Happy Valentine's Day and HAPPY MARDI GRAS!As the week goes on, the parades continue to get bigger and bigger and our collection of Mardi Gras beads seems to be increasing accordingly!The weather, thankfully, is getting warmer and warmer (it was down to 40 degrees!) and we are enjoying a very relaxing time at St Bernard Park just outside of New Orleans. We have some lovely neighbours with whom we have shared lunch, homemade cookies (thanx Eden), evenings of coffee around the fire, and King Cake - a Mardi Gras special - but be careful not to swallow baby Jesus who is baked inside the cake...?

Much of New Orleans is still suffering from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.On any given street it seems there are houses under reconstruction next to those simply boarded up and abandoned.Today we explored the mouth of the Mississippi.Ironically, the last town on the "fingers" of the delta is called Venice.As we drove through flood water washing over the road it was easy to understand the comparison.Regrettably, most of my knowledge of the Mississippi River I learned from Huckleberry Finn!I had no idea that the river was so deep, or that it drains 40% of the Continental United States, that the shipping traffic could be so huge, or that the port complex of New Orleans was considered the busiest in the world (over 6,000 ships per year).According to the quick calculations Tim did in his head after reading the flow statistics on the internet, you could fit at least six of our Peace Rivers into the Mississippi. There is no way Mark Twaincould get me to venture out on it on a raft! Crossing it on a ferry is effort enough.

Infamous Quotes:

After a day at yet another museum "Oooh, I can feel my brain growing!"

Out of the blue: "What day is it back home?"(Really?)

"Mum, you should love it here; it is the hub of the Mrs. Hippie River!"

While eating Eli's homemade donuts it was made clear that "Dad is too old to die young" no matter how many donuts he eats!

"I know we are on a budget, but can we not buy see-through toilet paper - please!?"