Dancing Moon Travel-Indianapolis

04/25/2026

Wondering where to apply for your U.S. passport? Here are the basics:

First-time adult applicants (age 16+): In person at one of the 7,500 passport acceptance facilities using the DS-11 form. Find locations at iafdb.travel.state.gov

Child under age 16: In person at one of the 7,500 passport acceptance facilities with both parents or guardians present (or with a signed consent form). Passport valid for 5 years.

Ages 16-17: In person at one of the 7,500 passport acceptance facilities. Must show that one parent or legal guardian is aware you are applying. Passport valid for 10 years.

Urgent travel within two weeks: In person at one of 27 passport agencies. By appointment only. Must show proof of travel. If you already have a pending application, call 1-877-487-2778.

Adult renewal: By mail or online (IF you meet the requirements). For both mail and online: last passport was issued when you were 16 or older, it is undamaged, has not been reported lost/stolen, and was issued within the last 15 years. For online: Last passport must be expiring within one year or expired less than 5 years ago, not requesting a name change or expedited service.

Find more information at the official source for all things passport, www.travel.state.gov

04/04/2026

Day 6 New Orleans

I hope you have enjoyed my tour of our time in New Orleans! I would love to help you plan a trip to NOLA! How about a music themed train trip… Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans! 🙂🎶
We had a great week in New Orleans and the city sure left us with a beautiful parting gift on our way out! Look at that beautiful sunrise!
One last thing.. in our house we Roll Tide, so on our way home we made a stop at the University of Alabama and spent a few hours walking on that sacred ground, visiting the fantastic Paul W Bryant Museum and taking pictures with our friend Nick Saban! My husband was a happy man!
Roll Tide Roll!

Until our next adventure, I leave you with this quote by Ibn Battuta:
“Traveling-it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”

04/02/2026

Day 5 New Orleans

Day 5 was quite a contrasting day. It was the most relaxing day, but it was the day that we logged the most miles/steps. It was back to warmer temperatures, and it was a beautiful day for exploring the Garden District of New Orleans!
We started our morning a bit on the lazy side, so we had coffee and delicious pastries from PJ’s Coffee in our hotel room while we got ready for our day. Pj’s is located right next door to our hotel so easy peasy.
After our breakfast we set out on foot to Canal St area to catch the streetcar to the Garden District. The famous dark green garden district streetcars run along the St. Charles Streetcar Line. It “should” be an easy stop to catch at the corner of Canal St. & Carondelet St. However, we did not make it easy on ourselves. One important thing to note in New Orleans, is the street names (at least along Canal St) are different names on each side of the street. Carondelet St. is the same as Bourbon St., but we did not realize that so we kept walking and walking and realized we must have passed up our street. After relooking at google maps (should have had it up the whole time) we realized our error and that we had walked past Carondelet by quite a few blocks. So, we turned around and headed back. Once we knew what we were doing, it was a super easy stop to pick up the streetcar. We took the streetcar (such a beautiful ride) to Washington St.
One thing to note, that it is a very economical way to use public transportation in New Orleans is to download the Le Pass app on your phone and purchase Jazzy Pass. You can purchase it in increments from 1-day, 3-day, 7-day etc. We chose the 7-day pass for a cost of $15 per person. This covers unlimited rides on streetcars, buses, ferries (over to Algiers Point). Very easy to use.
After getting off at Washington St we headed into the garden district. We stopped at Cemetery #1(currently closed) to peek in. Right across the street from the Cemetery is the famous Commanders Palace Restaurant. We would have loved to eat there but it did not fit in with our timing, so we moved on. We walked all around the garden district. The homes were unique and beautiful. No two alike. We even stopped at Sandra Bullocks home! After a quite and peaceful stroll through the garden district, we headed to Magazine St. It is a 6 mile stretch of antique shops, boutique shops, restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops. We did not walk the entire 6 miles but made a loop around back to our streetcar stop.
We stopped for lunch on Magazine St. at Joey K’s located on the corner of Seventh and Magazine St. We both had a bowl of Shrimp Etouffee (Thursday’s Daily Special) and split the Onion Rings and Red Beans and Rice. It was delicious. I highly recommend the place!
After lunch it was back onto Magazine St. We passed Haydel’s Bakery and it drew us in. OH MY GOODNESS!! The desserts in the case were amazing, and I wanted one of everything. We settled on two amazing desserts to share. I can’t even remember the names, and I was so lost in the goodness of it all, that I forgot to take a picture of our amazing desserts and the charming bakery. This location of Haydel’s Bakery is family owned and run since 1959. A fun fact, the bakery holds the Guiness Record for World’s Largest King Cake! Another on my highly recommended places to visit list.
After a nice stroll back to our streetcar stop, we boarded the St. Charles Streetcar back to Canal St and walked a block or so to catch the streetcar that would take us to the pier to catch the ferry to Algiers Point. This was included in our Jazzy Pass.
Algiers Point sits right across the Mississippi River from New Orleans and offers beautiful skyline views. Algiers Point, settled in 1719 and annexed by the city of New Orleans in 1870) has its own history of jazz. It’s a quaint, quite town to take a leisurely stroll. Perched across the river were two Navy ships and while we were walking along the river we had a flyover of two military planes. Both of us are Air Force Veterans and are still very fascinated by anything military. I felt my trip was complete once I saw the flyover. LOL.
After the ferry ride back to the French Quarter and a walk along riverfront, we took a short rest and headed out for one final stroll through the French Quarter. We made a few stops in some of the shops and had a light dinner at a cute little place called Empanola at 628 St. Ann St for Empanadas. We passed by the place earlier in the week and decided to check it out. We split 3 empanadas: The Spinach & Artichoke, Shrimp and Cheese and for dessert, the Guava Cheese. They were so good and fun to eat. A nice easy way to end our stay in New Orleans. We headed back to the hotel to pack and get an early night’s sleep for our early departure in the morning!
Enjoy today’s photos!

