After being in Orlando for a few weeks, we wanted to see Miami as well. The drive wasn’t too long and we found a RV site at a Thousand Trails. This one wasn’t part of our membership, and we ended up paying for the stay.
We drove to Miami Beach and South Beach, but were only able to get glimpses of it from the road. We were unable to find any parking spots, so we didn’t make it onto the beach. From what we could see, it did look beautiful.
It was still really neat to see the city.
We also stopped at a Costco (I know…huge surprise!) and saw a few new items. This Costco had cheese flan, guava topped cheesecake, raspberry lemon muffins, and cornbread muffins.
We grabbed lunch at Casa Carlos. It was in a strip mall and was really good food. We got a Cuban sandwich, flan, and fried plantains.
When Ben and I wanted to start eating less junk food, Ben came up with the rule of no ice cream in the house. “What”, you may say, “Never?” Well, not never, we will buy for birthdays or sometimes just a small pint for everyone to share after dinner. However, in general, it is not in the house. Meaning that if we want it, we have to want it so badly that we are willing to leave the house to drive to get it. It needs to be consumed before we get back to the house as well. It usually is more expensive this way, which also makes us ask ourselves just how badly we want it.
Anyway, the reason for the explanation is that we both wanted ice cream and of course didn’t have any in the RV. We drove to a local Twisty Treats (looks similar to The Cone for those back home). They certainly had plenty of options to choose from! Ben got a blue raspberry in a cone. I got a cookiewhich (ice cream sandwich) with reese’s pieces.
The building is built like an ice cream cone and the very top is meant to look like a chocolate topping. At night the topping has lights that come on that resemble sprinkles. It was really neat! The cookiewhich was delicious.
We stopped at the Leaky Cauldron for some food after riding Escape from Gringotts. We ordered a butterbeer ($7.99), a frozen butterbeer ($7.99), sticky toffee pudding ($7.49), and a scotch egg ($4.50). The butterbeer tasted a lot like butterscotch. The frozen butterbeer was similar to a slushy, and 3/4 of us liked the frozen butterbeer the best. The sticky toffee pudding was pretty good and was presented warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The scotch egg was ok. It came with a side of tomato (pico de gallo maybe) and a dipping sauce (mustard based). The breading had a flavor to it that I hadn’t had with a scotch egg before. It was $29.79 for the four items.
The window display of food does not make the food look very appetizing, but most of what we had tasted pretty good.
Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor was our next treat in the day. We all shared a cone (they said they were out of cups). We got a waffle cone, which came with double scoops ($7.99). We got a scoop of the Earl Grey and Lavender and a scoop of the Chocolate and Raspberry. The Earl Grey and Lavender was a very delicate flavor, it wasn’t very strong. It was tasty though and different from what we would normally get. The chocolate and raspberry was also good, but it seemed like it was a chocolate ice cream with raspberry flavoring added in. I didn’t see any pieces of raspberry, and it had a slightly artificial taste to it.
We stopped in at Sugarplums and they had quite the candy/sweet collection of offerings. We went with the Cauldron Cake ($11+tax). It is a chocolate cake that comes in box and is served in a silicon cauldron (which you can keep and reuse to bake your own cauldron cake at home!). The cake wasn’t too bad, but the icing was a little fake tasting.
While the boys and I waited in line for the Twirl ‘n’ Hurl in the Simpsons area, Ben went to find the Flaming Moe ($11). The ride line wasn’t moving fast, so we left and joined Ben. The drink tasted like an orange soda and unlike the show’s version, is non-alcoholic. The cup had a bottom compartment with dry ice that creates the smokey effect once the drink is poured on top.
Towards the end of the afternoon, we stopped at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. It is a really cool building on the outside. We bought a chocolate shot ($7.95, looks like a little chocolate cup), a Shamrock cocoa bomb ($10), and 3 candy bars ($4 each or 3/$10). We got the Cherry On Top, Dark Amaretto Coffee, and Mechanical Malt bars. The Chocolate shot was good and really cute with the gear base and handle. It was filled with a ganache. The whipped cream topping was not as good, and I didn’t eat all of it. The Cherry On Top chocolate bar had cherry jelly beans in it! Cherry and chocolate is always a good combo, and it was an ok texture combination once you got over the fact that there were jelly beans in your candy bar. The Dark Amaretto Coffee was one of my favorites, but it was grainier with small pieces of coffee beans. I would buy that one again. The Mechanical Malt bar was ok, not as strong of a malt taste as I was expecting. We tried to get a spot for dinner in Toothsome’s restaurant around 2:00pm and they were booked for the entire day. I did not see a way to make reservations on the app. However, there was a phone number listed on the app. I also found out later that if you went to the actual Universal website you could make reservations online.
