It don't matter if it was for a funeral or not, a trip to New Orleans means we're gonna have some kind of fun along the way...
Got the call, figured out the plans, and left for The Big Easy late on a Thursday night. When someone close to any of the Bear Family passes on, we try to figure out how to make it to the services. Poppa Bear was a pall bearer and the cubs became the unofficial toy demonstrators. PawPaw Gerry had made wooden toys for as long as Poppa Bear could remember and until his health wouldn't let him anymore, he had made wonderful wooden toys for Brother Bear... a name train, a log truck, a monster truck... toys we still play with!!! Being the youngest in attendance, the only children, the cubs found it hard to contain themselves inside the funeral home (an extremely old, converted home on Canal Street that echoed every giggle and stomp) especially when the CRAZY cousins tickled and teased them!! Sooo, Momma Bear says lets go outside for a break! Since we're outside exploring, why not make it a photo op...
At the fountain with a penny each to toss in...
Brother is trying to pray, Sister asks what he's doing, instead of praying she sings "Jesus Loves Me" at the TOP OF HER LUNGS as the passersby on Canal Street smile and laugh...
The funeral home has a big yard for in the city, so we had lots to explore and room to run...
Even great spaces to practice our modeling stance as we hide from Sister...
We went all the way around the old building, checking out every nook and cranny and occasionally pausing for Momma to snap a shot or two...
Then we did the typical N'awlins things like swinging on lamppost, posing on the street, walking on walls...
But no matter what else, we finished our time in the city the way our Bear Family likes to, loving one another...
After the burial, which sparked a conversation about history and why cemeteries are so different in south Louisiana, we spent the afternoon with family we never get to see and loved every minute of it. PawPaw Gerry will be missed, but our memories will live on.
