Hey guys! Thanks for tuning in today to hear all about Day 4 of our Southern Road Trip. Keep in mind this was done with two adults, no pets or kids, (yet)…but just because you want to take your kiddos or furballs along doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy a similar trip! Of course it would vary slightly, but all in all, I believe most of this journey would be amendable with adding additional family members in. We had no plan, no sure idea of what this all would entail, so if you’re up for following along further with us, I’m happy to have you here! 🥳 Oh! and stay tuned for the end of these posts which include a breakdown of our expenses for the day. Let’s get into it!

 

 

Staying at Destrehan Plantation 

Mmkay. So this day was such a beautiful start being that we were on the Destrehan Plantation, and the morning there was just absolutely stunning. With the droopy giant trees and the old buildings around the property, it was truly blissful to walk outside to in the morning. (Catch a future post where I’ll dive more into this place in specific!)

I didn’t sleep super well, since I have a slight fear of the ghosts…and although I pride myself on being spiritual and all…your girl still gets the heeby jeebies when nighttime rolls around. 😅 And!! And and and! In the morning? When I was writing in the guest book? There was a mention that a horror movie was filmed there. COOL.🙃

 

 

Needless to say, I did not meet any ghosts of the plantation. I was very content with our stay but also enjoyed my morning there writing and packing up for our next adventures. (This was about the time Ben started getting sick, which as you’ll see in the future, was going to be with *both* of us for the next many days). 🥲

We had grand plans to walk the levee in the morning, since the Mississippi River was literally like, right there across the street. But unbeknownst to us, it was a chilly 30 some degrees when we woke up! (This was basically the same as back home in PGH), so we were super bummed out that we were legit in the bottom of the states and still freezing our tootsies off.🦶

We ended up walking a little anyhow, because when else will we be so close? And by the time a short walk was done, my toes were absolutely frozen numb. Saying goodbye to our stay and the property was bittersweet, because it was such a fun amount of things in such a short amount of time, but we were ready to begin the rest of the day and moved onto New Orleans herself to enjoy some breakfast at Two Chicks Cafe.

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast was good, but the location was a little frustrating to get to. (I do believe they have more than one location if you’re interested in checking them out!) I loved their juice options and the food was tasty. We parked in the nearest parking garage which came out to about $20 for the day in case you were wondering.💁‍♀️

 

World War II Museum in New Orleans

Once we finished up, we walked to the nearby World War II Museum, and spent about 2 hours exploring the many exhibits, which were absolutely incredible. It was jarring, eye-opening, and a little hard to handle at times, but we both enjoyed it very much and would definitely like to share it with kids someday when they’re older and can appreciate it as well. 

 

*Check out this link if you’re interested in learning more about their pricing and hours!
And stick around til the end of this series for a post all about the museum!

 

From Ghosts at Destrehan Plantation to Voodoo Shops in the French Quarter

After that we kept going to Bourbon Street, and the nearby attractions that everyone comes to New Orleans to visit! We walked for a few hours viewing the chapel, reading the plaques on the outsides of the old buildings, stopping quickly in a cool voodoo shop for a souvenir, and eventually to the river to see the boats and events going on.

On the way back to the truck, we passed the Audubon Aquarium, and decided that will be next on our list when we come here again, but we may skip the busy streets and stick to the outskirts of the city instead. (Check out my last post to see our favorite family owned restaurant!)

The city was a whole vibe, lots of music, people, even kids which we were surprised by on the tourist streets, as parts of it could be pretty vulgar. 🙈

Since we were getting pretty pooped from the overwhelm of people and noise, we should have rested this day and just went to nearby Biloxi, like a bunch of the locals told us to. However, we wanted to continue on south since we were tired of being cold!

 

After we started out, realizing that we’d have to catch dinner on the way, so we opted to see what Mobile, Alabama had to offer and was *not* disappointed. We grabbed some more delicious catfish and seasoned fries (OMG THEY WERE BOTH SO FREAKING GOOD), and of course, an NA beer for yours truly.

This was a really cool stop, called the “Icebox.” It had delicious everything and the service was really great as well. We even got greeted by a pup at the door that a local had chilling on one of the barstools across the way! He was the coolest, but it made me miss our pets even more! 🙁

 

 

Panama City Nights & The Road Trip Reality Check

So once finding our next stop in the truck while having a snack, we made our way a few hours further to Panama City, Florida. The drive was half in the dark, (another perk of daylight savings in the wintertime), so I used this time to get some computer work done while Ben drove again.

Once we pulled in around 8/9pm, we unloaded everything and threw some laundry in (which we chose this place specifically for). It was one of our favorite Airbnb stays during the whole trip, even though it was one of our shortest. I was able to get some dishes done, reorganize our things, and take a hot shower. The bed was comfy also, but our sleep was short since we were both starting to feel more and more under weather.😭

So we got up super early, debated on whether or not to stay (if it was available again we totally would have). I wish we would have found something around there though looking back, because we were getting burned out at this point and just didn’t realize it at the time.

If you’re considering a road trip in the future, this is definitely one thing we both learned. Self-care should still be priority, even when you’re not at home. Because as you progress through your trip, you’re likely to get more and more tired, especially if you were already from holidays, work, and family obligations before leaving.

This is something we didn’t keep in mind, and we even said we’d keep up with the gym along the way. (Clearly that didn’t happen). 😂 So here’s to going further than we should have most of the days, 🍻 but also to having an amazing, fulfilling, multi-week road trip. Don’t let the miles between scare you from continuing on, just be sure to put your mental and physical needs first when you embark on a journey this lengthy.

Oops! And I almost forgot to include today’s Expenses! Here we go!👇

Southern States Road Trip Expenses for Day 4 in New Orleans:

• Breakfast: $66.11
• Museum: $75.60
• Caffeine: $9.50
• Souvenirs: $55.47
• Airbnb: $193.79
• Dinner: $57.98
• Souvenir Tee & Drinks: $50.69
  Total: $509.14

Notice not all of these days include 3 meals…which was totally something we never realized we didn’t need before! It’s weird that we’re more conditioned to eat 3 meals a day just because, instead of truly waiting til we’re hungry. Because of doing this intentionally this time around, we were able to save a little dough just having healthy truck snacks instead or even protein shakes, and also *win for me* being able to stay mostly in a calorie deficit as I was still continuing my path to losing 25 pounds. (Stick around to the end of the series to see how much I actually ended up losing overall!)

See you next week with Day 5 friends! Peace! ✌️

Oh! And before you go, check this out!👇Visit this link if you want to hear more about the Infinity Space Center or see their hours!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for Following Along from Destrehan Plantation to Panama City

Thank you so much for following along on this wild little stretch of our Southern road trip with ghost tours, WWII Museum and more. It means more than you know that you’re here reading, laughing at our missteps, and learning alongside us. Every mile taught us something new about travel, balance, and ourselves, and I’m so grateful I get to share those lessons with you. Stay tuned for Day 5, and as always, take care of yourself wherever the road leads next. 💛