03/30/2026

Day 4 New Orleans

This was our BIG museum day and one of the main reasons we took this trip to New Orleans. On Day 3, I said that the Jazz Museum was my favorite, but I should clarify that it was my favorite of the group of museums that are part of the Louisiana State Museum, today our day was centered around the National WWII Museum, and it is on another level and is a fantastic museum.
Our morning started with a 5-minute walk to Rudy Slipper located at 204 Decatur St. for breakfast. I ordered White Chocolate Bread Pudding Pancakes and a Café Au Lait. Mark ordered Gulf Shrimp Omelet. Both were fantastic. I somehow got caught up in the deliciousness of breakfast and forgot to take photos. You will see today that I was caught up in the day and taking mental notes of all that we did, that pictures of the day just did not happen.
After breakfast, we made the 20-minute walk to The National WWII Museum. I quote from their website: “The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world-why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today-so that all generations can understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn.”
I cannot stress enough about how truly amazing this museum is. We chose the “Best Value” package that included access to all exhibits and two incredible movies: “Beyond All Boundaries 4D cinematic experience” and the “Freedom Theater experience”. As veterans we received discounted tickets and that was very much appreciated. This is a large, multi-level, interactive museum. At the beginning you can take a Dog Tag and register the tag and follow your person through the war and learn their story by logging in at certain locations. We lost ourselves in this museum today, emotions ran high as you listened to individuals share their stories on various videos. My father fought in WWII as a tail gunner, so I was particularly interested in learning more about what he went through. He passed away when I was 9 years old, so I could not get firsthand stories from him. This museum also beautifully honors the many who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving and it heart wrenchingly shares the stories of survivors from the concentration camps. We have toured Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site in Dachau, Germany nearly 8 years ago and the horrors of what we learned what we saw still stays within me today. It is unfathomable what these precious human beings endured.
It was a sobering day to say the least. After spending all day at the museum, we took a nice 25-minute walk back to our hotel with a stop along the way at Café Beignet on Canal St. for our daily dose of Beignets. They were good, but our favorite remains Café DuMonde.
After a brief rest at the hotel, we headed out to Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 at 321 St. Peter’s St. It’s a Hawaiian Tiki Bar/Restaurant for a pre-dinner exotic Hawaiian Cocktail and then on to a light dinner at Felipe’s Mexican Taqueria. Both stops were very good and just what we needed to end our day.
If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, please make it a point to visit The National WWII Museum. It is worth every bit of your time. I leave you today with only one photo taken from within the museum. It’s the description I stated at the beginning of the blog.
Day 5 finds us walking the Garden District! Stay tuned! Many pictures from that day!

