Woke up early and meandered through the French Quarter, looking at all the architecture. Halloween is just around the corner and lots of places had their decorations out. I tried to check out a cooking class, but the few I found while walking around seemed hectic, overcrowded, and overpriced. 
I happened upon the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park French Quarter Visitor Center. There learned about New Orleans' history and culture along with background on the French Quarter. True to form, the National Park Ranger at the desk was choc full of local information and tips. She told me about a free Jazz Tour happening in less than an hour from the visitor center at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. She said it got busy and there was a sign up, so I scooted over there and put my name on the list. The tour was great! It was led by another National Park Ranger and we walked to different spots around the French Quarter as she explained the significance, told historical stories, or played associated pre-recorded music for us. After the tour, I headed back to Benjy's House and we went to grab a breakfast/lunch. The neighborhood coffee shop New Orleans Cake Cafe & Bakery had delicious grits with catfish and eggs and an ice tea to wash it down. During my jazz tour, I had gotten the tip that the old US Mint building had a free 2pm concert, so we headed over to Phillip Manuel with pianist Michael Pellara in a small auditorium. Afterwards, we headed to the "Satchmo: His Life in New Orleans" exhibit on Louis Armstrong housed in the same building. It was a treat to see his first cornet and last Selmer trumpet on display. Afterwards, we popped in to Cafe du Monde for their famed coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde. 
We head over to the nearby Westin Hotel, where the lobby is on the 11th floor. It is has great views of the Mississippi River and the French Quarter. Benjy then heads to work and I wandered the waterfront for a while longer, catching the sunset over the Mississippi River until it gets dark. 
I head over to check out the swank, historic bar where Benjy works. The city looks different at night with the buildings lit up. I walk down Bourbon Street and was instantly turned off...ugh. It is still early, yet there is already drunks throwing up and yelling far too loudly. Not for me. Arrive at Benjy's bar in a beautiful hotel. 
Just like old times, Benjy makes me a few delicious drinks at his bar. I enjoy them and then head back to the house for some shut eye. On the way back, I run in to a woman selling homemade hot food from disposable aluminum trays on a sidewalk. It smelled great and we all know random street food is one of my favorite things, so I of course, enjoy a plate.
I wake up early the next morning and head out. The street cleaners are hard at work, cleaning up after the city's previous night shenanigans. I catch the trolley to City Park with the help of some locals. Everyone seems so nice and chatty. I head to check out the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, outside the New Orleans Museum of Art. 
It is a beautiful space, with a pond and fun trees covered in Spanish moss with art hanging from the branches. There is literally art every where you look and it works well with the landscaped natural environment. There are several famous pieces I recognize, and many artists I am unfamiliar with but fall in love with their work. 
Pretty sure this is the best sculpture park I have ever been in and if I lived here, I would be hanging out here frequently. I finally head back around lunch time and pass a very crowded muffaletta sandwich spot. I join the line and order a sandwich from the guy at the register, waiting for an open seat. Business is brisk and the sandwich is enormous and yummy. 
I head back and meet up with Benjy, after he wakes up. Benjy gives me a quick tour of Crescent Park, a nearby park that had recently been redone and runs along the waterfront with walking/biking paths and renovated industrial wharf space open to the public. We walk along it in to the French Quarter, as we had booked an afternoon swamp tour on an airboat with Airboat Adventures. 
They came and picked us up in the French Quarter and off we went. The drive was only about 40 minutes away. As you get away from the city, it quickly gets less and less populated. We arrive at the boat launch in Lafitte, go over quick rules and head out to the swamp. Super touristy, but our group is nice and small. I actually really enjoyed just drifting along through the trees covered in hanging Spanish moss... there was something kind of magical about it. 
We see several alligators, ranging from a baby to large ones. We also saw lots of birds and a racoon (that hopefully didn't later get eaten by a hungry alligator). They drove us back to the city and as we walked back to the house, a wedding party complete with marching band danced past us. Because...New Orleans.
