New Orleans May 25-28 2012 - now with photos

[Corporate whore]

Perhaps Saturday would be a good day for the swamp, since Mike is busy that day.

So as it currently stands, five for the swamp tour, Saturday.
Should I book us for morning or afternoon? Is that a stoopit question?
Current prices listed $23 for the tour $22 for the shuttle.

Afternoon will probably br better

[Livet]

So as it currently stands, five for the swamp tour, Saturday.
Should I book us for morning or afternoon? Is that a stoopit question?
Current prices listed $23 for the tour $22 for the shuttle.

Afternoon will probably br better

Yeah, if we're going to Nolamike's on Friday, and he's making cocktails...Can't wait!

[Nolamike]

Hey folks - slight change on the timing of the get-together at my place. After speaking with the wife, it'll be a Sunday thing... but we'll start it right after the second-line, in the afternoon, and have it be more of a comedown from the weekend, with some back-porch hanging out. To keep it a bit light, I'll stick with some watermelon-based cocktails (a rum/watermelon punch, and some watermelon mimosas); the Shrimp Creole will be perfect after that as well. Besides, it'll be a nice easy way for ya to rest your feet after the parade!

I'm all in for the Thursday night, should be in for most of Friday apart from dinner (the in-laws), probably Saturday night after dinner, and all day Sunday. But for the meals I'll be missing, I've got some big ol' recs to throw y'alls' way. Considering the crowd is a bit smaller this time around, it'll be much easier getting y'all into some good joints. I know we've got one non-vegan veggie; any other big dietary restrictions? And is there a general budget y'all are looking for on meals out? Feel free to PM if you don't want to post to the world; I'll just provide a list based on what y'all are looking for.

Oh, and we've got a Kia SUV with a couple jump seats in the back, so I can drive the whole crew around (but you'll be stuck with my music if you agree to ride with me).

I'm psyched for this!

Oh, and I'll be introducing you folks to the genius that is the Daiquiri Place Cafe. A sampling of what pops up when you type their name into Google:

Not watered down like in other more famous parts of town. My husband and I always take home at least 2 gallons with us, because we can't find a place in our State and even if we could not sure that they'll be this delicious.

The place to go for local flavor. The drinks are cheap and strong which leads to a party atmosphere. Great people watching restaurant, this place will put a spell on you.

The chocolate is insanely strong. But all of the flavors will get you where you need to go.
No one should need an extra shot.

A bunch of thugs and animals in this place. This place has been an eyesore for years, as it is a constant site for violence and shootings. The city council has been trying to shut it down. This place is a dump. AVOID THIS SH*T HOLE!

As Hood as it gets.

It is definitely a little sketchy atmosphere, but worth it for the few minutes you are in there to order your drink. The daquiris are good and really strong! Tons of options on flavor

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Don't worry, we'll only be ordering them to go, ideally for Thursday's show, or for the second line. The medium size ($5.25) will put you in a good place, the large ($7.25) might make it impossible for you to walk. And, er, the gallon size is strictly for sharing.

[Livet]

Hey folks - slight change on the timing of the get-together at my place. After speaking with the wife, it'll be a Sunday thing... but we'll start it right after the second-line, in the afternoon, and have it be more of a comedown from the weekend, with some back-porch hanging out. To keep it a bit light, I'll stick with some watermelon-based cocktails (a rum/watermelon punch, and some watermelon mimosas); the Shrimp Creole will be perfect after that as well. Besides, it'll be a nice easy way for ya to rest your feet after the parade!

Sounds great! As does all the rest. I'm very excited!

[Corporate whore]

Now all we need to do is lasso Kath and drag her to Nola.

[Nolamike]

Now all we need to do is lasso Kath and drag her to Nola.

No doubt. I still haven't met her, despite her occasional trips here. Which is understandable, as (1) those trips are for family stuff, and (2) I do smell awful.

