Booze, Beads, Boobs, & Baby!

It seems fit that the first entry would be all about Bourbon St.  The one street where you can find booze, beads, boobs, and yes, sometimes even babies - which i'll explain in a bit.  John and I came to NOLA on a house hunting trip a month back. We really wanted to see what all the hype was about over this street. Surely one street can't be all that cool. It truely is out of this world and nothing you've ever experience before or will ever again.  Let me start with the normally 3 "B's" of Bourbon"

1.  Booze! and lots and lots of it!!! 
You know New Orleans is awesome if Ludacris gives a shout out to it in his song - Pimpin' All Over the World. Here are Luda's words: "Then at night I'm in New Orleans drinkin' hand grenades". What does this have to do with Bourbon St. you ask? HAND GRENADES! This drink is on everyone's to-do list, sold by tropical isle. It's supposed to knock you off your booty and comes with a cute souvenir cup! Click Me for a Picture of a Hand Grenade.  Bourbon St. has countless bars, for all kinds of taste! A few we went into are OZ - a fantabulous gay bar, Beach, Howl at the Moon - a fun piano bar, tropical isle, and a few others I'm not sure I can remember names! haha The point is, if you are looking to get wasted Bourbon St., definitely has the booze for you.

2.Beads!
They say you can spot the tourists here easily... they are the ones wearing Mardi Gras beads out of season. But I found on Bourbon, everyone is wearing beads out of season! It just adds to the fun! But you have got to keep on your toes when they are being tossed. Happy people just toss them from the balconies (no boobs required yet) to the crowd below. People go CRAZY for these thing and will knock you out of the way for them. So try not to get hit by random flying beads and stay away from random flying people fighting for them.

3. Boobs!
Bourbon St. is notorious for its nudity.  There are a lot of advertised "live sex", strip clubs, cabaret and burlesque shows going on at Bourbon. As you walk down Bourbon you have women in thongs and other barely there attire luring you into their place.  It is unbelievable what you can see on the Street alone, so we decided to check a place out.  The place advertised live sex acts. - Don't judge us! The sign said no cover charge, so we thought "when in Rome, right?" They did rape us with booze though, we paid $24 for 2 beers and a bottle water! AND it was just a strip show.  Maybe it's was because we were there fairly early, who knows. But the strippers weren't all that good, and by that I mean most were texting and talking to one another instead of really putting forth an effort.  Just avoid these kinds of places, just stay on the street near the balconies that throw the beads. You're sure to get a glimpse of boobage for free sooner or later.

and finally.....

*Baby on Bourbon
So during the week days Bourbon St. is actually calm and quiet. You can drive on it and walk around without the bands and workers competing for your business.  John, Marissa, and I went to the aquarium (review/experience coming soon) last weekend and decided to do lunch on the French Quarter. We ended up on Bourbon St. around 1pm. and it was a madhouse! The bars and nudity were already out for fun. One of the workers from a strip joint even tried to entice me into their buisness. All I could think was, "Oh my God! I have a baby on Bourbon!!!" I felt so awkward being back with my baby, to the street that had offered me such a devilishly good time last time.  I just couldn't believe how packed it was at 1pm, but it WAS the weekend.  Don't get me wrong, maybe early in the morning on the weekends, or during the week I wouldn't have minded being there with Marissa.  It just felt wrong to me. But now that I have learned that, I'll just try to avoid Bourbon during the weekend with her.  This is just a warning to the newcomers to NOLA.  This street (or city for that matter) is party central, especially if it's a weekend! Just be careful and remember what day it is and where you are.

Intro

Hello!

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Carina.  I have been a part of the military life style for almost 6 years now, as part of the silent ranks.  I have been married to my Marine, John, for almost 3 years now. We have a beautiful daughter who will be mentioned often, Marissa, who is almost 10 months.  Being with a Marine has its challanges, but can also be very exciting and rewarding.  Like our recent move to New Orleans from Beaufort, SC (Parris Island). 

I decided to start this blog to write about our adventures as a family.  I will be sharing, reviewing, and explaining my family's experiences while in NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana).  I'm hoping just to enlighten other military or civilian folk on what we have learned and are definetly learning about the culture and places we have enjoyed (restaurants, areas, bars, entertainment, etc...) in this wonderful city.