At nine months of age Amelia made her first plane trip. She slept most of the way both coming and going to the Crescent City. She spent four days and nights with us in French Quarter at the Astor Hotel at the corner of Bourbon and Canal Streets. She was joined in New Orleans by her Mimi Witte, her Big Mama and Big Daddy Gillis.At our hotel, Amelia’s nighttime sleep, with her usual white noise sound machine, was mixed with occasional pluses of sound from nearby Bourbon Street as people partied five stories below. Amelia withstood this new temporary environment and enjoyed exploring new territories. With Amelia in a stroller, we went around the French Quarter, rode the St. Charles streetcar line to the Garden District and stopped to take pictures in Jackson Square. In the pictures you will see her reaching for a New Orleans favorite, a Po-Boy sandwich, which she can try for real in few years. We had rental car which allowed us to visit friends on Bayou St. John near City Park. Amelia met a friend’s baby, Aidan, who is a month apart in age from her. We ventured to see the progress in the Katrina damaged Lakeview neighborhood. Things look better there than in May 2006 when we first returned to visit after the storm. On Lake Pontchartrain, we watched the sun set over the lake while we dined at the new Landry’s Seafood restaurant.
Amelia likes being the well traveled baby, but she likes her time home as well as she explores the carpets and floors while crawling. She will return to Amelia Island in Florida for a visit in June. That will be a car ride, though she seems to like the speed of air travel.
Please see the photos by clicking here.
