Take me back to New Orleans, And drop me at my door

This weekend I was trying to figure out why it was people seemed to be much more receptive and considerate whenever one travels away from home. I think I've figured out that it isn't just because people outside of our home are so different, it is because we are different. I find that I am a lot more outgoing when I am in a new location because I'm excited and learning about the area, culture, and differences. As such, almost every traveling trip I have done, I have had a stupendous time because of not only the things to do but also the people I meet. This weekend I headed over to New Orleans for their annual Red Dress Run.
As tradition dictates, I did not seem to start packing until about 11 o'clock on Thursday night, even though my flight was at seven o'clock in the morning. Since I did not finish until about 1 a.m., I decided to just drive to the airport and nap there before my flight other than risk falling asleep and not waking up until it was too late in the morning. I had the unfortunate timing of being among the first travelers after the huge "liquid bomb" scare, but my experience was pretty straightforward and they're really seem to be no noticeable delays.

My friend Angela (FillMeUp), who was my host for Mardi Grass, was kind enough to pick me up for the airport since she had the day off. On the way downtown to check into the hotel we did some last-minute shopping and picked up some necessary supplies the weekend. we met several of the hashers from the Ft. Walton area for lunch in the French quarter. I went back to the hotel to crash for awhile so I can get some sleep before the evening partying, and was later able to see a friend, Ina, I met during my last visit. We have kept in touch a bit since March, and even though her youngest daughter is leaving home next weekend for college, she was able to come out and join us for some of the hash events. We all headed over to Tuckers on Magazine Street for the free pre-run party that was a chance for some people to show off their weekend outfits in a fashion show as well as trade any old ones. While there, a wedding party showed up for drinks. After a while, as an act of randowmess, I asked the waitress tell me what they were drinking and bought the bride and groom a drink and presented it to them. I may not believe in karma per se, but I do think such gestures really an make someone's day memorable.

Saturday morning I had to get a relatively early in order to help some friends get together their outfits. Since at sometime I apparently had professed myself as an expert finger painter in kindergarten, I was drafted to get up early Saturday morning and assist some friends in putting together their 'outfit' of liquid latex. This was almost every bit like finger painting including the massive mess and relative skill in getting almost as much of the rubbery substance on me as on the subject. While it took several hours of mixing, painting, drying, and reapplying, I think everyone attending the event would agree that it was an overwhelming success. We headed over to the run start to socialize for a while a good chance to meet with everyone. Our cabdriver thought that we were probably pretty strange until we rounded the corner and saw a group of two to three hundred other runners also wearing red dresses. One thing I like about the New Orleans hash is that they are runners and I certainly was not disappointed at this event with the 4 to 5 mile trail that we did throughout the day. The trail ran through the Riverwalk mall area, with the expected security guard confusion and panic as 400-500 people unexpectedly ran through, as well as several parts of the downtown and French quarter area. The beer stops were certainly plentiful with our stopping at several of the locations that we visited last year along with surprises along the way, including a kiddie pool being pulled on a trailer in which folks could cool off! One of the bars even had a mechanical bull that seemed to be irresistible to many of the group. I was able to stay on a but longer than I would have expected due to a decent amount of skill and luck. Actually I was aided by the fact that I have long legs and was able to hook the edges of my shoes underneath the mechanical bull to help stay on until the operator caught on and threw me off using centrifugal force by spinning me around. We eventually got back to Tucker's for a catered dinner and a bit of partying, and even volleyball, for the rest of the evening. Just by chance, I found out that there was a concert right across the street that one of my Friends was Tampa was attending. one of our hashers knew someone that knew someone, and through some sheer luck I was able to get inside to catch some of the performance by 'Better than Ezra', though I was not able to find my friend in the crowd. After that we headed over to Tucker's and hung out until about 2 a.m. before deciding to call it a night. Since I am almost always the driver/hair holder/voice of reason for my friends in need, it was a good to have someone look out for me since by this point I wasn't in much of a state to do anything, and pretty much passed out as soon as we got back to the hotel room (if not quite well before then, but that's another story that shallt be committed to print).

My Tampa friends had to leave early Sunday since they needed to drive back home, so the rest of the group and I had lunch (having completely passed every establishment's posted breakfast hours) and headed over to Southport Hall to check out a concert. when we got there, the Ft. Walton group decided to head back home since many of them had to work or get on with things done while Angela was starting to get tired and wanted to go home. I decide to hang out and and listen to the bands as I did not have anything else planned that day. I had seen 'Bag of Donuts' at a Lundi Grass performance last year and wanted to get a chance to see them again while I was in town. Pelicanpalooza was a fund raising event for a summer camp for children with respiratory illnesses and head several well-known area cover bands performing. They and the other bands, such as 'The Molly Ringwalds', 'Five Finger Discount', 'The Topcats', and 'Contraflow', put on a great show and had the crowd dancing and chanting for more. Even after 'Contraflow', the last band of the evening (with an amazingly talented lead singer), finished their last planned song there were several people chanting 'one more song' and were delighted when the group unpacked the instruments they just put away and belted out one more number. Impromptu things like this are what make local concerts so memorable! After that was over, I decided to walk back to the Garden District where Angela lived since it was only about 4 miles away, I decided to walk back so I could check out the area a bit more and stop for dinner. After finally getting in I took a quick shower, hit the Bulldog for a beer for traditions sake (since I had done so every time I've been there) and crashed. It was a great weekend and I met so many people and had an absolute blast. It is great to be able to experience so many good time with friends and just be able to meet so many strangers and establish a connection or friendship. I don't think I'll be able to get to New Orleans as often in the future, but hope to make it at least once a year and will probably aim to make it to one of the weekends of Jazz Fest next year.
Kudos to anyone that knows, without using Google, the song from where the lyrics in my subject line originate.