| Wednesday, May 04, 2005 |
| New Orleans Day 1: Go Cups |
I used Southwest frequent flyer miles to head to the Big Easy and I arrived well ahead of my partners in crime at about noon CST. This was a good sign since the day did not start out as smoothly. I had pretty much pulled an all nighter the night before getting stuff together for work, life stuff, and packing, and just as I got comfortably seated in the back of the cab to the airport, with just enough time to comfortably spare to catch the flight, I realized that I had left the Jazzfest tickets on the bulletin board in my kitchen!!! Since it was only 7:00 AM, I thought it rude to call my neighbors, so I waited until they called my 8:30 flight for boarding and dialed The Boys Next Door.
Me: I'm sorry to wake you guys up, but it's an emergency and I need a favor!
TBND: What???!!! Are the cats OK? Are you OK? ??!!
Me: I'm / They're fine, but I forgot my tickets!!! Can you run over and grab them and have them Fed-Exed to me?? They're on the bulletin board in the kitchen.
TBND: No problem (sigh - now understanding that this is a stupid Linda event, and not a 911 event), I'll send Paul over as soon as he's out of the shower. Where are you staying?
Me: (feeling like more of an idiot) Ummmmm - "Hotel California" on Canal St. I don't have the exact address or phone number with me, but it's the only "Hotel CA" on Canal St. Shit - they're calling my plane. I have to get on the plane NOW - Bye!!
TBND: SIGH.....I'll have Paul look it up on the internet. Have a safe trip!
At any rate, I arrived at the hotel on Canal St. at about 12:30 CST without further incident. The website boasted 5 restaurants on site, but I only ever saw a bar/lounge off the lobby and a bunch of empty banquet rooms to show for it. I checked in, but the room wasn't ready, so I checked my luggage and headed off to the French Quarter for sustenance and lunch.
(Note: I had purchased new sneakers for the event, thinking they would be great to walk all the places we were going to be for the week, and was wearing them. Very cute, Tommy Hilfiger white tennies. I had never worn them before - cue music: "Da de Da Da - Da de da da DUM!")
I was glad for the walk after the long plane ride and walked all the way down to the riverfront and then turned along Decatur St. and went to Jackson Square and the French Market before heading back up to Bourbon St.
The weather was unbelievably gorgeous and was a precursor for even better weather to come. Clear, bright, sunny, cool breeze. Weather so perfect, it simply makes you happy. If I had never been to New Orleans before, I would have decided to relocate on the spot - simply for the weather. Having been there before however, I know better, which made the weather even that much more special.
So......I finally made my way to my intended destination. The courtyard of Pat O's, where I happily ordered a mint julep, a cup of gumbo and some crawfish. Bliss.
Afterwards, I headed back to the hotel to meet Santhe and Dave at about 4:00 PM. I hadn't seen Santhe since our "Girls Weekend" in Rhode Island back in Sept., so it was nice to meet up again (oh, and Dave is also cute beyond words and a wonderful guy to hang out with).
Once we were all checked into our rooms, unpacked, showered, and settled, we headed out once again in search of more food and drink (this is a recurring theme - get used to it). Santhe insisted she wanted to make an early night of it since the others weren't arriving until later, and she wanted to be fresh for the first day of the festival = Famous Last Words.
We headed to Bourbon St., had alligator, crab, crayfish, and oysters (in a variety of culinary presentations) along with the ubiquitous Bourbon St. Hurricane drinks, and then headed to Margaritaville for some beers and music. (There are pictures that accompany this part of the evening, but I can only send them to you off line).
Afterwards, we walked along the River Walk - enjoying views of the Mississippi and the wonderful weather. We stopped at a bar on the way back to the hotel and Santhe was worried about the time, and suggested we leave, but we had just gotten our drinks. "No worries!" said Brad the bartender - I'll put them in "Go Cups".
"Go Cups" are just plastic cups that allow you to walk wherever you want in New Orleans with an open container. Cool. Welcome to civilization. I now have "Go Cups" from the Red Rhino, but that'a a post for later in the week.
So........."Go Cups" for all and back to the hotel. I thought we were off to bed, but Santhe and Dave wanted to hang out in the lobby bar and wait for the rest of our merry band of travelers who were due to arrive before midnight to check in.
Fast forward a whole lot of beers later .......
One group called to say they were stuck in Atlanta for the night, and the other wasn't going to be in before 1:00 AM. This was about 3 hours after we thought they would arrive, and at least as many large beers. Burp.
Off to bed.
So much for being "fresh" the next day. Between not sleeping the night before, the hour time change, and a few too many beers, the next day got off to a rough start for me and the rest of us as well.
Also, as I went to bed in my inebriated state, I kept feeling that my left foot hurt a lot for no particular reason.....
Stay tuned for Day 1 of the Festival. |
posted by Broadsheet @ 8:23 PM   |
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| 1 Editorial Opinions: |
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Ooh, ooh! Send me offline pictures! Also, and I don't mean to anticipate your next post or anything, but does your foot hurt because you took a tumble?
:o)
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Ooh, ooh! Send me offline pictures! Also, and I don't mean to anticipate your next post or anything, but does your foot hurt because you took a tumble?
:o)