We had to start our day early,  because we  had decided to take a steamboat ride, and we needed to be at the  dock at 10:15 a.m.  Along  the  way,  we were  fascinated  by  lavish  Halloween  decorations,  as  were  the  passersby.

We found that lots of other people had the same idea. We spent  two hours exploring the boat and observing the activities on the shore. Lunch on the boat consisted of jambalaya, red beans and rice, fried catfish, spoon bread, and bread pudding, all traditional Southern foods. Nick and Nicholas were fascinated by the mechanics of the paddle wheel, which  provides the power to move the boat. A band called the Steamboat Stompers provided  lively musical entertainment, to which some of the passengers danced.

Once ashore, it was back to Kilwin’s for more ice cream.  Then Nick, Carla and I  took a streetcar back to our neighborhood, while Nicholas decided to spend more time in the French Quarter.

A friend of Carla’s had told her that his brother-in-law owned a barbecue restaurant  in NOLA  called Blue Oak, so we decided to give it a try for dinner that evening. It is definitely a casual, no frills place. We enjoyed barbecued brisket, pulled pork, baked beans, roasted Brussels sprouts, tater tots, and banana pudding for dessert.

Nicholas was exhausted and called it an early night.  Nick decided to continue reading the mystery  he had started on his Kindle. We make it a point not to watch TV while we are on vacation, but Carla turned on the set and found a station that played all the episodes of Little House on the Prairie in order on a continuous loop. Carla had loved all of the Little House books and a child, and together we had made most of the recipes in the Little House cookbook. The  episode that was playing was so sweet! Michael Landon had been a regular on TV   for  nearly thirty years, with fourteen years on Bonanza, nine years on Little House, and five years on Highway to Heaven. Recently  Michael Landon’s name was an answer on Jeopardy! None of the contestants knew who he was.

I went into the bedroom to find Nick  asleep still wearing his glasses with  his Kindle on his chest.

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