NOMA, you knew that we would still find an art museum

 The last day of John’s conference and he’s there early while Oscar and I take our time waking up, getting dressed, and going to the Riverwalk outlet mall.  I figure that they have to have a playground and Oscar’s due for some just kid time.  We pass through and everything 

 isn’t open yet because it’s 9:45am and we are still operating on east coast time.  But they have the coolest play area with soft ground that looks like a marsh and  soft things to climb on like   

frogs, pelicans, crawfish and other bayou type things.  Oscar loves it and loves it even more when other kids starting coming in.  But after some playing and some shopping, it’s time to go back and meet daddy to go out to the art museum.  We are braving another streetcar line to head out to City

 Park and try to do our first art museum with the Bean in tow.  The park is set behind a statue of some soldier on a horse and for some reason, I know that it is Beauregard, even before I can see the name or anything.  Some innate Louisiana genetics are entering me for 

 this knowledge, or I read about him being here and don’t even remember it, or I recognize him so well, I can tell a bronze statue of him from the side….I’m going with probably read something and forgot it.  We head up to the museum and head immediately to the café because Oscar starts to fuss as soon as we get in.  We enjoy a great lunch with great beers and Oscar makes a mess of his grilled cheese and makes more noise than one should in a museum café.   

He should be falling asleep soon, so we head out and hope for the best, but it is not to be.  We finally leave the museum because of the ruckus that he is making and take in the sculpture park outside, because if he’s crying out there, no one will care.  We have to go down the ramp and around the museum and across a street and by the time we get there, the little shit is asleep.  So, do we go back in and try to see stuff, or finish the sculpture garden?  We finish the garden which is fabulous not because of the art

in it, but because of the setting.  I would spend all day at Meijer gardens if it was this compact and this pretty.  I’m assuming the gondola ride here is cheaper than in Venice and it is a beautiful day.  It seems almost criminal to return to the museum, but we have to take advantage of this time with a sleeping baby and head back inside.  We make it 

through to Impressionism before dinging elevators and other things wake the Beast.  And that’s not a typo, the Bean has morphed into the Beast and does not like museums.  I figure getting out of the stroller will help, and he does like crawling around, but slaps the

floors so loudly, you feel like you’re violating a noise ordinance.  So, we try to carry him, nope, we put him back in the stroller, nope, I change a dirty diaper, nope, the kid knows that there is culture going on here and he wants nothing to do with it.  So, since modern 

is left and John loves it, I take one for the team and leave with the ornery child to go sit in front of the museum and when I do, I realize that with a day like this, we should be outside anyway.  Oscar is such a Michigander, that he won’t crawl on the grass, because he is unused to feeling it and keeps

going over to the concrete and rock steps of the museum.  John joins us and we watch him crawl around picking up horrible things like cigarette butts that we thought were dandelions and finally decide to head back to the streetcar line.  We meander past the TULIPS that are blooming!!! Yes, Holland, MI won’t have these until May and here they are in New Orleans in mid Feb.  Couldn’t believe it.