We stopped at the Studio Store in CityWalk on our way out to pick up some Harry Potter Chocolate Frogs. They are solid chocolate, which makes for one heavy little frog! ($12 each or 3/$30)
In terms of amusement park food, it was good, although pricey.
When we first started our journey, we were determined to fit everything in that we could while we were in an area. We saw so many new things. It was amazing…and exhausting.
Along the way we have slowly learned to enjoy the campground. After all, we are paying for any amenities offered in the cost of the site.
We’ve had a wide range of campground offerings from nothing to one with a pool/hot tub, putt putt, shuffleboard, horseshoes, pickleball, basketball courts, fishing, and outdoor checkers. Some of the campgrounds offered basketballs for use in the office, others you had to supply your own.
We’ve also had campgrounds that have had planned activities. We have gone to some of events that have allowed for social distancing. For example, in Chula Vista (San Diego) they had donuts for sale on Saturday mornings and had a Halloween event for the kids. At KOA Tucson, they had a breakfast event and a make a friendship bracelet event (make there or take-and-go kit). KOA San Antonio/Alamo had a Christmas Dinner (also eat there or take-and-go) and a bike/walking trail right next door.
I would definitely encourage you to use the campground as much as you can, both to enjoy activities that are there, but also to make the most of what you are paying for.
We saw some amazing breakfast images online of the food at Willa Jean and wanted to give this restaurant a try. We went early in the morning on a Sunday. It seemed like all available parking nearby were paid spots. We found a pay lot just a block down.
The inside was really cute and had a great atmosphere. My favorite decorations were the lights that looked like egg whisks. However, while the indoor seating was spaced out more than what they probably usually are, it was not quite 6 feet apart. We were seated inside, but a nearby table had someone coughing several times. There weren’t any seats open further away from him, so even though I got an eye roll, I asked to be seated outside. The restaurant had part of the street outside blocked off for some outdoor patio seating. The outdoor tables did not have table service. You ordered at the inside counter and they would call your name at the front door when your order was ready.
The chicken sandwich was by far the best. It was delicious and had a little bit of a kick to it. The sausage egg and cheese sandwich was good, but very messy with a runny sunny side up egg. The hangover bowl was ok, the grits were a little bit…chunkier…more textured…than what we were used to. The key lime pop tart was also a winner. I normally don’t like key lime, but this was subtle, more of a tart citrus taste. The pop tart shell had a flaky texture that reminded me of a puff pastry.
I am glad we tried the restaurant. However, I would not order the coffee again (expensive for the size) and would stick to the pastries and the amazing chicken sandwich.
While looking up things to do in New Orleans, I came across the Sazerac House. They offered several different types of events: tastings, demonstrations, virtual events, and even a free tour with a tasting. The free/complimentary tours were limited to 6 people of the same household, so we had our time slot all to ourselves.
It was honestly one of the best museum type of tours we have been on and it was FREE! They have been open about a year and have some cool technology in their exhibits.
We entered on the main floor and were given disposable gloves. They also had disposable masks available. All staff wore gloves and masks as well. After you had your gloves and mask on, you went to the temperature taking station. Once we were cleared, we headed over to the desk to check in with Tim (he was a fellow Ohioan!) and received a map of the facility, a wrist band for the adults (after checking ID’s), and a touch screen key.
Our tour guide was Kristine Lou. She did a great job during the tour and pointed things out the boys might like to try (the interactive exhibits).
We took the elevator up to the third floor to the history of “coffee shops”, which were apparently upscale bars where women were not allowed. Along one wall, there was a projection screen with a moving illustration of an 1800’s scene. There were history facts and displays along the wall.
We learned about bitters and moved on to the bitters tasting room. They also bottle the bitters here. Bitters are aromatics and seasonings steeped in alcohol, then filtered and added to cocktails. We tried three types: Hellfire (jalapeño), Xocolatl Mole (chocolate), and Peychaud’s bitters. They make bitters on-site and had several barrels of rum aging on-site as well. The bourbon gets shipped to Frankfurt, Kentucky for aging.