The next morning, Benjy and I get up and head out early to visit the National WWII Museum when it opens. The museum is huge and extremely well done, with lots of modern technology add-ons that help the personal narratives become even more touching. There is even an optional 4D movie. While the entrance fee is steep, it is well worth it. We wandered around the Historic Warehouse area, checking out graffiti and neighborhood art. 
We grabbed lunch and then headed over to try to find the parade route of a Second Line winding around the Treme-Lafitte neighborhood. I had read up about Second Lines prior to my visit and looked up on the WWOZ site to try to find one while I was there. I was in luck! We met up along the way of the parade route and followed along as the brass band marched with occasional stops to play. You could feel the energy and community in the parade of people, some of whom were dressed up, some of whom were dancing. 
People set up tables along the route and sell food. People pass by selling jello shots out of cooler bags or load bars or smokers full of BBQ in to the back of pick up trucks. I had a blast. we followed for quite a ways, but had to break off as I wanted to catch the last part of the free Crescent City Blues & BBQ concert for the evening in the Lafayette Square Park. 
It was the 10th annual festival and featured The Funky Meters (who included George Porter, Art Neville, Terrance Houston, and Brian Stoltz and Terrence Houston) and special guests Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas. We arrived to live music and the smell of BBQ wafting through the air from the numerous selection of food vendors. We grabbed a seat in the grass and enjoyed a beautiful sunset, amazing music, and a delicious dinner.The next morning, we headed to brunch at Elizabeth's Restaurant on a recommendation from other Seattle friends. Benjy and I split an order of praline bacon and I got the Red Neck Eggs (poached eggs with fried green tomatoes and hollandaise sauce). Sooo gooood! We walked back to house along the Crescent Park walking path, full of people out enjoying the nice day. We split ways, as I decided to go for a walk from Benjy's house through the Bywater and St. Claude neighborhoods all the way across the bridge over the Industrial Canal to the lower Ninth Ward. I was a bit nervous, as I had read that people in the neighborhood were tired of groups coming in and treating them like a tourist attraction, which is totally understandable. But I was welcomed by some of the friendliest people. It was sad to see the devastation that existed, even ten years later. There still abandoned houses all around that bore the spray painted X from when FEMA came in and inspected the houses, some with numbers of how many inhabitants in the house were found alive and/or dead. Several people in the neighborhood were out and about and stopped for a chat, telling me all kinds of stories. A guy was following me around from a distance on a bicycle and I finally stopped and waited until he caught up to me. I thought he was going to be angry about me wandering about, but instead he invited me back to his grandma's house for sweet tea and a game of dominoes on the porch. I stopped to admire a beautiful old car that a pair of guys were working on. We chatted and they gave me a little cruise around the neighborhood in the car, showing me Fats Domino's old house. They invited me to join them at some oyster festival a ways away, but I declined and continued wandering. Ran in to an elderly gentleman doing yard work outside his house and he told me all of the hardships of saving and slowly trying to rebuild his house.
He even gave me a tour inside an abandoned house across the street of a friend who had since died and his house has sat empty. I had put my camera away, for the most part while walking around, but he said it was fine if I wanted to take some photos of the house. He told me of the owner of the house, who loved doing woodwork, and it still showed in all the care and attention to detail that survived. 
The elderly gentleman explained that he still watches over the house and keeps an eye out for people trying to break in and steal or wreck stuff. We sat and talked about some of the racial disparities in New Orleans, as with his age, he had seen and experienced so much. We parted ways, as he was heading to the food bank. He was such a kind, prideful man and he expressed his shame in having to use the food bank. I tried to treat him to breakfast as a thank you, but he declined and we said our goodbyes.
Needing a break from walking for a bit, I caught the bus from the lower Ninth Ward back towards the French Quarter and then connected with the trolley to head up to the the Metairie Cemetary I had read about. As New Orleans is built below sea level, the dead could not be buried in the ground. 
