Honeymoon - Part Two

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Day 10 – August 28^th – Back in New Orleans

 

Well, after a week of busy relaxing on the boat, you’d think that we’d take it easy in the Big Easy. Well… you’d be wrong. We got off the boat, dropped our stuff off at the hotel, grabbed some breakfast, and then made our way to the Audubon Aquarium on the Riverfront. In all of my trips to the city, this was my first time inside the Aquarium, and it was pretty sweet… here are some pictures…

 

 

For lunch, we stopped by World of Beer for some beverages and giant pretzels…

 

Then we made our way down to Mardi Gras World to see the history & construction of Mardi Gras floats and see some pretty amazing feats of artistry… and again, my first time to the area where they’re made… but I’ve been to plenty of parades for the krewes the two times that I’ve come down for the festivities… and God willing, many more to come… here are some pictures…

 

Day 11 – August 29^th – New Orleans

 

This day, we mostly wandered around the French Quarter for some great food (including Mother’s) and souvenirs for friends & family back home… and it included a stop by the Beerhaus for a few drinks and one of my new favorite restaurants, Coop’s, where their Chicken Tchoupitoulas is FANTASTIC as well as the rest of their food…

 

We then swung by to see Filly at Jackson Square with her Muleicorn Claudia as she was working hard & giving the best tours of the French Quarter!!!

 

Day 12 – August 30^th – New Orleans

 

This last day in New Orleans, we did kind of take it easy… but we started by going to the Pharmacy Museum located in the French Quarter, which was a great collection of memorabilia and devices utilized in the 19^th & 20^th century to cure ailments… but were often a little out of the ordinary… and by today’s standards are damn petrifying!!! How did we all survive the days when lead, mercury, opium and all sorts of wicked sh*t were commonplace? Oh well… we made it… and here we are to show you pictures…

  

We spent the rest of the day hanging with Filly at her home in Metairie, eating delicious food & watching movies (“The Gate” & “The Color of Magic” miniseries among them) and just having a great time with my great friend!

 

Day 13 – August 31^st – Back to San Francisco

 

Then we flew back to real life… nothing really eventful… but it was an amazing trip that I won’t soon forget. Spending some time together with my WIFE Izzy and just being able to relax and not worry about family, friends, work, all that other nonsense was just amazing & we were able to spend time with just each other, which is always a great time! AND we got to see Filly, the Crescent City, the beautiful waters of the Caribbean, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, all of that while doing it! Anyway, lots of catching up to do from the wedding & various events… but I’m sure that you’re not terribly concerned about all that, so I’ll just leave you with the pictures until next time. Have a great day everybody!!!

Mardi Gras 2013

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Well, I finally have a few minutes to load some pictures from my trip... so here they are. I'm going to warn you that the quality is not the best... and here's why. First off, my camera doesn't take good night photos (if you may recall from past posts), secondly it got dropped about half way through the trip (not by me) so you may notice when it's no longer being used, thirdly my phone's battery doesn't do too hot... so there are only a few pictures from it, & fourthly the camera that Filly lent me had some bad scratching on the center of its lens so you'll see some blurry images. With the being said... here you are...

Super Bowl - I arrived the night before the big game... and basically just wandered around Jackson Square with Filly after work... and then we ended up watching the game (since I didn't have tickets or want to deal with Bourbon Street) at her place. She's not a football fan or anything... but she said she had fun watching it with me as we made our commentaries about the commercials. Anyway, here are some pictures...

CBS basically owned Jackson Square

During the following week, there was a few days of no big events, so I went with Filly to the ceramics class that she teaches at a senior center... and the ladies were amazing & awesome... and we got to play with some clay. The rest of the week, we had Mardi Gras parades to attend... and she even got to be in a few small ones, like the one below on Bourbon Street (she's the lady leading the mule-drawn cart)

 

Filly in front of her future home... hopefully...

 

The gate is a literal "Cocke" blocker

 

Filly in the parade on Bourbon Street

(apparently sponsored by Southern Comfort)

Then we went to one of our favorites parades, the trio of the Krewes of Babylon, Chaos & Muses... where we basically screamed & drank & had fun for about five hours in a parade...

 

Yes, there was a dancing group of Rick Jameses...

but the camera didn't take any good pics except this one

Then Saturday, Filly had some of her friends from work come over & we had a big crawfish & lobster broil because she lives only a few blocks from the parade route for the Krewe of Endymion. The food... magnificent. The people... cool cats. This parade was also where the camera got dropped... like right at the beginning... but it's okay, because the crawfish pics are all good... and then there are a few from the camera... enjoy... and tell me them mudbugs don't look delicious!

One day while Filly was working, I thought it'd be awesome to go check out the WWII Museum which is regarded as the premiere WWII Museum in the nation, probably the world. It didn't disappoint., I highly recommend that anybody check it out who's in the area & even slightly interested. There was also a special exhibit by the NFL Hall of Fame!!! Also, there was a parade a few blocks away...

 

Troy Aikman has small hands...

 

And you thought Germans were the only ones with

horrible propaganda... they even had an episdoe of "Popeye"

Then on Fat Tuesday, the last day of Mardi Gras, the weather was acting up (as it had been for a few of the days) but that didn't keep me from going to the parade of the Zulu Nation a few blocks from Filly's house... and I have to say, it was probably my favorite! Met a great family there, caught a lot of beads for the kids... and they thanked me by giving me on of the Zulu Coconuts that they had gotten. I'm sure it might not sound like much to those who don't know... but it's a great throw & a time honored tradition... so thanks y'all! I gave it to Filly because she made this all possible...

Not sure why... but I really like this photo...

Well, then I flew back on Valentine's Day & you all pretty much know how it's gone from there. I'm finally caught up at work for the time being... and Dizzy & have been having fun. The next entry will be our adventures to the Asian Art Museum... and a Pole Dancing show. Yup... trust me... you want to miss that episode. Have a great weekend everybody!!!