Fat Tuesday

After the weekend hash events were over I stayed for another couple of days in order to enjoy the city. My awesome host was still generous and invited me to tag along on some of the local activities. On Monday for Lundi Gras we had lunch and went to The Howling Wolf for a free concert with opening local band 'The Bag of Doughnuts' and main act 'Better than Ezra'. I really loved the opening group that did cover songs, but with an entertaining flair about them. We left a bit early and went to the waterfront 'Spanish Park' to see another few groups that were playing. There was a pretty cool flyover of 3 Blackhawks that slalomed between a couple of the tall buildings as the flew directly overhead. The mayor was there to make some proclamations and welcome everyone to the city. I did a little geocaching and had a unique opportunity to walk on the helicopter deck of one of the local skyscrapers. Apparently the chief engineer of that building is really big into geocaching and so he set up a cache where someone would actually go to the security desk of the building asked to being shown the geocache, which was actually located on the roof of the building. The security guard would take you up to the 33rd floor and lead you into one of the generator rooms where the trunk containing the cache was located. After you had signed the log, check out the page for the cache here, and taken or left any items that you wanted, he would then unlock the outside door and allow you to walk around the rooftop and helicopter deck and take pictures of the astounding view of the area. If you check out the pictures I posted earlier, you will see several of the ones that I took. It was really nice to be able to experience an opportunity like that. After checking that out, I went to see the free Marcia Ball concert on Canal Street by Harrah's Casino. I've seen her a couple of times at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa and even at a concert in Washington DC many years ago and enjoy the music. I was actually able to use some of my newly learned dance skills to add to the enjoyment.

On Tuesday, I hung out with a couple of the people that I had just met the previous day as we walked around Bourbon Street and the rest of the French quarter enjoying the festivities. There were a lot of really exquisite costumes and I was amazed at the level of detail and thought that many people had put into it. We must have walked about 10 miles that day and were exhausted but quite satisfied with the overall experience. I finally hand a Handgrenade drink and even another New Orlean's favorite, a 'Lucky Dog' from one of the street vendors. It was a very exhausting day, but in the end, I was quite satisfied.

Since I did not have if my flight and until late Wednesday afternoon, I decided to visit the D-Day Museum in downtown New Orleans. Even briskly walking through all the exhibits over four hours or so, I was not able to experience the entire place and will definitely have to check it out again whenever I may next return. It was really moving to see many of the pictures and video that were taken in the Pacific and Atlantic theater. This should almost be a required viewing for every citizen in order to gain some kind of understanding as to what kind of price there is to any war. Even with such a moving exhibit such as this, it is difficult to understand the sacrifices that those in the Armed Forces must face.

Overall it was a great trip. Though I do not think that I'll attend another Mardi Gras for a while, it was just what I needed for a while and I am glad to have made it. I wouldn't have had nearly so good of a time had it not been for the kind generosity of my host and the other local hashers. I cannot wait to revisit the area again soon.