Is New Orleans good for kids? - Part 5

Day 5 – Train from New Orleans to Anniston


5:30 AM sure did come early the next morning. We got up, finished packing, and went downstairs to get a taxi to the train station, which was just a bit too far to walk with Cora and Greta. On the train, it was similar to the ride there and, in fact, seemed shorter, though it wasn’t actually. We arrived in Anniston at about 4:00 PM to find my father there filming our arrival. Our girls were excited to see him and then to see my mom and their little brothers when we arrived at my parents’ house.

So, what about the question of whether New Orleans is kid-appropriate? If you have read all of my meandering commentary about our trip, you probably have gathered that we had a fabulous time, seeing and doing many things we could not see at home. And did you notice that there were not any mentions of safety or security issues we encountered? That’s because there weren’t any. We knew enough about traveling safely, regardless of location, and took all of the necessary precautions to avoid putting ourselves in places we shouldn’t have been, like on Bourbon Street after dark. Hans and I discussed our trip afterwards and decided that Greta and Cora, at almost 6 years old, might actually be the perfect age to take a trip to New Orleans. They are old enough not to need a nap or a stroller, are able to walk pretty significant distances, yet are not old enough to really notice any of the risqué stuff in the French Quarter. Hans and I certainly saw some things that we wondered if they noticed, but when we asked them what they liked the most about our first walk through the French Quarter, they both immediately mentioned a window display of crystal animal figurines and vases. Ah, the eyes of innocent children! By the way, when we asked them what their favorite activity in New Orleans was (swamp tour, steamboat ride, children’s museum, aquarium, IMAX movie, zoo, Insectarium, beignets at Café du Monde), they both chose the Louisiana Children’s Museum. It certainly was the best children’s museum we’ve visited, though I’m not sure it’s better than the zoo or the swamp tour. I’d say that New Orleans certainly has enough activities to “Let the Good Times Roll” for people of any age and to keep the Crescent City in mind when you’re planning your next family vacation.

For planning purposes, I should point out that there is a VISITicket Power Pass you can purchase for admission into a myriad of activities in New Orleans and surrounding areas. I looked into the cost of the pass versus the cost of only paying for the places we wanted to visit with Greta and Cora. In our case, particularly since children age 5 and under are free on the steamboat ride and we have a reciprocal pass from the children’s museum in Huntsville, it was not worth it to purchase the pass for the city. There are various passes for the Audubon facilities, so we did purchase the one that included the zoo, aquarium, IMAX, and Insectarium. If you’re going to plan a trip to New Orleans (or any other city with a pass), do take the time to investigate which things you’d actually use the pass for and compare to actual prices of those things. Oh, and don’t forget to look online and/or in the lobby of your hotel for coupons. I found coupons for the swamp tour and the steamboat ride online before we left home.

Thanks to everyone who managed to read all of my notes about New Orleans. I hope that you find it helpful in some way and might consider taking a trip there, with or without kids, sometime in the future.

Is New Orleans good for kids? - Part 1

After considering a few cities that are 5-10 hour drives from Huntsville, Alabama (more than day-trips), my husband and I settled on a trip to New Orleans by train. Amtrak’s Crescent line runs daily each direction from New York City to New Orleans, including a stop in Anniston, AL, which is about 30 minutes from my parents’ house (A.K.A. the babysitters for our 2-year-old twin boys). We wanted to take advantage of our almost 6-year-old twin girls’ fall break from school to take a trip with them alone, so thankfully my parents were willing and able to watch the boys for us.

New Orleans has a reputation of not being a great place to take kids, so we did quite a bit of research before making this decision. We searched online and also consulted with three of our friends who have lived in New Orleans. Two of the friends offered many fabulous ideas for things to do with kids in New Orleans and the other friend was cautious about the potential safety issues and adult content we might encounter there. Taking all of their advice into account, we made plans to take the train from Anniston to New Orleans on Sunday, October 3, spend Monday through Wednesday sightseeing, and take the return train on Thursday, October 7. I thought I would post my comments about each piece of our trip so that others who might be considering a trip to New Orleans might find some helpful tidbits here.

Day 1 – Train from Anniston, AL, to New Orleans, LA

It worked out well for us that the train stopped in Anniston at 10 am, so we had a nice breakfast with my parents and our whole family before my father drove the four of us to the train station. The station in Anniston is quite small, but is perfectly functional for the two passenger trains that pass through each day, as the Crescent line makes its 30-hour journey between New York and New Orleans.

The 10-hour train ride itself went pretty well overall. The coach seats were as wide as first class seats on an airplane, reclined much further, and had a leg rest, a foot rest, and AC power outlets. Cell phone coverage for our T-Mobile phones was surprisingly good, certainly near any of the cities where the train stopped (Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, AL; Meridian, Hattiesburg, and Laurel, MS; and Slidell and New Orleans, LA). I learned on the way home that the pillows you can get from the attendant fill the gap between your lower back and the train seat, so my back was a bit sore upon arrival, but felt fine when we returned home.

What about keeping the kids entertained on the train? We brought books to read, coloring books, card games, and our computers (mostly for games), plus there was the excitement of watching the scenery go by and trips to the bathroom, the snack car, and the dining car, so Greta and Cora were actually pretty well occupied most of the time. We arrived in New Orleans at about 8 pm, went to our hotel, and settled in for the night.

Check back tomorrow for Day 2 - Swamp Tour and Steamboat Ride.