T.
Feb. 19, 1999
Sorry to say it, but you really really missed a lot of fun.
When I got to New Orleans Saturday afternoon, the early four had already gone to parades and got piles of beads. We went out again, had dinner and saw more parades. Karin's wallet was promptly stolen, and the night at the hotel was punctuated with visits by the police who came to take a statement at around 4 a.m. Patrick slept through the whole thing, although upon closer interregation he correctly remembered having heard two phone calls.
Sunday was supposed to be a well-orchastrated city tour covering Garden District, the French Quarter, Algiers Point and to be highlighted with a streetcar ride and a fancy dinner in a French restaurant, according to my plan. Alas, plans are just plans. The Garden District wasn't all that impressive. The streetcar wasn't running because of the parades. Lihua, her boyfriend Frank, and his friends, who were supposed to meet up with us, were delayed by a speeding ticket. We went to Camilla's Grill, which none of us found to be worth the long line or deserve the fame. After dropping off the cars at the hotel, we walked to the French Quarter. Though it's still two days away from the finale on Tuesday, buxom women can already be seen showing off their goods in exchange for beads. Hmmm, how was I unable to schedule a trip the French Quarter on Tuesday? We did take the ferry to Algiers Point but didn't get off. The ride provided a much needed break from a full day of walking. I was stunned upon arriving at Louis XVI that someone had canceled the reservation. Well, that was actually me -- I had misdialed the number earlier when I tried to cancel the reservation at the Commander's Palace. Alright, no more cell phone calling while walking. The dinner was superb. Death march back to the hotel continued.
Monday morning. Intrepid Terrence and Patrick went to downtown to get the rental car. Pick-up time: 7:40. For $10 more, we got a full-size -- a brand new Ford Taurus stationwagon -- but we were too cheap to pay another $5 to add an additional driver. Turns out that the back storage cover can be folded up into a seat. Patrick brought pillows to continue his sleep there. We met up with Lihua and Frank at the lauch site for Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tour. We then parted our ways and went to see two plantation houses. Back in town; dinner at Cafe Sbisa; went to the Maple Leave for some alcohol and music. Maple Leave's somewhat of a dump and the other place we checked out Tipitina ain't look good either. I was ready to trash the Frommer's.
Tuesday morning. Intrepid Terrence and Edcon went to downtown to return the rental car. Drop-off time: 7:35. I felt like a zombie walking back to the hotel. I tried to sleep but couldn't. We went out to see the parade on St. Charles Street. Patrick blew out the whistle I gave him; my voice was half gone. We did harvest quite a bundle of beads, out of which Karin and Kelly are going to make a curtain. After regrouping in the hotel, we went out to have dinner at a nearby restaurant, followed by a failed attempt to enter a bar because Karin had no ID. No one felt like having another death march to the French Quarter. We played cars back at the hotel -- poker, hearts, some memory card game, and bluff. The memory card game was the most hillarious. Each person would pick a name out of some category -- we tried country, fruits, presidents, carton characters, play character, TV character, etc. -- then we drew cards and could have to call out the name of the person who has the same card. Oh! the names we came up with and how we played the game. I laughed so hard my face still hurt.
The early four left Wednesday morning. After checking out and lunch, Ed and I went to the French Quarter and took a cemetary/voodoo tour. The stories surrounding the graves were interesting; the visit to some voodoo priestess was a bit weird.
I said it before I say it again -- I can scarcely remember the last time I had so much fun or laughed so much. I had so thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the company especially.
Terrence