03/28/2026

Day 3 New Orleans☘️

Top O’ the Morning on this chilly St. Patrick’s Day in New Orleans. We were wearing O’ the Green but we were bundled up as we headed out to breakfast. Breakfast was so good yesterday that we had to have it again! As my husband kept saying…” Beignets and Café Au’Lait Everyday”!! Delicious of course, Café Du’Monde is a fine oiled machine. I was fascinated watching the servers. They stand in line cafeteria style with their trays, fix our coffee and water, get our beignets and pay for our order before they bring it to the table and then collect our payment. CASH ONLY! Despite the cold, it was a packed house. Every time we passed by throughout our time in NOLA, the place was always packed!
After breakfast we moseyed around some shops before making the walk up past the French Market to our next museum and my favorite: New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint located at 400 Esplonade Ave. This building was was built in 1838 and housed both the U.S. Mint and a Confederate Mint. The first floor of the museum was the U.S. Mint and upper floor was the jazz museum. Both were awesome but I absolutely loved the Jazz Museum. My favorite section was about Louis Armstrong. He is a favorite of mine and his song ‘It’s a Wonderful World” is a very special song to me. That song brings back memories of my mom and specifically, Mother’s Day dinners at Phil Schmidt’s in Whiting, IN. She always requested the musicians to play that song, and it was very special. The jazz museum did not disappoint in telling us the story of Louis Armstrong’s life and music.
After the museum, we walked along the stalls of The French Market. This outdoor market is the oldest public market in the US. It began as a Native American trading post pre-1700’s but became a market officially in 1791 when it was under Spanish Rule. When Louisiana went back under French rule, it than became known as the French Market. The market has all kinds of vendors from clothing, purses, jewelry and local craftsmen as well as multiple food vendors. Even though it was chilly, it was bustling.
After our long walk around the French Market and French Quarter, we took a break at out hotel and then headed out for lunch. We strolled back to The Original Pierre Maspero’s for an appetizer lunch of Fried Alligator and Spinach Artichoke Dip with Fried Bow Tie Pasta as the dipping chips. Both were very good.
After lunch, we headed back to Pat O’Briens because, well, it’s St. Patrick’s Day so we HAD to celebrate a little there! I had to have a GREEN drink, so it was the Fuzzy Leprechaun for me. Mark opted for another Hurricane! It was a lively crowd all enjoying the St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
After lunch and another long walk, we headed to our 4th Museum: The 1850 House. This was a fully furnished rowhouse that reflected mid-19th century life. It is housed in the Pontalba Building at 523 St. Ann St and tells the story of Baroness de Pontalba (she planned the building) and others lived in the home in the 1850’s. It was a small museum but interesting!
Dinner was found at Deanie’s Seafood. Wow! So good! Deanie’s is another restaurant that has stood the test of time. We went to the location at 841 Iberville St. in the French Quarter. The original location is in the Bucktown neighborhood in Metairie. The restaurant dates back to 1961 when it began first as a seafood Market. We loved the atmosphere of this restaurant. It kind of gave me the vibes of the “Rat Pack” era. We split the “Half” Seafood Platter (look at its size in the picture, I can’t imagine what the Giant size looks like) and a side of Crabmeat au Gratin. OH SO GOOD!!!
After dinner and the good walk back to our hotel, we found us a spot directly across the hotel for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. I have to say, we gave up on that…it was very delayed, the people were crowding into the street and the parade entries came down the street VERY far apart. We gave up after a while and called it a night.

It was a fun day and a neat place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!☘️

03/27/2026

New Orleans Day 2

We awoke this morning to upper 40degree temps! Brr… a far cry from the beautiful 80’s we had yesterday. Despite the cold, we refused to miss the breakfast we'd been anticipating for weeks. So, we bundled up and took a brisk 5 min walk to the famous Café Du’Monde for Beignets and Café Au Lait. Goodness, it was delicious! This location in the French Quarter has been serving up beignets and coffee since 1862. There operation here remains simple. Why mess with something that has worked since 1862 right?
Since it was so cold, we decided to walk through Jackson Square and head into the beautiful St. Louis Cathedral. It is so beautiful inside and despite the many people walking around inside, it was a place of peace. This church was established in 1718 and is America’s oldest continuously active Catholic Cathedral Community. It was given minor basilica status by Pope Paul VI in 1964.
After spending some time in the church, we ventured out into the cold. We noticed there was a museum next door- The Cabildo Museum. We discovered it was part of a group of museums within The Louisiana State Museum. You get a good deal if you purchase multiple tickets, so for $35 each we purchased all 5 museum tickets. The Cabildo was a fascinating museum focusing on the history of Louisiana, beginning with European settlers, through the civil war and onward. Well worth the time.
Lunch followed at Johnny’s Po-Boys (which was just around the corner from our hotel. A 1-minute walk). Johnny’s has been in business since 1950. It is small and old school in décor. We split Shrimp Po-Boy and Hush Puppies. The Po-Boy was huge! Both were delicious.
After lunch, we took a walk to the famous Pat O’Briens and quenched our thirst with an afternoon Hurricane. Pat O’Briens began as a speak easy in another location and officially became a bar in 1933 after the repeal of Prohibition. The building it now sits in at 718 St. Peter St. dates back to 1791.
After Pat’s and a nice walk, we ventured back towards Jackson Square and into our second museum- The Presbytére. This museum housed two exhibits: Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond and Mardi Gras: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana. Both exhibits were very interesting and a sharp contrast. Learning about what this city went through during Katrina was sobering. The resilience of these people was astonishing. In contrast, the Mardi Gras was a lively museum filled with costumes and pageantry. Well worth the time.
After an afternoon break, we took a 2-minute walk from our hotel to Tujague’s Restaurant, which was established in 1856. The purpose of this trip was to sit at the bar and experience the ORIGINAL Grasshopper drink. Interesting story about that shared in the photos. Tujague’s is the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans. It amazes me how long so many of these establishments have survived. We were soaking up all the history.
Dinner found us at another place with a long history in New Orleans and that was The Napolean House. It sits on the corner of St. Louis St and Chartres St. directly across the street from The Original Pierre Maspero’s we at the day before. They are famous for their warm Muffuletta sandwich and Pimm’s Cup. It that is what they are famous for, then who are we to question, so it was Muffuletta sandwich and Pimm’s Cups for us! We split half a sandwich! The full sandwich is the size of a dinner plate! It was delicious. The restaurant has been operating since 1914, but the building itself has quite the history dating back to the exiled ex-emperor of France-Napolean Bonapart. The restaurant is decorated in that theme.
Day 2 was a fascinating day-taking in the history of New Orleans and experiencing the tastes and sights that have remained a part of this city for so many years. This is a city of resilience!

