Crescent City, here we come

Family Adventure Day was a long and involved undertaking today, as we made the drive for a day trip to New Orleans. Now, some of you may be wondering how long that drive is, and I'll tell you. It's five and a half hours. Each way.
Some if you may be wondering why we decided to be insane and do this today. Well, Brian had never been, we wanted to go, and we didn't want to have to put the dogs in their resort for the night.
So, we were up at 4; in the car at 5:15, and rolling into town at about 10:45. Discovery: I do not like driving someplace brand new in the dark. I don't like not knowing where the road is coming from, and where I'm headed on it. It's disconcerting. Add to that the sleepiness of an early morning and the general unease about the wilds of Texas, and realize how pleased I was to arrive in New Orleans before lunchtime.
Our trip to N'Awlins, in a weird stream of consciousness paragraph:
Cafe du Monde is still the awesomest at beignets, and I was so happy to sit across the street from Jackson Square and eat my bag of them. ... Brian's first walk down Bourbon Street was a success. He drank a beer as we walked, marveled at all the bars along the way, and was intrigued by the "performance" clubs, as well. ... Sydney loved all the street performers, and was fascinated by the colors, sights, and occasionally too loud, sounds. ... I love New Orleans. Have I told you that recently? My day today reconfirmed it. That city is fantastic.
But the drive home was a drag. As we knew it would be. Still, it's 10:30, and I'm home, in my own bed, having had a great day.