We just got back from New Orleans and we had a wonderful time! We stayed at the Maison Dupuy in the French Quarter (highly recommended) and spent almost a week exploring the city. Here are some suggestions:

1. Take a horse carriage ride, a walking tour, or a haunted tour, etc. The Quarter is RICH with history and the guides will entertain you with all kinds of inetersting facts. Definitely worth it.

2. If you plan on visiting the Aquarium and the Zoo on the same day, take a riverboat ride from one to the other (round trip). It's about a 6 mile, 45 min. ride with all kinds of interesting facts about the Mississippi River and New Orleans. It's cheap (look for the booth outside Riverwalk and get a package deal) and it beats fighting traffic and paying for parking. Have a drink or cocktail to cool off. Take the late boat and enjoy a dinner buffet.

3. IMAX Theater is a great way to cool off during a hot day of walking around the Quarter. Plan it out so you can enjoy a little AC during the hottest part of the day while watching a 3-D safari or underwater adventure. Nice chance for real little ones to take a nap.

4. Skip Six Flags. You can find much better ways to enjoy New Olreans than wasting time at Six Flags. They have a long way to go before I would recommend them. Customer service was the worst I've seen. Workers are slow and don't care. Most of the rides are just so-so.

5. Stick with the stuff that is unique to New Olreans... like the D-Day Museum and NOMA (New Olrenas Museum of Art). Kids even enjoy them. City Park (by NOMA) is also fun for the kids. Explore the French Quarter. Walk in every shop that you see. You may not buy anything, but you'll definitley see some interesting stuff.

6. Pay the extra money to eat at authentic New Orleans restaurants instead of Mc Donalds... at least for most of you meals. There's a Bistro or Cafe on every corner that has food that will melt in your mouth. You'll be glad you spent a little extra.

7. Visit Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. It's a lot of fun and lots of weird stuff to laugh about. Strangely, it was one of the most memorable parts of our trip. It's on Decatur, next to the House of Voodoo.

Hope that helps a little if you're planning a trip to NOLA. It was recently proclaimed the #1 Family Destination in America.

Your post just reminded to get back over for one of my two or three trips a year. I want to take my son with this time and go to the Aquarium and IMAX.

These are two great places to visit with a family. The Aquarium is one of the best we have seen with a wide variety of exhibits and fish.

The Zoo is also above average and we have been to many, although my pref is to visit when I won't melt.

A good way to spend a full day is, hit the Aquarium early after your trip to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and Cafe Au Lait and then stick around for IMAX. After that, grab a Po-Boy walk right down to St Charles and get on the street car and right ALL the way down to the end.You can get on and off shop, grab a drink, soak in the southern charm and history as you pass old mansions, shopping, eateries and many different areas. As the car turns the corner near the bend, get off and hang awhile. For dinner, get in line and grab the famous cheeseburger at Camellia Grill. Grab a car back and start all over again, the next day. It is such a different way to enjoy a day. History, quality time and southern tradition with your child and NO X-Box. Yessssssssss!

Do it, the kid will thank you for it.

Keith

www.keithgoescoastal.com