03/26/2026

IYKYK! 😁

🛳️🏝️😁

03/26/2026

Day 1
Our arrival into New Orleans was on a sunny, beautiful Sunday afternoon!
We checked into our hotel- the beautiful French Market Inn located at 509 Decatur Street. Fantastic location, rich in history, friendly and helpful staff! I highly recommend!
Immediately, we were off to fill our hungry bellies. We chose The Original Pierre Maspero’s, just a few minute walk from the hotel located on the corner of St. Louis St & Chartres St(440 Chartres St). We loved the atmosphere and the history of the building. We decided to start our food adventure with a traditional sampler plate consisting of Cajun Jambalaya, Crawfish Etoufeé, Red Beans & Rice and Chicken & Andouille Gumbo. Delicious! We had great service from our server Paris!
After dinner, we took a stroll up Bourbon St to the oldest operating jazz club on Bourbon St- Fritzel’s EuropeanJazz Club. It’s a small intimate place in a building dating back to 1831. We listened to great live jazz music and enjoyed great conversation with our table neighbors, who were from Alabama(my husband’s home state) and were Roll Tide Fans-we had instant connection! Roll Tide Roll!
We than took a leisure stroll back towards the riverfront and enjoyed the sights and sounds there. What a great start to our NOLA adventure!
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03/26/2026

Recently, my husband and I took a trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. Our focus was on the rich history of the city. New Orleans is such a storied city, it’s not just the wild and crazy of Bourbon St and bar hopping (and certainly, if this is your goal in the city, there is plenty of that for you to enjoy!), but for us, we wanted to dig a little deeper, understand a little better, learn a little more. So, over the next days I will be sharing about our adventures in NOLA, and I hope you gain insight into a city with such rich history. I hope you will travel with us over the next days, and you might just be inspired through our adventures to take a trip to NOLA yourselves!
New Orleans is a major port city in Louisiana, sitting on the banks of the Mississippi River. Nicknamed “The Crescent City” and “The Big Easy.” How did they get these nicknames you might ask? Well, let me explain.
The Crescent City is a geographical nickname which describes how the city sits on the sharp crescent shape curve of the Mississippi. The city’s early settlements were built along this curve or bend in the river. Aerial views and maps show this distinct crescent shape. Early settlements along this curve in the river are what is famously known as The French Quarter (Vieux Carre-meaning “Old Square”), founded in 1718 by the French.
As for The Big Easy nickname, there are a few theories of how the city got that name, but the overall theme is based on the relaxed, easy and anything goes vibe. Back in the early 1900’s it was much “easier” for musicians to find work in comparison to the tough competition in New York, making it “easy” to make a living in the various bars and clubs. The city offered an “easy” pace of life where folks enjoyed the music, the food and just having a good time. This nickname was further cemented after a famous 1970’s nightclub called “The Big Easy” and the 1986 film “The Big Easy”.
Our week in NOLA, focused on culture, food, and history. We logged 31 miles of walking, enjoyed classic New Orleans cuisine and drinks, took in 5 museums, enjoyed the jazz culture, rode the streetcars, walked the French Market and the Garden District, took the ferry and walked around Algiers Point and relaxed along the banks of the Mississippi. We came home tired, lol, but with hearts full from our adventure!

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02/14/2026

Love is….. cruising together!

02/07/2026

I’m ready to help you plan your next adventure! Where do you want to go?