N'Awlins

We are here in New Orleans. We got here yesterday and met up with a friend of Kevin's from MSU ROTC. We wandered the French Quarter and some unnamed area of New Orleans all afternoon and evening. We had to have walked for miles. And lucky us, we arrived just in time for the Southern Decadence 2009 party, the gay/lesbian extravaganza! It was awesome - made for some fantastic people watching.

We saw the usual N.O. stuff: Bourbon street (a once-in-a-lifetime and never-again experience), Magazine Street, Canal Street, bars, naked ladies, half-naked gay men, the Mississippi River, Cafe du Monde, big ass beers (aptly named), Tropical Isle grenades (disgusting Midori-type concoctions that give one a horrendous hangover the next day [something I chose not to experience]), and more.

Today we ate breakfast at Surrey's, a place on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (on the Food Network). Awesome breakfast!! Of course, I was the only one who really enjoyed mine, as Kevin and Jared were feeling a bit "grenade-ed" if you know what I mean.

After bidding Jared a sad farewell (what a fun guy), we headed to the 1870 Banana Courtyard B&B. The only way to describe this place is through a series of oxymoronic phrases: huge but claustrophobic, musty but clean, old but modern, bright but dank, nice but mildly dingy, overwhelming but understated, colorful but brown. Our room is the Canopy Room. Nice-ish. The owners are very nice, very knowledgeable. Right now we are waiting to actually unpack our car and take our stuff to our room. It's POURING outside and the only way to get into our room is to go outside and up some stairs. Not a good time to lug 4 bags with you up 2 flights of metal stairs.

So we're just chillin'. More later.