, "Keep your hand on the corn on one side and keep following the rows of corn until you get out. Never take your hand off the corn. It does work, but yeah, it kinda takes the fun away."
"Ima, I'm hungry!" LJ tugged on Ziva's hand. "When are we going to eat lunch?"
Tony and Anthony perked up at the mention of food as well.
"There are several places we can have lunch. The Acorn Café in the museum is one of them. Or we can find the food trucks," Ziva gave her family some choices.
"Acorn Café works for me," Tony was looking at the menu on his phone. "They have several kinds of pizza, plus tacos, chicken fingers, and pasta."
Next up was the Botanical Gardens in another section of the park that was a short drive away. The parking was across the street and next to the miniature golf course.
In the Gardens, the seven explored the various areas, including native plants, a shade garden, reflection areas, a Japanese Garden, and a butterfly walk. Ziva and Rivka were the most interested in the plants, trees, and shrubs, and the others followed along. The ten-acre New Orleans Botanical Garden contains more than 2,000 varieties of plants from around the world. The seeds for the Garden were planted in 1936, when the City Park Rose Garden opened. The Botanical Garden was funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which created New Orleans' first public classical garden.
When they came upon the train gardens, Tony was hooked! The G-scale trains are in two areas that are side-by-side in a corner of the Botanical Gardens. The Historic New Orleans Train Garden is one of the Park's hidden gems, featuring typical New Orleans home and building architecture made with botanical materials, and replicas of streetcars and trains that wind around the track. The 1,300 feet of track carrying streetcars and trains like those that traveled the city in the late 1800s to the early 1900s, at 1/22 of their actual size winds its way through the trees and plants of the garden.
All five kids were also interested, but when Ziva reminded them about going to the City Putt mini-golf, the three youngest DiNozzos tried to drag their Abba away from the trains.
"Just one more round… I'm watching for the passenger train to come through again," he tried to brush them off. "These trains are so cool. Hey, Zi, we could put up some G-scale trains in the backyard…"
"I think the dogs and cats would get into any layout you could make unless you fenced it off," she responded with a sigh. "I cannot see you building any layout that would be snow-proof either."
Tony looked at her, "Good point. The snow and winter weather would keep the trains from running on the track in the yard… but I could build a roof over the layout…"
Ziva put her finger over his mouth, "Perhaps your train layout should be limited to the O-scale set you had shipped home from Kennesaw, and the HO-scale set for the Christmas tree."
"Abba," Beth poked his arm, "There goes the passenger train." The girl pointed to the Santa Fe line cars as they rounded a turn headed away from the family. "Can we please go play at the mini-golf now?"
"I guess…"
The City Putt is the only miniature golf course in the city of New Orleans. The 36-hole mini golf complex is comprised of two courses: The Louisiana Course highlights cultural themes and cities from around the state and the New Orleans Course highlights streets and iconic themes from around the city, with signs detailing the city's historic sites at each hole. They bought tickets for two rounds of play, one on each course, earning a discount of fifty percent on the second round.
Ziva glanced at her watch as the family started the first course. Figuring about two- and one-half to three hours to play both rounds, they would be done with golf around dinner time. They planned to go to a seafood restaurant for dinner.
A very tired DiNozzo family finally got back to their vacation rental house about 2100 and most of them were too tired to watch any television. Ziva downloaded info about the next day's activities at Audubon Park with its Zoo, Aquarium, Labyrinth, and Meditation Garden. She did not include anything about the Natchez, so it would be a surprise for the kids.
LJ was the most awake of the kids. He looked at his tablet and the new information from his Ima. Then he went back to the website for the Train Garden and looked at pictures of the trains.
"Ima, do you think Abba will really build a train layout in our yard?" he asked.
Ziva pulled her youngest to her side, "It would be fun to have trains in our yard, but I do not think it is a very practical idea. Our dogs and cats would get in the way, and possibly even make a mess of the tracks and layouts. Plus, the winter snow and ice would make the trains unusable for a good part of the year."
"Oh," LJ's face fell in disappointment.
