I have to be totally honest with you. I did not want to stop in New Orleans. Stuart insisted and he won. My knowledge of New Orleans lead me to think it was not a very desirable city, especially in an RV with three kids! We solved the RV problem with finding the KOA in River Ridge that offered a free shuttle to the French Quarter at 9am and 5:45pm. Perfect. The RV does not have to move. We still were bringing three kids and were warned many times to stay off Bourbon Street. Got it!

We boarded the shuttle right on time and off for a 30 min ride into the French Quarter. It was a nice ride in as the driver gave us a tour as we rode. I was already awe struck at the homes and buildings. Amazing buildings. Okay, so maybe this won't be so bad.
So what are we going to do all day? First off we needed to follow tradition and have a beignet. We selected Cafe Beignet since they are rated the best Beignets in New Orleans. The kiddos enjoyed them and cleaned their plates!
After Cafe Beignet, we discovered we were really close to the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. It had rave reviews on Trip Advisor and they kids were eager to go, so off we went. Bugs, bugs and more bugs. It was awesome. Really. I have to say this is the most well done zoo (if we shall call it that) that I have ever been in. There were so many cool bugs, one after another. So educational and so well done. And all in locked containers, I like bugs that way!
The Insectarium also offered snacks! And cooking classes, but unfortunately no classes were offered while we were visiting. They did however have lots of snacks to offer us!
And cookies too! Here is my Chocolate Chirp Cookie. But I could not eat it, there was no way. Jackson enjoyed two instead.
Next up we took some time to walk around the French Quarter and to tour the Jean LaFitte National Park where Jackson worked on another Jr. Ranger badge. He loves collecting these badges and I love that he works hard on the questions and takes each oath proudly! His previous badge was earned in Springfield IL. We finished the day off with a stroll to the French Market and a few shops. New Orleans I have changed my mind about you. You are a very neat town.