I struggled with whether or not to blog this trip to New Orleans. Not because it isn’t an awesome place to visit (it is!), but because of key differences with my two previous trip blogs, to the American West in 2010 and to Eastern Canada in 2011.
First, I haven’t blogged a spring break before, including the one between the aforementioned trips that we took to the North Carolina mountains. Not because it wasn’t an awesome trip, but because we only went for a part of the week and part of the visit was a personal visit to a relative. I try to keep this blog as family neutral as possible. They’re awesome, but they’re family, if you know what I mean. That’s personal stuff. Still, I look back at some prior spring breaks that I wish I had blogged — ’09 to Nashville, Memphis, Hannibal (MO), and Kentucky, the trip to Disney a few years prior, DC, and others — and I think this will have enough material to keep me busy.
Second, the prior two trips were about our discovery of an area and my desire to share the experience. New Orleans, however, isn’t an unknown. I’ve been coming here since the late-70s and early-80s and, despite fewer visits even my wife and I have managed to make it here three times in our 18 years of marriage, including a wonderful trip in 2010 with the kids. So this isn’t exactly new territory for us, and it’ll probably be more relaxing and enjoying the week than even our last visit in which we went to the WWII museum (go there if in town, it is superb!), checked out alligators on a swamp tour, went to the Voodoo museum, and saw an exhibit on the history of Mardi Gras. Also, as I discovered while blogging about Indian Lake last summer, it is difficult to blog about places that have so much personal history associated with them. Still, I think we’ll do some interesting things (blog-worthy even!) and I’d hate to miss recording it. So, without further ado…
After a late night packing and backing up photos we awoke at about 5:30a to finish packing and getting ready for our trip. After a breakfast of chocolate-covered donuts and some bagels Michelle’s father arrived at 7:15a to take us to the airport. Got there about 7:45a and just as we’re getting to the front of the check-in line a couple shouts out that they need to be in front, they have a flight in 10 minutes. The check-in agent wasn’t having any of it and just dropped the facts on them hard. “M’am, the plane is loading and the door almost closed. You haven’t been through security. You need to be looking at a later flight.” Delicious. I have an idea — try not showing up ten minutes before departure. We’d see them later after going through check-in and security, sitting in a corner with a sad look on their faces. Of course my evil thoughts were paid back almost immediately when we were told our luggage was two pounds overweight. Removing my jeans (not the ones I was wearing, now that’d be funny!) and putting them in our carry-on fixed that.
Security was fun, as always. Except this time with the added wrinkle of that full body scanning machine. I didn’t know I had to put my hands on my head (what’d I do, officer?!) and got scolded for that. Glad I don’t travel much. Got out to the concourse and relaxed before hopping on board our Southwest Air flight to Tampa Bay. Genetta was really sweet and bought Addison book two of that Hunger Games series, _Catching Fire_.
The flight was uneventful, other than it being murder on my trick knee (the trick being, apparently, stabbing pain if it doesn’t move for about fifteen minutes or more) and that I can’t use the tray as my knees are up too high. To quote Zoolander, “What is this, a plane for ants?!” Read a National Geographic about the Titanic (100 year anniversary of the sinking happening next month and all) as well as an in-flight magazine article about New Orleans. I really like Southwest. So long as you do early bird seating it really does get you on the plane quicker and it’s nice picking out the seats. We always take a row and then have Genetta in the window seat in the row in front of us.
Landed in Tampa Bay and got lunch at Chili’s Too. Mainly a hamburger and salad affair, but decent enough. Had a bit of time to kill. I almost bought Kevin Smith’s new book but after years of not paying jacket price for hardcovers I just… couldn’t. Flight to New Orleans left on time and was also uneventful. I mainly slept but the last thirty minutes or so I was awake — Addison’s ears were really hurting (he had something going on with his ear the prior week). It is always amazing to see, when flying in, just how much of southern Louisiana is water. Basically stretches of dry land surrounded by marsh and open water. Also got to see many of the refineries that line the river and the flames they blow out every once in a while.
Landed in New Orleans and, in contrast to 2010 when the airport was downright sleepy, stepped out to pandemonium. With the Final Four in town there were greeters showering us with Mardi Gras beads with medallions with the Final Four logo. People passing out guides to the city. A “third line” playing in baggage claim. Many chauffeur types with iPads (apparently the new hi-tech version of the poster board) identifying themselves as being there for Coca-Cola, or CBS, or what-not. We got our ticket to the airport shuttle (and back) and hastened out of there.
On the shuttle there were a number of older folks flying their school colors — one from OSU, a couple from UK, even a Canadian that didn’t have a team but just wanted to see the event. The driver accidentally kissed a Jersey barrier but luckily we didn’t crash or anything. After tooling around the CBD near the Superdome (festooned in banners for the four Final Four participants — Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio State, and Louisville) we finally headed through the quarter to the other side. Here the driver opened up a bit and was quite talkative about how crowded Baton Rouge was post-Katrina and such. I’m still very torn on whether or not I want to go visit good ol’ Big BR. Sometimes childhood memories are best left as memories, I’m thinking.
Got dropped off at The Courtyard Inn on Royal and met with my parents in the courtyard. They had arrived earlier that morning. After hauling the luggage up the stairs and settling in we headed out to dinner at the Mona Lisa on Royal. I had a meatball sub and everyone else had some flavor of personal pizza. Then we wandered to La Peniche in Marigny where I shared some Oreo cream pie with Addison and the others had chocolate layer cake. Good stuff!
Entrance to The Courtyards Inn
Fountain at The Courtyards Inn
Stairs to our unit in The Courtyards Inn
Headed back to the room exhausted and crashed while the others amused themselves. I wanted to watch Supernatural or blog but just couldn’t manage it. It had been an exhausting day on top of about three hours of sleep the prior night.