Large, ornate tombs and mausoleums were used instead. First checked out two older cemeteries across the street and then headed to the Metairie. It was huge... so much that it would be easy to get lost. Chatted with a grounds worker who said she used to sleep in the cemetery when she was a homeless youth. She knew it so well, she ended up getting a job there. After several hours of meandering and enjoying the solitude and peace and quiet, I headed back to the lively French Quarter. Met up with Benjy in a sports bar to watch a football game in a bar. My last full day was spent trying to accomplish one of the main reasons I came to New Orleans. I had read on the internet about an abandoned Six Flags (formerly Jazzland) that was flooded out during Hurricane Katrina. On the announcement of an approaching hurricane, the park closed for what they thought would just be the day. That "storm" turned out to be Hurricane Katrina, and the park never re-opened. The flood water has since receded, but there was too much damage to the park to re-open. It is nearby the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, and there were several stories about movie sets using the site and finding alligators and wild boar roaming the park and a crew being bitten by water moccasin. Technically, the internet said there was security and people weren't suppose to wander the park. But after weighing out the consequences, of course, I still wanted to see it. I prepared myself for the fact it might not work out, but I figured I could at least try and then proceeded to convince Benjy to join me. Being he is also an adventurous soul, it was not that hard of a sell. We caught the bus, which wound around neighborhoods and past the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility. By the time we got there, we were the only two people left on the bus, and when we got off at the stop by the main gate, the bus driver snickered and said she knew what we were up to.
We walked towards the main entrance and saw the faded Six Flags sign which still said "Park closed for storm" since, at that time, they had no idea how big of a deal it would really be. We immediately saw a security guard paroling the parking lot and there was a set up like they were filming something. We decided to head another direction. 
We walked the perimeter and found a path, but a big yellow sign announced "Dangerous Animals Present"(and maybe a no trespassing sign). As we had already seen one huge alligator, we decided against entering here and kept walking around the perimeter. We reached the back side of the park, where you could 
see the old roller coaster and ferris wheel across a lake that had several alligators sighted in it. Kept walking past the lake and found some strewn about old amusement park memorabilia amidst the grass (old signs, pieces of ride cars).
There was an opening in the fence, so we headed in. The park is currently a kind of a time capsule. Offices were left just as it was on the day the hurricane hit, and we found a newspaper from August 2005 still on the floor. Amusement park rides are left to rot. Roller coaster rides are being taken over by grass and weeds. 
Once colorful bumper cars are left just as they were, bright colors now fading away. An office stocked with employee uniforms had shelves and clothes scattered on the ground. Kids toys lay randomly strewn about the park and old ceiling fan blades saturated with water now drooped downward. There is complete silence, other than the occasional groan of things shifting in the wind. 
Some disrespectful people have graffiti tagged or damaged stuff (I wish people would stop doing this and ruining it for others). Mostly it has been left alone, exactly how it was when Hurricane Katrina hit. It was both eerie and beautiful. I am so glad Benjy went with me and that we were there on a bright, sunny day. I can't even imaging how freaky this place would be alone or at night.
After our successful adventure, we head back to the house. Benjy suggests heading to Audubon Park for sunset. After cleaning up, we jump on the street car and head down Tulane Avenue, through the Garden/Uptown district past huge mansion houses. We get off and wander the park. We happened upon a sweet couple who had just gotten engaged and we all chatted for a minute and they asked me to snap a photo. I emailed the photo later and received a sweet response that we would always be part of their special day. 
We found a great spot to spend the last evening, watching the birds and families having picnics as the sun set over the river. As dark falls, we head back and stop to grab dinner at Ignatius Eatery. We shared a sampler plate of alligator and boudin sausage and I had crawfish etouffe as my last dinner in New Orleans.New Orleans is colorful in every sense of the word. It is easy to get around by walking and public transport. It is full of music, art, and quirky fun and there is lots to do, even if you aren't a big drinker (lots of it for free!). Trip photos are up online or you can view them as a slideshow. There were far too many photos taken inside of the Six Flags, so they are grouped together in their own album, which you can also view as a slideshow.