We moved onto another room where we learned about the official cocktail of New Orleans, the Sazerac. We also learned about Absinthe. It was in a lot of cocktails and was banned in 1912 for health concerns. A man recreated it and substituted the wormwood (the ingredient they thought was causing problems) and renamed it Herbsaint (used all the letters in Absinthe and added an R, according to our tour guide). This room also had information on Prohibition and how New Orleans kept the drinks coming. There were these really fun interactive tables here as well. There were three different shapes of coasters (round, square, hexagon). You placed your coaster on the table and it told a story based on the coaster shape. You tapped the table to go to the next information screen.
Video
We had our first drink tasting of a Sazerac and watched a short video. Our tour guide poured the boys a limeade, that they make on-site as well.
We walked down to the second floor and had fun “ordering” drinks from the interactive bar. There were four different stations/bar types. There was also an option to take a selfie with your bartender at the end!
Our second tasting was of a rum drink called Aku Aku and limeade again for the boys. This one was a nice mix of sweet and sour. We moved on to the Bourbon room where we learned about charring the barrels to release the sugars in the wood and to add color to the drink. There were some really cool displays with interactive glass windows. You could even tap over a bottle of their alcohol and have a recipe sent to you. (Here is the link to the drink I choose.) We walked through the Rum section, where we saw some barrels sitting to age. There was another short video to watch as well.
Interactive screen bottom right: getting a recipe sent via text
The tour ended with you back on the main floor to see the distillery, where we had our last tasting of straight Sazerac Rye Whiskey and got to see the equipment. After the distillery, you end up in the shop area, where you checked in. The bottle prices didn’t seem that outrageous compared to going to a liquor store.
Note: Kristine Lou had her mask on the whole time until the picture. We were the only ones there and maintained a 6+ foot social distance. Gotta love the zoom feature on cameras!
Everyone enjoyed the tour. It was a fun history lesson with lots of things to read for Will, tastings for the adults (although the limeade was good too!), and interactive screens and videos for those with a shorter attention span. Everything was super clean. I thought they did wonderful job with the tour and the museum. I would definitely recommend it!
DETAILS: *
TICKETS: Due to COVID, you need to make reservations online ahead of time. We took the Complimentary tour (free), but they do offer other tours and events ($30 and up).
HOURS: Tuesday to Saturday. Tour times vary (usually 11:00 am to 4:20 pm)
PARKING: Pay parking on street or nearby lots
BATHROOM: Yes
TIME RECOMMENDED: Ours was about a 90 minute tour, others may vary
*Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.
We have King Cake back home in bakeries for Mardi Gras, but it’s all one kind (cinnamon filling). Don’t get me wrong, it’s good and we buy one every year. But, there are different kinds down here! We were surprised, and wanted to try some new flavors. We stopped at King Cake Hub, where they sell king cakes from a variety of local bakeries.
So many King Cakes! There’s even ice cream!Our haul. We may have spent too much.Sample plates
We added our Rouses King Cake to the samplings. This one was bought in a Rouses grocery store, not at the specialty King Cake Hub. They do offer several different types of king cake, and it was a nice change from the cinnamon filling we normally have. We picked the Cream Cheese Pecan Praline King Cake.
Sugar Love Bakery Bread Pudding: I am a sucker for bread pudding, so we had to give this one a try. Even Ben liked it, and he is not normally a bread pudding lover. It had a great taste, with maybe a slight rum aftertaste. I loved it.
Bittersweet Confections Chocolate. This king cake had a cocoa type of filling, but it wasn’t a strong taste. I think most of the chocolate flavor came from the icing on top. It was a nice soft bread and the chocolate crunchy balls on top add nice texture.
Cannata’s Rougagooey: Tough to say, but delicious to eat. This one was my favorite. It was baked really well. Day one, it had a sweet bread taste with icing that tasted like a cream cheese icing to me. The decorations were fun and the information card was a nice touch. The boys enjoyed reading it. This one was even better the second day! It didn’t make it to the third…
NOCCA Cake Cafe Apple Goat Cheese: We saw raves about this on Instagram and gave it a try. Ben liked it. It was okay, but not one that I would buy again. It was not an overly sweet filling. The apples were still slightly crunchy, with the peel on. The crunchy apples were nice. It could have been the one we got, but the bake wasn’t the best. I don’t know that I would buy this one again. #Soggybottom
We didn’t even really make a dent in the types of King Cakes offered! There was a coffee one I was interested in, and several types of fruit filled cakes as well. However, at an average price of $25-$30/King Cake, we probably won’t get through all of them. Plus the RV door is only 24 inches wide. Not sure which would lose first our bank account or our waist line, but we will show some restraint in the Big Easy…at least as far as king cakes go.