[kath]

lord help me. if i miss another new orleans jolly up, my name will be worse than dirt. i know how it's gonna sound, what's coming in this post. but i honestly will not know if i can make it until the last second. i am not just giving excuses for bogus reasons and i'm not being a tease or any other damn thing. here's what it is:

y'all remember me talkin about going on an alaskan cruise, mid-may? well, i have issyews handling numbers in my head. the whole time-space continuum. the mid-may stretches longer than i thought it would.

the cruise is a ten-day cruise. technically, it is from the 16th-26th.

the pros: it's gonna plop my ass in new orleans post-cruise and mid-jolly. that would seem a very fortuitous thing, yes?

the cons: the actual window of time may be pretty narrow. just how narrower or even completely shut that window ends up being is dependent on many variables. it involves when exactly i return from the cruise, including the on-timeness of the flights from alaska to swampland... how wiped out i am, whenever i do get in... and most importantly, the attila issyew.

the attila issyew: my male spawn has kept his job at the hilton for a year now (praise be!) this earns him his first ever vacation from work. he has never taken any time off. his bosses were quite happy to grant him permission, even though according to the rules, the time off is sposed to be no more than one week. attila's technically taking thirteen days off (the cruise plus two days highway time twixt bama and nola tacked on either end). it's not really acceptable for him to miss any more time. with me?

well, the above means that whenever we do get back from the cruise, i am sposed to turn around and drive his ass back here to bama so he can make work the next day. yeah, i am, in truth, the highway queen, but even i take at least six hours and a lil sleep aforetime to make that run.

are we beginning to see the narrow window problems?

ya know, i don't care if no one believes me anymore or not (actually, i do, but onward.) i just wish you people knew how much i want this fucquin thing to happen. however, there is no way i can commit (a) until i get a clearer view of that window; and (b) unless i can figure out a way to deal with the attila issyew that leaves me enough time to even mini-jolly.

so if this thing works, i'm gonna hafta come zoomin in off the cuff (assuming mike'll send me all his contact info, of course) at whatever weird time, whatever y'all are doin, for however long i got. this is the bottom line.

p.s. mike brought up family... more stuff on this cruise and its significance. none of this is essential reading, folk, but ye know how my yap is. many logistical things were thrown into complete turmoil after e's death, and the cruise is the biggest.

chi chi has this thing in her head that we need to go to alaska every five years, cuz we all had such a blast the first time we went. it was me, beez, attila, chi, sam and sam's sister maria. it was technically the chi's honeymoon, but when my sister is happily celebrating something, she wants everyone there and she pours her freaky generosity and manic battyness on everyone there. so anyway, about a year ago, she decides we all need to go back, to make it a family tradition, ya know? we all luvvvvved it so. much. she starts slowly saving up money and time offa work for it. she springs for these fucquin presidential or royal suites on the ship and whatnot.

then when beezie moved onward to other realms of being, chi chi was crushed and lost and didn't know if the trip should go on. she had already sunk sumthin like 40k on the fucquin thing. i convinced her we had to go and have a blast goin to boot, cuz that's precisely what the beez herself would uppitarily demand if we could hear her flyin yap. e luvvvvved alaska, luvvved the cruise, and was lookin forward to this one.

after some yappery, i talked chi chi into it. two friends of ours for over thirty years, a guy couple, who have beeen sooooo sweet and helpful to chi chi in these recent months in particular, are goin in beezle's stead. they are perfect choices, cuz they're funny, silly and world class partiers, frankly. (as ya might imagine, i suggested em to her. ahem.) the kinda guys who came over after the beez service, whipped out a fifth of tequila, and started making me take shots while they told tasteless jokes. they own land next to chi's house north of the lake, and for 30 years, they been bein carpenters and acres-of-grass mowers and guard dogs and fixers of things, all with the insistence that the chi don't ever pay em or even thank em for it. when my spawn were tiny, they'd throw em around the pool and play with em or build bonfires for em. siiiigh.

