Rollin' on the River

We all wake up and get to have some breakfast and coffee together

at PJ’s coffee before John’s first session and Oscar eats the whole carton of vanilla yogurt that I got.  So, I’m left with my almond croissant and am not really complaining.  He cries out when daddy leaves the coffee shop to go to the conference, but forgets about it

 quickly enough when I let him down on the floor to crawl around.  We thought about going out to Lafayette Square or something, but the trolley cars seem daunting to me with the stroller, Oscar and only one set of hands.  So, I’m thinking some modifications need to be

 made before Europe to allow me greater ease of motion.  One, is my small over the shoulder purse instead of the huge thing that I’m carrying here.  Another, is a smaller diaper bag that is not packed full of stuff.  I see one today that a lady has with her that is 

 over the shoulder and I think that this would help too.  Oscar will be able to stand on his own while I fold up the stroller too by then, so maybe all these things will combine to make it easier.  Of course, if he will stay put until I’m ready to grab him and get him onto a subway, 

  bus, etc is another unknown.  Since we’re meeting John in front of the Marriot in a little over an hour and the trolleys aren’t reliable anyway, I pass for some more crawling around the lobby, wearing him out so that he might nap when we go to the Natchez.  John’s

 coworker and his wife have bought tickets for the lunch cruise and we’re all going to go out and ride up the Mississippi on a steamboat with a paddle wheel.  I haven’t done this in years and even though Oscar won’t remember doing it, it will still be a cool experience.  Who

  knows if it’s still here in years to come?  We get to the boat and wait to board with Oscar still not taking a nap, even though I paced in front of the Marriott for a while trying to get him to fall asleep.  He only likes the stroller if you’re moving, if you try to stand still 

and read something, look at something or just sit down for a second, he starts to protest immediately.  I guess he thinks that if we’re stopped, he could be on the ground looking at things.  We have a nice lunch on the Natchez with Cliff and Carrie and find out that Oscar 

 likes catfish.  This kid will eat anything if it’s pureed, but is very picky about what he’ll eat in its natural form.  Which only seems to be bread products so far and French fries, but he is eating this catfish and grunting for more when he runs out.  I don’t think that John got to have much of his own filet

  which he kept giving Oscar some of.  We then try to find a spot to sit on the level where the stroller is.  Walk around seeing the paddle wheel, the engine room and then find a spot to watch the sites go by.  The only problem is, it’s windy.  I mean really windy to 

 the point that everyone is cold and I take the Bean back in the dining room and watch out the windows because I think that it’s going to take the canopy off his stroller.  Of course, he falls asleep now and we luckily start the return trip where we’re going slower because we’re 

 against the current, the wind is not as bad and the sun is shining on us.  I’ve gotten sunburned on this trip and that’s even though I keep putting on my sunscreen every morning, but I’m not reapplying through the day.  So, I’m itching a lot because of my allergy to the sun.  Oscar at 

least is still Michigan white because the canopy on his stroller is like a cocoon when it’s totally unfolded to the fullest.  He has learned to pull back the last part when he wants to see more of the world though, but he still sneezes and hides anytime the sun hits him full in the face.  So, after a very nice return trip, we dock and decide that Café du Monde is so close,

 we’d be fools not to get some more beignets.  We stroll through Jackson Brewery first and then get to the Café where everyone who is anyone is there.  It is Friday in New Orleans and you can visibly see the increase in the hotel, on the streets and in all of the French Quarter.  We find a table and sit to get served two servings this time, because one divided didn’t seem like enough.  But this time it’s too much and we should had stuck with one serving

  Oscar acts like he doesn’t like them this time and I guess that left a lot more for me and John.  We stroll through St. Louis Cathedral which I can’t ever remember going inside before and I’m left wondering where all the church’s money went.  I mean at least you can see what the Catholic church spent money on when you are in France or Rome, but New Orleans had a lot of money coming in at one time, but didn’t apparently have many donations.  It’s pretty austere and I don’t know if that’s because of the protestant community living right here too.  We head to a book store and while it most likely is normally a great place to shop, we have encountered it while they are moving to a new site and all of the books that John would like to see are boxed up.  He still manages to find 3 books to buy and then has to return to the conference.  Oscar and I head back to the hotel for a nap before dinner.  Which mean that Oscar will fight a nap and I will think about it before deciding to blog or something else.