We arrived in time for a late dinner with Uncle Catfish and his family on Thursday night. The kids had a great time playing with Caleb and Emory (who just turned 3) while we ate. That night was the only rough bedtime we had - the kids were exhausted from school, the long drive, and the late dinner, and that mixed with big excitement over Fest the next three days was a bad combo for 'happy hearts'.
The next morning the kids woke up early early....a real struggle for us since it'd been such a late night. We ate breakfast at the hotel and then went for a drive. Unfortunately this was the one day we knew we'd be getting rain. It poured all morning but started to let up just in time for fest to open at noon. However, the temperatures did not let up...it was so cold! I'd warned the kids, so Maddux and I had sweatshirts, but Eli left his in the car. Guess who had to borrow Daddy's shirt! We walked around to a few tents and stages (through some pretty intense mud and muck) until about 4PM when we called it quits and left to get an early dinner. We even had time to visit the pool before bed!
Saturday morning was the complete opposite of Friday. The kids slept in a little longer and kept themselves very quietly occupied (together!) in their room while Lehr and I took our time waking up. (We had a two-room suite...thanks, D!) The sun was shining, but the kids still took their sweatshirts into fest; I guess they learned from the day before. We planned to be at the gates when they opened because The Revivalists were opening on the Gentilly Stage. We got there early enough to snag a front row area and also plant a chair back where they were allowed. It was our loose plan to stay at that stage for several bands. Maddux made a friend right away: a chef who lived in NOLA. He was so nice and totally helped entertain the kids for a few hours with hula hoops, face paint, flags, and more. An added bonus: he had pink stickers promoting his new popsicle line.After about four hours, we left to find another stage. (Gentilly is one that leaves you in the sun the whole time, so we were pretty beat by this point.) The kids got their first mango freeze of 2013 and we stopped at a few tents while they ate. After we finished our last show, it was too late to try for any mainstream restaurant, so we went a little off of the beaten path to the burrito place where Chef Neal worked. We ate and then tried some of the famous popsicles - the kids were very excited about that!
Sunday was windy, but sunny again. We met Uncle Catfish's family for beignets before fest. The restaurant was located in a park, so we ran around with all four kids for a while before we ate. And after we ate. We arrived at fest just after noon and went to the Economy Hall tent right away so Maddux and Eli could use their umbrellas in a Second Line. After that we made our way to the big stage (Acura) to try and grab a spot for Trombone Shorty. Of course we were all of the way in the back, but given the muck still on the field, a spot on the track behind the field was a good call. I set up a blanket to sit down on and Maddux almost immediately laid on my lap for a nap. She got about 15 minutes before she woke up and cozied with Eli for a few songs. The two were tired, but very well behaved and happy. We stayed for The Black Keys, but not for Shorty. After hitting a few more stages and having one more mango freeze, we headed back to the hotel. The kids wanted to swim just a little more, so Lehr ran out and grabbed a pizza for dinner. All in all, another great year at Jazz Fest!2013 05 NOLA Jazz Fest from Nicole Eliason on Vimeo.
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