Tuesday, May 11

...but I am le Tired

Apparently I was too tired to write anything last night, so we have to rely on my (shaky) memory. The swamp tour was cool, but the gators weren't biting. Believe it or not, the tour guides throw marshmallows at the damn things in a futile attempt to provide "action shots" for tourists to snap away at. No such luck. But we did hear quite a few interesting stories, most of which I already forgot. "Skippy" apparently had a ginormous hangover from the previous night of drinking, but toughed it out for the twenty or so of us in the "small boat."

We stopped at a local Target on the way home, and consumed approximately 1/2 gallon of Icee. Dinner was at Dookie Chase, one of those places that you have to visit while in town. All of the volunteers that live with Rebecca (Katie, Rilda, Ann and Ray) came with us, so it was a big party - and a big tab. The Larson's were kind enough to pick up the tab for everyone (which wasn't the only time by any means), and the food lived up to most everyone's expectations fo sheezy.

We headed into the (all together now) French Quarter, and miraculously found a street parking spot in front of Pat O'Briens. After we couldn't find a spot in the courtyard, we settled for a pseudo-table by hoarding all the bar stools and making our way through the drink menu. The Timberwolves game was on the big screen, and they were doing quite well - while we were watching the game from the bar. Nobody would steal a glass for me, so we headed home and turned the game back on.

We should have stayed at the bar. The T-Pups eventually pulled it out, but not before going down 10 points with 4 minutes to play. With all the drama, you would think that McHale signed Eddie Guardado to close out the game with his traditional flair.

I just realized this entry is going to be long, but I don't want to forget anything from what has been an incredible trip. In true Southern cookin' fashion, below is a 10-ingredient recipe for spending Mother's Day in New Orleans:

1. Attend a 2 hour service at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church - "An African American Roman Catholic Church Community," which was equally interesting and inspiring.
2. Buy Susan an $8 bloody mary and watch her get wasted, then put away 1 1/2 delicious Mojitos over brunch on the rooftop of Sugar Magnolia Restaurant.
3. Ogle at the beautiful houses while driving up & down St. Charles, and buy a 1954 recording of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture by Minnesota Orchestra for $1 at the library's book sale.
4. Head back into the Qwata (for the third time?) and enjoy cafe au lait and bengiets from Cafe du Monde (for the second time?).
5. Walk through several galleries for photography inspiration, then spurn the local art community by taking the pictures yourself.
6. Relax at 2750 Esplanade (pronounced es-pluh-nod), remove the Sasser worm from the computer and Snood it up while Sleepy McPooper does her thang...
7. Enjoy some praline (pronounced prah-leen) Gelato and a Cannoli (not to be confused with Canneloni) at Angelo Brocato's on chairs that "don't cover your whole butt."
8. Buy some food for Sammy, the local cat that sleeps under the van and happens to be missing most of his tail and part of an ear from when Mike Tyson visited a few weeks ago.
9. Drive through City Park, and wish you had brought golf clubs and had another sunny afternoon to tackle the golf course nestled amongst the 1500 acres.
10. Pay one last visit to Fair Grinds, and sample the french press coffee while hogging the WiFi bandwidth and answering some burning questions about moving to California.

Now Playing: Stan Getz & J.J. Johnson - Live at the Opera House

posted by Brad at 5/11/2004 03:46:00 PM | permalink | 0 comments

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