Packed up and headed out

The Kids are rolling

Another successful pub crawl, this time on a Monday. I met with DU bro Brad Borman and his wife, Bianca, at the Carousel Bar, which never disappoints, and on to the Chart Room. We were joined by one of Bucky’s colleagues, and moved on to Frenchmen Street. We stopped in to Checkpoint Charlies, and then walked to dba where we caught a second line in honor of a musician. This was the first memorial second line I have found, with musicians just joining in, playing somber music past Washington Park where there had been a ceremony earlier, and breaking out into upbeat music later. We followed along as it went up Frenchmen and on to Burgundy, right past our building, and ended the night at Buffa’s.

I spent the day running errands and pre-packing for the Boys Trip. Without the dive gear, It would be one small carry-on, but with the dive gear it gets crazy.

I glued sequin ribbon on my dashiki, and it is starting to look properly blinged up. I put a couple of hours of sewing in on it to make it a little more durable. I’ll let it sit for the trip and decide if I need to do more when I get back. I have to remember the New Orleans rule: There is no such thing as too much.

It looks like Claiborne, our guide to Mardi Gras last year, will not be coming down, so I am without a Mardi Gras krewe or sub-krewe. I will hang out with the Touro Street folks at some point, but may try to catch up with the Krewe of Yes or the Krewe of Kosmic Debris as well. The local more formal krewes-Krewe Boheme and Krewe du Vieux-are open admission, with Boheme being newer and cheaper-are both rolling while I am south. I’m guessing there will be plenty of stuff going on, but It would be nice to have a theme to build a costume around.

I woke up to a cool morning-can’t really complain about 39 degrees, but that means it is 55 in the condo because I am too stubborn to turn on the heater at night. It is nice and warm in the sun. I went for a sandwich and a beer at Buffa’s and talked sports with some of the regulars for a bit. On my way home I ran into the “Roots” marching band of kids from the nearby neighborhoods running down Burgundy just past our house. It looked there were between 50 and 100 kids playing instruments. This is fun in itself, and cooler as it demonstrates that town is ramping up for Mardi Gras, and we will be in the heart of it.

On the way to the pool this morning, I saw a car on Kerlerec spray painted “Rapist.” I’m guessing a couple of people did not have a great night. At least it was not torched, I guess.

I’m all packed up for the dive trip, doing a load of laundry and trying to have a mellow day in preparation for the early flight tomorrow, and a change of pace from the urban routine to boat life with the Boys. I am nowhere near as stir crazy as I have been in years past, scratching a lot of social itches in NOLA, or nearly as pre-tanned. I have not been going to the fake and bake salon, and will be the whitest guy in the Virgin Islands. I’m looking forward to the trip regardless.