If you haven’t tried these delicious treats then I highly recommend it. You can buy them if you live in New Orleans in a lot of different places, but you can also get them in other places too! If you can’t find a place that makes them close by here are some recipes:
When my family and I stayed in New Orleans we were close to the French Quarter. My Mom loves beignets. So we obviously went to where all of the people who think of beignets go…Café Du Monde. The first time we were just driving carefully through the French Quarter at night trying to glimpse the crowds you usually see around here. Since we were close by, we decided to go to Café Du Monde and get some of their famous beignets! They are handling COVID pretty well and have opened outdoor pickup and have up to three different pickup stations. Since it was late there were only a few people in line so we got our food and went!
Beignets are delicious. I love them. They are a little chewy on the outside with a nice soft inside. For all of you people who have a sweet tooth, they are covered from head to toe in puffy, white, powdered sugar. The sugar tastes amazing and when it fades you get the delicious doughy texture and taste of the beignet itself. We have currently visited the Café Du Monde two times.
If you are worried about COVID the Café itself handles it pretty well. The city also handles it better than a lot of places I have gone before. Almost everyone wears masks and that makes it nice. The Cafés’ workers are all wearing masks and the line goes by a lot quicker than it used to, with three separate places to order. I heard a kid, who probably was visiting for his first time, whine about how long the line was. But we got through it in less than 5 minutes. That is a huge difference than before when we had to wait for at least 20 minutes, to just get SEATED! All-in-all I think that Café Du Monde is doing well in the face of the pandemic, as is the whole city of New Orleans.
Thank you for reading and this is Will signing off from the wonderful world of beignets.
We found this awesome breakfast place called Toast. It is by the French Market in the French Quarter, which gives it a nice view and the opportunity to people watch.
Everything was delicious. It was a chilly morning, so Ben and I started with coffee and we got the boys hot chocolate. We picked 4 items from the menu and shared between us, so everyone got to try the different foods. We ordered chicken and waffles (it came with a delicious container of Cajun butter), a savory Florentine crepe, Aebelskivers (puffed pancakes) with chocolate sauce, and coconut cream stuffed french toast.
The puffed pancakes were little round balls of fun, and tasted like…well, pancakes. The crepe had a lot of flavors going on and was the most savory out of the things we ordered. Chicken and waffles are always a hit with our family. The Cajun butter was a nice surprise, not very spicy, just enough to add flavor and cut down on the sweetness. I think they used white and dark meat for the chicken. The stuffed french toast was huge. The macadamia nuts added a nice crunch and texture. I enjoyed it even though I normally don’t like coconut. It was a very sweet dish though.
Our waitress even brought us to-go coffees, which was super nice on a chilly morning. I would definitely recommend eating here!
When we eventually get more storage room, I may give making the Aebleskivers (puffed pancakes) a try. There is a special pan for them and I found a couple of recipes online (Recipe 1, Recipe 2).
The first time we came to New Orleans in 2017, the boys were exhausted by the time we stopped to eat at the Acme Oyster House. They were much smaller then. They fell asleep before we even placed our orders, woke up enough to eat a few bites, and then fell back asleep on the table.
Luckily, with age (well, I guess to a certain point), comes the ability to stay awake longer. This visit, we got four different dishes to share. We just recently started doing this, and it seems to be working well for us. We pick 4 meals and then ask for an extra plate (or two) so we can share the meal. That way everyone gets to try a little of everything. The side benefit is that it forces us to try something new a lot of the times, something that individually we may not have ordered. (Normally I wouldn’t order anything with fish, Will wouldn’t order anything with cheese, etc.)
This time we ordered the Acme Special Po-Boy, Fried Fish Po-Boy, New Orleans Medley (samplings of jambalaya, seafood gumbo, red beans & rice, and a grilled sausage), a side order of hush puppies and onion rings. Their specialty is chargrilled oysters, which we did not order this visit (but we did the last time we were there).
The restaurant has a lot of red tinted lights, which makes pictures difficult. Although it may not look pretty, everything tasted great.
Everything was delicious. The Acme Special Po-Boy was made with roast beef and was very moist! It was a little messy to eat. Nick and Ben loved the fish po-boy, and Will hasn’t met a rice and beans that he hasn’t liked yet.
The tables were much more spread out this visit due to Covid restrictions. (Last time it was wall to wall people and tables.) They also had a contract tracing list to sign when you entered. We haven’t really seen too much of that down here.