We drive through a nature reserve where we narrowly escape birds flying out of the fields and hitting the car window. We stop for a pretty good breakfast and continue on to Pierre, South Dakota. We check in to the hotel and head off to see the city. We check out the Capitol building and visit the National Guard Museum. Later that morning, we meet up one of my Dad's relatives, Eva Marie at the family farm about half an hour away and head to a town called Oneida for lunch. The town is small. Last census in 2000 clocked the town population at 740 people. There appears to be one restaurant that everyone goes to, a few bars and banks, and apparently a small motel/inn that isn't always staffed (honor system and grab a key from the front desk). We meet up with more family at the restaurant for lunch. Everyone seems to know each other and is friendly. There was a friend of Eva Marie's at lunch that when my dad mentioned I cooked a lot, looked at me and asked "oh, you cook a lot of rice, do you?". Apparently, Asians only cook rice?!? Ha! 
I actually thought it was kind of funny, due to her older age and my guess that there are not too many Asians that live or even pass through this town. We then went to visit another family member at the bank she in. It was an old school bank, with lots of marble and shiny chrome and an old bank vault. None of that trendy looking WaMu stuff! We then headed to the family farm. I got to take a ride in tractor and check out farming equipment, both new and old. Learned a bit about technology and its use on the farm (so much information, but stored on a USB drive which was kept in the massive gun safe). 
I wander around the farm fields and took a walk down the road to check out the endless fields of yellow hay and green soybeans and corn. My Uncle said that South Dakota produces the most sunflowers in the US and during sunflower harvest they fields are full of them, all turning towards the sun. I would love to see that some day. Occasional pheasants run across the road, which are hunted in the winter when the fields are cleared. After my walk, I head back to Eva Marie's where she has some afternoon pie waiting. My Dad, Uncle and I head back to Pierre.
After lunch, we head to Tug and Joanne's with a quick stop at a wheat field that is being harvested. They talk to the combine and collector tractor operators and get the okay for me to ride along! The young guy I rode with is from North Dakota and comes down to work at harvest time. He mentions that "South Dakota's kind of boring, but North Dakota's where it's at!" We then head off to the farm house (not before everyone laughs at me for wanting to see prairie dogs, as they see them as annoying pests). The farm house is beautiful. 
Big kitchen, mud room full of yet another huge gun safe and a lot of hunting trophy heads, and a huge vegetable garden. Tug gives us a tour of his home vegetable garden on a tractor (it's THAT big). I also learn that it is Sturgis Motorcycle Rally the upcoming week, and get to hear a few of Hazel's stories of when she has gone. She may be 99, but she hadn't ruled out going again, by the way. Ha! My Uncle needed to check out some kind of water or electricity thing that is somewhere out in a corn field. 
We decide to walk and find it, much to the surprise of Tug, who doesn't seem to appreciate walking (when we got back, he was driving down his relatively short driveway to the mailbox). It was actually pretty fun walking through the cornfield, as I couldn't tell where I was, so it was like a corn maze without the maze part. And of course, when we get back, there is afternoon cobbler. After the day on the farm, we head back to Pierre and say goodbye to Hazel. My Dad, Uncle and I grab a yummy steak dinner at Mad Mary's Steakhouse and Saloon.
On day three, my Uncle heads back and my Dad and I head off for some camping time. We set off for the Badlands, making stops when I see an old, nearly abandoned towns or buildings that I want to explore. Most were along the train tracks. We made stops in Nowlin, South Dakota that had an old cemetery and abandoned garage. 
And explored Cottonwood, a town with a last population count of 9 people. Cottonwood had an old abandoned grain elevator with remnants of the past inside... old floor tile peaking out of decaying floorboards, layers of faded wallpaper, a license plate from 1941, and what appeared to be a mummified cat who may have gone in to sneak away and die in peace. There was also an abandoned church that wasn't open, but you could peak in the windows. 
