Another day (morning) in New Orleans...

Micah and I really enjoyed New Orleans.  It was surprisingly cleaner than I thought it would be and the people were so friendly.  We had a great time walking around the city, taking in all the crazy sites!

On Jackson Square lies the Saint Louis Cathedral - the oldest cathedral in the US.

Cafe Du Monde - this is a local coffee stand that serves only coffee, milk, orange juice and their world famous beignets.  Delicious! 

Our hotel in New Orleans - a beautiful boutique hotel which was a five minute walk to the French Quarter.  This is only the second hotel we stayed at on our entire trip... in 88 days! 

Good Times in New Orleans, LA

Micah and I on Bourbon Street having a blast!

This guy was hysterical - he sang Barry White songs and advertised he is 495 lbs.  

An amazing live jazz band at the Spotted Cat - on Frenchman Street. 

Micah and I took a horse-drawn carriage ride throughout the French Quarter with our tour guide, Dennis and his horse Sparticus.  This was a lot of fun and very informational - we learned about the New Orleans history, voo doo, ghost stories, where famous people live, just lots of crazy stuff!

Old fire place at "Lafiette's Blacksmith Shop" - where the pirate brothers, Jean and Pierre Lafitte hung out. 

Beautiful rod iron porches littered the buildings in the French Quarter.  

Micah eating some good 'ol New Orleans oysters at "Acme Oyster" - delicious! 

Camping in Destin, FL

Destin, FL is another gorgeous spot in the US.  Micah and I drove from Charleston, SC to Jacksonville, FL, stopping to spend the night in another Wal-Mart parking lot, then continuing to the white powder beaches of Destin, FL.  We decided to camp at campsite right along the coast at Grayton Beach State Park.  We spent the day at the beach, which was so nice and relaxing.  However, we were worried about the oil spill and saw many workers walking around monitoring the beach for any oil indications.  We tried to volunteer, but we would have to first go through a Haz-mat training/orientation and dedicate weeks to work, which unfortunately did not work for us, so we couldn't do anything which was disappointing.  We still had a great time in Destin - we also went out to dinner at a local restaurant overlooking the ocean called Pompano Joe's - good times. 

Poe's Tavern in Sullivan's Island, SC

A very quaint fun pub is Poe's Tavern in Sullivan's Island, SC, which is about 15 minutes from Charleston, located along the Atlantic coast.  The owner's of this pub love Edgar Allen Poe's work and have it displayed everywhere in the tavern... really neat place!

Charleston, SC

Charleston, SC is absolutely gorgeous!  They have so many unique houses, political buildings, churches, cobbleston roads and of course a lot of history to go along with everything.  We really enjoyed our time here and are looking forward to coming back again someday.  Here are some pictures of our time in Charleston... 

This poor waiter was stuck in this elevator for 10 minutes - it was pretty funny.

Overlooking the ocean bay at Waterfront Park.

Heyward-Washington House - where George Washington once stayed. 

Drayton Hall Planataion in Charleston, SC

Charleston, SC along with all Southern states still have beautiful plantation homes everywhere.  The one we picked to tour was Drayton Hall.  This plantation dates back to the late 1700's and has been passed through seven generations with minor changes.  The family kept it nearly exactly the same as it was first built.  We had an excellent tour guide and enjoyed the stories she shared about the house, family and property. 

So sad... African American cemetery - many people buried here worked for the Drayton's.

View from the front. 

The basement - where the giant stove was in addition to some slave quarters. 

View from the back - from the river. 

Different sets of stairs in the house - the top was for the family, the bottom for the workers. 

Fake door in the house - to keep symmetry throughout. 

Fire place and the detailed crown molding - all done by hand. 

Hampton Plantation, Just North of Charleston, SC

 On our way from Wilmington, NC to Charleston, SC, we stopped to tour a plantation called the Hampton Plantation.  Unfortunately because we were 7 minutes late, the park ranger would not let us tour, so we snapped some pictures and kept heading for Charleston. 

Visiting Family in Wilmington, NC

After our visit in Charlotte, NC, Micah and I traveled to the North Carolina coast to Wilmington.  My Dad's sister Linda and her family live here in a beautiful, built in 1907 house.  We were able to hang out with Linda, Steve and their grand daughter Kayla for dinner and then hang out with my cousin Johnny for a fun night out in downtown Wilmington.  Wilmington is one of those very old, historic cities with a lot of stories and beautifully hand crafted buildings.  We also had a chance to go to two beaches along the coast - Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach - both beautiful with the warm ocean crashing into the sand.  Wilmington is also where we watched the final World Cup soccer game, where Spain beat Netherlands 1-0.  

North Carolina with Ryan Danner

Micah and I visited a good friend of Micah's who just opened his own practice recently, Ryan Danner in Charlotte, NC.  Ryan took us to the mountains to check out the beautiful waterfalls and scenery, took us to a sushi restaurant and showed us around his clinic.  We got a lot of great ideas from Danner and were so glad to spend some time with him in Charlotte.

Waterfalls in the North Carolinian Mountains

Looking Glass Waterfall.  By far the biggest, but most crowded.  Very cold water.

Triple Falls.

Micah jumping off the 15 ft waterfall... this waterfall was filmed in the Last of the Mohicans movie.

Danner and Micah getting ready to jump...

Micah and I getting pummelled by the force of the waterfall. 

Hooker Waterfalls pathway.