Crazy to think that today marks one week out on our adventure!! It’s going by SO fast!! Here’s a brief run down of what we’ve experienced the last three days!

On our last day in Houston, we went to the Battleship Texas … The park ranger looked at me like I had three eyeballs when I asked her what happened at the battle of San Jacinto (I grew up in California, the history of Texas is not something I am well-versed on). It made me laugh – I had to Google it! The kids weren’t a big fan of the Battleship itself – it was pretty eery under the deck, especially in the sick bay area. They must have asked 48 times if we could go back up the stairs, please, can we go back outside??? We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with some old friends from Minot – one of my very first family clients! – who now live in a town just north of Houston! 🙂 We also got some authentic Mexican food – which Colorado definitely lacks – and it was absolutely delicious!!! I did get mauled by mosquitos though – at this point I have nearly 30 bites on my legs alone!!!

On Day 6, we headed out of Texas and into Louisiana. We drove over the longest bridge any of us have ever been on, and I swear I saw an alligator (we were doing 60 and I didn’t have the camera or phone so no pic – sorry!). We pulled into New Orleans pretty late at night and I’ll be honest – I was totally scared. We are staying at this little diamond in the rough near the French Quarter … on our way in, we saw some shady characters … but the place we stayed at was actually pretty nice! Although, it was right next to one of the gajillion cemeteries, which was kind a little scary – haha! 🙂 And no, we never actually went inside any of the city cemeteries … the kids were too freaked out to go in!

On Day 7, we got up nice and early … to a minor leak with the RV. I’ll save that story for my end-of-trip “what I learned about RVing across America” blog that’s going to happen. Anyway! After THAT – we spent the morning exploring the French Quarter. The character of the French Quarter was unlike anything I’d ever seen before – the wrought iron details and the old buildings were absolutely beautiful. Jackson Square was amazing too! I got to try both grits and beignets for the first time, and we got serenaded by a couple ragtime jazz musicians – which was really cool!! We also did a little antiquing, trying to find something for the studio (but paying $7,000 for a chair is soooo not happening!).

In the evening, I got to go over near Loyola University in uptown New Orleans to do a session with my friend Jenica and her family. Jenica is the force behind This Mom Is Losing It, and we’ve been friends for almost 6 years – but this was our first chance meeting face to face!! 🙂 Afterward, we went to Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro and let me tell you – it’s seriously the most delicious cheesecake I’ve ever tasted in my life. Sorry, Cheesecake Factory! We actually ended up buying an entire cheesecake and I’ll probably have that for breakfast this morning (no judging – I’m on vacation!! 😉 ).

Today we start the trek into Florida, where we’ll be for the next few days! Want to keep up to date with our travels? Follow me on instagram at @ashleydurhamstudios !! 🙂

Here are a few shots of the last three days – a mix of iPhone and “big camera” shots!