"Leaving, on a jet plane, Don't know when I'll be back again"

I'll be in New Orleans from Friday morning until Wednesday afternoon for Mardi Gras. I was there a few weeks before Katrina hit, so it'll be interesting to see the contrast. I was last in the city in September for the NOH3 Red Dress Run with several friends and we all decided that we were going back for this event, however one by one they dropped off, so I'm apparently going stag. I'll be there through Fat Tuesday and will return Wednesday afternoon, work Thursday, and then head to Daytona Beach for Bike Week on Friday afternoon. I'll have to leave around 2-3PM so that I can get back in time to get a good seat in the lawn area for the Coldplay concert that evening.

I just started packing tonight for my early flight and even just started to make sleeping arrangements this week. I kind of like the idea of a bit of adventure and not having anything definitive set, though I have several back up plans. I have had 4-5 hashers invite me to stay at their place and even have a few contacts from couchsurfing.com invite me to crash with them. So though I am not certain as to where I'll be staying, I'll at least be a bit protected from the elements and have a place to charge my camera and maybe, hopefully, get a shower. To me, it just all adds to the adventure and to the stories down the road. I hope to visit the D-Day Museum on Wednesday before I head back to home, but don't have any other plans in particular while I am there except for the Mardi Gras Madness hash Fri-Sun. I'll try to update the blog when I return, but I'll have a lot to do, so I may not get to it.

Have a safe week friends, I'll have a Hand Grenade in your memory.