One week gone and one week to go in New Orleans. One of our plans for next week was to go to a water park near Baton Rouge a little over an hour away. We checked this morning for the opening times. It turns out that since public schools in Louisiana start back this week' the water park is only open at weekends. So our plan to go on Monday or Tuesday was not a runner. We made a quick decision and packed our togs and towels and set off around 12.30.
We arrived shortly after 1.30 - it was freeway door to door. The journey on the freeway was interesting. It took us along the shores or Lake Pontchartrain for a while and then we drove on a highway built on stilts over water for about half the way. Here were the real bayous with trees growing out of the water and a canal down the middle of the two carriageways of the freeway.
We parked and paid and were soon changed and queueing for a slide. It was a combination amusement and water park. Despite it being that last day of the holidays, it wasn't too busy. Probably because the weather was a little overcast at times and there was a risk of thunderstorms. Indeed we had the cut short one of the queues because they shut down the rides for 10 minutes. Then the danger past without hitting us and we rushed to the front of the queue! However after another slide the thunder did arrive and we took the opportunity to eat. 30 minutes later the rain stopped and we were fed.
We then queued for the Voodoo Ride where four of us got into four connected runner rings and were sent sliding and twisting down in the dark finally spinning around a vortex in the half light only to be spat out into the open again. A few more queues and slides and we were ready to dry off and change and try our hand at the roller coasters.
We started with the basic and moved on to the Extreme. The extreme involved a spinning four person roller coaster ride. It was extreme and great fun. Mags have the roller-coasters a miss and was happy to sit in the shade and read her book. Lisa and I went on the big roller coaster with the two 360 degree turns. The ride went forward first through both loops and some lesser twists and then did the whole thing in reverse! We then managed to get ourselves wet again in a water roller coaster before collecting Mags and watching Lisa and Senan take a second ride on the spinning Extreme.
We were back in New Orleans before seven. We showered and changed. We weren't that hungry but we did need to eat. We went to a diner on St Charles and Carrollton, where we saw them queuing on for lunch yesterday as we waited for the tram. Its called Camellias. It wasn't very busy when we called around 8.30 but they were very friendly. We had excellent diner fair - burgers with fries all around. It was very good value and had a nice relaxed feel to it. Well fed we went home and played Bananagrams 'til we dropped.
No comments:
Post a Comment