Day Ten: New Orleans

We had a fun, busy day in New Orleans today.  Thanks to our ultra-exclusive Gold Member Hilton Honors status, we were invited to a continental breakfast on the 29th floor of the New Orleans Hilton.  It sounds great, doesn't it?  Well, it's the same stuff we get every day at the lowly Hampton Inn.  The food was ok, and the view was spectacular.  After breakfast we headed across the street to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.  This was a pretty cool aquarium.  We enjoyed the sharks, the sea otters, the poison dart frogs, the manta rays, the penguins, and the tropical birds.  After lunch we saw an IMAX movie about Hurricane Katrina's affects on the Louisiana Bayou.  It was pretty sad seeing what happened.  After the movie, we checked out the Butterfly Garden and Insectarium.  Lots and lots of bugs, living and dead.  The boys loved the ant exhibit.  Jennifer hated the spiders.  All of them.  Everyone enjoyed the butterfly house.  Afterwards, Jennifer and the boys headed back to the room to cool off while I checked out a couple more record stores.  Tomorrow we head off to Florida and if the weather cooperates...the beach.