Alabama to Louisiana Road Trip {New Orleans: Mother’s Restaurant, Airboat Tour, Mr. B’s Bistro, Voodoo Bonelady Tour}

We made the easy drive from The Grand to New Orleans, arriving just in time for lunch and a packed day!

Alabama to Louisiana Road Trip

Part 1: Birmingham {Grand Bohemian Hotel & Habitat Feed and Social}
Part 2: Demopolis {Gaineswood Plantation}
Part 3: Point Clear & Fairhope {The Grand Hotel & Mardi Gras}
Part 4: New Orleans {Mother’s Restaurant, Airboat Tour, Mr. B’s Bistro, Voodoo Bonelady Tour}
Part 5: New Orleans {St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, Central Grocery, Cafe du Monde, Preservation Hall & The Grill Room}
Part 6: New Orleans {New Orleans School of Cooking, National WWII Museum, Commander’s Palace}
Part 7: New Orleans {Mardi Gras World, Superior Seafood, Uptown Acorn}
Part 8: New Orleans {Windsor Court Hotel}

Mother’s Restaurant

We didn’t have a real plan for lunch, so when we arrived with plenty of time and saw Mother’s almost across the street from our hotel, Honey was SOLD! It was a highlight of his last New Orleans visit, about 17 years ago. The line was just as long as I remembered, but it moved quickly. We did two Ralph’s (Ferdi Special with cheese) and had plenty between the four of us (and even some left over). Our trip was off to a tasty start!

Mother’s Restaurant
401 Poydras St
No reservations

Mother’s Restaurant opened its doors in 1938 on Poydras Street’s “Restaurant Row”, situated between a thriving waterfront and the courthouse. Owners Simon and Mary (Mother) Landry and his large family cooked up po’ boys for lines of longshoremen and laborers, newspapermen and attorneys.

During and after World War II, Mother’s became a local hang-out for the few and the proud” the U.S. Marine Corps. The Marine spirit was in the family – five of the seven Landry children (five sons and two daughters) joined the Marine Corps.

Airboat Swamp Tour

Sufficiently fed, we were off on a Cajun adventure in the bayou country on an airboat ride. The boat leaves from the town of Jean Lafitte, a historic fishing village named for a notorious 19th century pirate and privateer.

Our guide, Jay, lived all of his life on these waters and was phenomenal at sharing unique traditions, stories and experiences with us. He zipped us through the bayou, stopping to talk and spot wildlife.

We saw all sorts of birds, eagles, snakes and raccoons, but the highlight of the trip was the gators. Not only was he hysterical and engaging, but Jay stood on the hull of the small boat when we’d stop and called the gators in Cajun! It was quite remarkable. Even though it was a cloudy, winter day we were able to see more than our fair share!

The bayou was a serene place, all gators aside, reminiscent of the marshes I grew up on.

We absolutely loved this adventure and highly recommend the experience. We opted for the small airboat, limited to eight passengers for a more intimate experience. The large airboat holds up to 25 passengers.

BOOK WITH ME

Mr. B’s Bistro

We hurried back to the hotel to change and we’re off again to meet two of my dearest friends for dinner at Mr. B’s. I’ve dined here with them a couple of times over the years and the shrimp and grits were just as memorable as the company always is! I don’t think it would be a trip to NOLA without Mr. B’s. <3

Mr. B’s Bistro
201 Royal Street New Orleans, LA 70130
Reservations on Open Table 60 days prior

Mr. B’s is one of the brightest stars in the New Orleans restaurant scene. Nestled in the heart of the French Quarter, Mr. B’s Bistro is located at the corner of Royal and Iberville Streets. Cindy Brennan and her famous restaurant family opened Mr. B’s in 1979 and it has become a true French quarter fixture famous for deft cooking of regional specialties in a casual bistro setting.

You might recognize Ron from the Uptown Acorn!!! We’ve had countless adventures over our sixteen year friendship! We missed Sister immensely. She’s an essential member of our trio – the Nut, Squirrel and Acorn.

Voodoo Bonelady Ultimate Haunted Tour

From dinner we were off to our final event of the night – the Voodoo Bonelady Haunted Tour. I told y’all it was a packed day! We met up with her in the French Quarter, just across from Pat O’s, which had me doubting my parenting acumen. :-)

Voodoo Bonelady Ultimate 5 in 1 Haunted Tour Experience
701 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 701165
Offered daily; Reservations needed

The Voodoo Bone Lady is a God-Gifted Psychic, Voodoo Priestess, Holistic Healer, Medium and Success/Life Coach. Born with a veil over her face, and hailing from a long line of people with pronounced supernatural intuitive abilities it was known early that she was a special child blessed with a rare gift that would bring light into the world. Then, during her early childhood a near-death experience seemed to even further amplify her already amazing talents. Shortly thereafter she began giving highly accurate readings and would routinely foretell future events even as a small child. Using her World-Renowned Intuitive & Empathic Talents, The Voodoo Bone Lady has spent YEARS visiting and surveying haunted sites to devise a Master Tour that is second to none. We believe that The Voodoo Bone Lady Haunted Tours are fun, informative and in a class of their own. The proof is in the pudding, come join us!

The Voodoo Bonelady herself gave our tour. She was interesting and knowledgable and covered ALL the bases – from pirates to vampires to ghosts to voodoo to witchcraft in America’s most haunted city. The tour itself was much more historical and full of legendary tales than scary.

Overall, it was a fascinating way to see a good deal of the French Quarter and learn more about the people and places that make New Orleans unique.

We were completely spent at the end of our late night!

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4 thoughts on “Alabama to Louisiana Road Trip {New Orleans: Mother’s Restaurant, Airboat Tour, Mr. B’s Bistro, Voodoo Bonelady Tour}

  1. Looks like you guys are having a great time in NOLA! Next time we are there I definitely want to do the swamp airboat tour as well. Guess you guys will be attending one of the Mardi Gras parades while you are there.

    I knew when you said you were having dinner with friends who it was. I follow Rons blog and have really enjoyed seeing how him and J have renovated their new Acorn Cottage. Hope you got a chance to see it in person. The outside is so beautifully decorated for Mardi Gras!

    1. We are headed to Acorn Cottage tomorrow and spending the day together. CAN’T WAIT to see it! His homes have always been gorgeous!

  2. I love following along on your trips. My husband proposed to me in Jackson Square 19 years ago and we’ve not been back to NOLA since. We need to go and take the kids!

    1. Awwww, what a memorable spot!! I got a few raised eyebrows when I said we were coming for family vacation but it’s been wonderful!

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