Vacation Excitement Insomnia

As I watch the clock I grow weary but not enough to fall asleep.  I look around me, there is nothing but darkness except for my bedside lamp and the sounds of the night.  Why can't I just shut my eyes and doze off like my rambunctious 4 yr old?  Not to mention the two lazy bone dogs sleeping soundly at the edge of my bed.  Mr. Sandman bring me some sleep. My excitement is somewhat over whelming for just a short weekend trip down I-10.  I just can't help it! I am excited to show my son a different part of our culture and even though he is only 4 I know that this will be a very interesting experience for him.  I am opening his eyes to new perspectives and I think that is so important to young children.  I am determined to show him things that I have seen and even things I have yet to bare witness.  My aspirations as a mother is to broaden his horizons and give him the opportunity to make his own unbiased opinions. Well, I'm off to count sheep or at least try.  I certainly need to because I will be the one driving. Good night, er, good morning all!

An Impromptu Weekend Get Away!

  I am happy to say that my resolutions for the year are coming along quite nicely.  At the end of the year I will happily disclose all that I have done.  Let's get back to the here and now shall we?  One of my resolutions is to show my son the world and take him on as many adventures as I can.  This Friday we are leaving for New Orleans with a family friend.  We live in South Louisiana and N.O. is only a 2-3 hr drive from where we live.  It was entirely unplanned and spontaneous in every sense of the word.  I called up a friend of mine on Tuesday and said, "Hey you want to go with me and Parker to New Orleans this weekend?"  She of course replied with a seemingly thrilled "Yea sure".  The reason I chose this weekend to go to the Crescent City is because my mom and her boyfriend went on a cruise and will be returning on Sunday.  How fun will it be for my 4 yr old to see his Mammie stepping off this big ship?  I may be more excited than him but as a mommy on a budget you can't get more of a cheap attraction than watching a ship dock in the port!  Plus, a bonus for them too because they have no idea we will be there!  The only thing we planned was a trip to the zoo and aquarium.  Everything else we will decide once we get there.  Unfortunately, I didn't know that the renowned Jazz Fest was this same weekend.  Bummer right?  Because the Jazz Fest is huge and hotels book up fast!  The hotels who still have rooms available jack up the prices to unreasonable prices.  I was looking and all the hotels in safe areas that were more than flea bag dumps ranged from $250 - $400 a NIGHT!  The idea of an impromptu vacation seemed to slip away just as quickly as it appeared.  However, I wasn't giving up (this momma certainly doesn't give up until she finds a deal)!  I headed straight to all the web site I knew of that could get me the good prices.  Everyone of them said the same thing....hundreds of dollars for one night.  I was not having that.  I went to priceline.com and decided to try bidding for the first time ever. *Note: I waited until the day before to bid on a room.  The reason I did this was because if they did have any rooms left the hotels would want to fill up to capacity; leaving them more likely to accept my low priced bid.  I won a 3- star hotel in the Warehouse/garden/arts district for $95 a night! SCORE!  This hotel was going for $289 a night and the area is the most beautiful of all of downtown New Orleans.  Might I add walking distance to everything and just a couple of blocks to the port where my mom's ship will be docking.  So, stay tuned for more of our impromptu vacation.  I have already mentioned my first deal of the trip and there will be plenty more.  I can't wait to share all of the places we will go and the things we will see. Until next time...............