anyway, this cruise is a huge thing. it's not just a groovy vacation to one of my fave places on earth. it's an event that accomplishes what i've been trying to do with my entire family since beezie departed. it takes what the loss of a loved one is, our missing passenger, so to speak, and transforms it into a celebration and a fitting, happy tribute to the spirit of the e.

kinda weird, how fate works. i missed the first nola jolly up becuz my family invaded here and took me by surprise... the reason, our then-annual tradition of celebrating beezie's survival of that memorial day fall, her near-fatal accident. this year, our vacation celebrates beezie period, despite her fatal event. if i miss this coming jolly, it's gonna be becuz of logistical collateral problems related from the cruise and the e thing. weird, aint it? the timing. the similarities.

here's to family *and* friends *and* celebration. i know it doesn't look like it, but i am all over jollyism, and i am allll over yall. i just haven't yet been able to prove it. mwhahahaHA. i'm gonna try my damnedest to do just that.

[Nolamike]

Kath, you rock! Hopefully we get to meet ya, but if not, I think we all understand.

[Nolamike]

FYI, I think it might be fun to take y'all to the Rock 'n' Bowl, everyone's favorite concert hall/dance spot/bar/bowling alley. It looks like Kermit Ruffins is playing on the Saturday night, which could be fun. He's a local institution - think of a less talented and somehow more stoned Louis Armstrong, but with a repertoire that goes far beyond jazz standards.

Either way, I need to stop by there at some point soon to pick up a shirt for Yves.

[Livet]

Kath, you rock! Hopefully we get to meet ya, but if not, I think we all understand.

Definitely. Take care of yourself and your family. It would be great to meet you though!

Mike, all your suggestions sound ace!

[Witchypoo]

Kath you know we love you wether you show at the jolly or not. Have a wonderful time on your cruse .

XXXX

Mike, you are a star, it all sounds great. I'm already getting excited about this.

[sloopjohnc]

the cruise is a ten-day cruise. technically, it is from the 16th-26th.

Good, that means you can make it when I'm there starting next Sunday. I'm in town from the night of the 6th to the morning of the 11th. What's nice, and very unusual, is that the tradeshow hours are from 11am to 5:30pm, Tuesday through Thursday. I've never seen an exhibit hall at a tradeshow start so late. Usually, it's 8:30 or 9 when they open up.

The organizers must be making accommodations for New Orleans.

[Sambient]

So are we still attatched to the idea of jolly up compilations? Having failed to attend the last two JUotAs, I don't know if this practice is still thriving.

[Corporate whore]

So are we still attatched to the idea of jolly up compilations? Having failed to attend the last two JUotAs, I don't know if this practice is still thriving.

I aim to do one, but it is very dependent upon work.

[Livet]

So are we still attatched to the idea of jolly up compilations? Having failed to attend the last two JUotAs, I don't know if this practice is still thriving.

I aim to do one, but it is very dependent upon work.

I won't get the chance to do a comp, though I was thinking of burning a few copies of my current favorite CD.

[Sambient]

Rita, forgive me if I've missed this bit of info, are you staying at Country Inn & Suites as well?

[Nolamike]

Re: Discs. I'll be giving one out, but due to the recent move and assorted business associated with that, I'll be simply stealing a good friend's mix, which will be perfect for the occasion, and should be a pleasant surprise (and all new listening material for everyone).

[Livet]

Rita, forgive me if I've missed this bit of info, are you staying at Country Inn & Suites as well?

Yes! I'm arriving Thursday, probably around 6 pm.

[Sambient]

Do we still like Saturday afternoon for the swamp tour or should we do Friday now that our nolamike house party plans have shifted?

[Corporate whore]

Do we still like Saturday afternoon for the swamp tour or should we do Friday now that our nolamike house party plans have shifted?

We are easy - as long as there are Gaitors!