Always strange to see glimpses of the past in old abandoned things, like little time capsules that will eventually be swallowed up by the surrounding nature. We made the seemingly obligatory stop at 
We continued on to the Badlands. The views were stunning AND I was almost instantly greeted by a field of adorable prairie dogs, popping up to say hi. First we headed to the Sage Creek campsite to secure a spot and set up camp. Then we headed out driving along Loop Road, taking in the views and stopping in another almost abandoned town called Scenic, 
home of the once Longhorn Saloon that has since been abandoned. We stopped and picked up some yummy buffalo jerky from a little open store and then headed out for a hike. We headed up Notch Trail, which was a fun trail with ladders. At times, the landscape almost felt like I was walking on another planet. The end of the trail treats you to spectacular views. 
We head back down and head to the 
There was a brief discussion of how pretty it would be at the top of a peak to watch the lightening storm, but we both quickly and almost simultaneously said "pretty sure Mom would think this was a bad idea." We let the storm pass and drove along the rest of the Loop Road. We got to see mountain goats and bighorn sheep (and idiot tourists get entirely too close to wildlife) and were treated to even more beautiful views as it neared sunset.
We made it back to camp as it got dark, and were pleasantly surprised that a neighbor camper was nice enough to secure our rainflys on our tents... saved us from a very wet evening." They say this campsite is the more rustic of the two in the Badlands, but it felt like glamping to me as there were full Purell dispensers AND toilet paper provided at the pit toilets!
I woke early the next day while my Dad still slept and decided to go watch the sun rise on a nearby hill. I climbed up and saw a beautiful sunrise, even spotting a deer wandering across the way. I had hoped to see bison that occasionally wander in to camp, but no such luck. Once my Dad was up, we set off for Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills. We drove through Sturgis, where bikers had already started to arrive and the town was setting up for the big parties. We grabbed breakfast in Spearfish and then stopped at the 
You also get to see (and feed, if you want) rainbow and brown trout, see a restored old rail car that used to transport fish from hatcheries to lakes around the country, tour the Booth house, and learn about fisheries management in a museum. Set up camp at 
The next day, I woke up just in to watch the sun rise over the lake. We packed up our camping gear and headed to the town of Deadwood where we visited the cemetery to see Wild Bill and Calamity Jane were buried. Wandered the cemetery for a bit and then headed in to town to see the bar where Wild Bill was shot and killed. 
He was playing poker and holding what is now now as the "Dead Man's Hand." We headed off to Hill City and I had a small wildlife sighing of a fox on side of highway.... still no bison. We visited the 
It was nice, but much smaller than I would have thought considering the history and reliance on trains in the midwest. We grabbed a BBQ lunch at a spot on Hill City's main street. The town used to be an old mining town but now looks cute and arty. Currently, however, it is overrun by bikers with motorcycles lining the entire main street. We head off to Mount Rushmore. 
Fun to see in person and walk around and see it from different angles, my favorite moment may have been when a little boy of about six years old said to his mom "Ewww, I am looking right up their noses!!" There were several interesting speakers, including a National Park Ranger history of the landmark session and a Native American speaker telling stories and showing traditional dances with information on the upcoming Pow Wow. 
We then headed out, taking a winding road to a viewpoint area of Mount Rushmore for a different perspective. Looked way smaller than standing right under it. On my last attempt at bison sighting, we headed to Custer State Park for the animal loop. We asked at the Ranger station and he gave us tips on where a large herd were recently seen. 
We headed over and got out of the car to walk down and there they were... 300-400 bison! Some fighting, some with babies, some resting, some grazing, it was awesome and a little scary to see due to their strength and reported speed (they can run fast!). Also saw a few pronghorn. But most importantly (no offense to the pronghorn), I saw bison so the trip was now complete. We headed towards the town of Custer, as I had read some report that supposedly the nation's best burger was in Custer, according to Trip Advisor. Out of nowhere, a massive hailstorm with temperature drop of about 20 degrees. The hail was HUGE and crashing on to the roof of the rental car. 
We pulled over under some trees to weather out the storm. It stopped as quickly as it started and as we continued towards Custer, a traveling motorcyclists had dumped his bike, but appeared okay. As we awaited our table at