"We still have the trains under the Christmas tree and we will have the new one Abba had shipped from the museum in Kennesaw Georgia to set up as well," she chucked the boy under the chin.
Soon, all seven were snoring in their beds, resting for the next adventure in the 'Big Easy.'
The Audubon Zoo was the first stop of the day. There the family viewed the various animal exhibits, including the Asian animals, the Primate World, the Aviary, the South American Pampas, the African Savanna, and a quick pass through the Reptile World. All agreed that the most interesting areas were those that were different from the other zoos they'd visited.
The Louisiana Swamp section with its alligators, black bears, otters, and bobcats showcased animals that were not commonly seen by the DiNozzo family. Ziva didn't like the way the alligators watched them, their eyes just above the waterline and not blinking.
"I think they are checking us out as possible meals," she whispered to Tali. "They creep me out a bit."
Tali agreed with her Ima; the two moved over to watch the black bear cubs playing instead.
LJ stood watching the lions for quite a while as the others checked out the other African Savanna animals. When it was time to move on, he tried to get a few extra minutes watching his favorite zoo animals.
The whole family enjoyed watching the antics of the sea lions as a handler threw fish to them.
At the Aquarium, the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River exhibits had the more interesting displays with new things the family had not seen at other aquariums. The sea otters played in their tank and entertained the visitors with their silliness.
When the kids saw that the Labyrinth was similar to the one seen the previous day, they chose to skip it in favor of getting some food before heading back to the house to rest for the night's adventure. Ziva promised them it was something good even though she kept it a surprise until they were actually on the way to the dock where the riverboat waited for its passengers.
"Oh cool!" Anthony realized that his family was going on the historic riverboat as they walked towards the boarding area.
"We're going on the river dinner cruise, and we'll get to see some sights along the Mississippi River as we go. We have the first dinner seating," Tony explained to his offspring.
Tali took some photos of the Natchez with her phone. She then searched for information on the riverboat online.
"What are we going to eat?" LJ was curious. "Do we get to choose our food?"
"It is a buffet that includes salads, gumbo, backed chicken, seafood pasta, potatoes, hot vegetables, garlic rolls, and dessert, plus beverages. We get to fill our own plates from the choices," Ziva told her family.
Tony continued with the details, "There will be narration about the history of New Orleans and live jazz music as we cruise the river. We can also sit outside to see the river sights and the city as we move along the water. If I remember correctly from the booking, our dinner seating is mostly dockside, so we can enjoy the views as the cruising gets underway."
"This is so cool, Abba," Beth and Riv agree with their older brother.
Tali was reading the information on the website, "We get to see the sunset from the river. We won't be back at the dock until after dark, so we can see the lights of the city too. I like this surprise, Ima. Thanks.
"According to their website, the Natchez is the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi. Cruising on the Steamboat NATCHEZ includes Steam Engine Room visitation, calliope, live jazz, and optional dinner buffet. When the New Orleans Steamboat Company launched the NATCHEZ in 1975, they revived more than a famous name. They created one of only two true steam-powered sternwheelers plying the Mississippi today. The NATCHEZ combines the best of contemporary construction, safety, and comfort standards with all the authenticity and style of her classic steamboat gothic predecessors. The NATCHEZ resembles the old sternwheelers VIRGINIA and HUDSON in her profile and layout. Her powerful steam engines were built for U.S. Steel Corporation's sternwheeler CLAIRTON in 1925. Her genuine copper and steel steam whistle is a treasured antique. Her copper bell, smelted from 250 silver dollars to produce a purer tone, once graced the S.S. J.D. AYRES. Her 32-note steam calliope was custom crafted and modeled after the music makers of the Gilded Age." {from the steamboat company website.}
Tony pointed to the paddlewheel behind the vessel, "The steam engine turns the paddlewheel to propel the steamboat through the waters."
"This is gonna be fun!" The six other DiNozzos fully agreed with the youngest family member's declaration.
Four- and one-half hours later, the very tired family crawled into the beds for the final night in the 'Big Easy' with happy memories of the city and the fun adventures over the two days.
"Next stop is Vicksburg, Mississippi," Tony announced to all as they said their good-nights.