New Orleans

The Friday that was my last day at work was also the day I drove to New Orleans. It had been planned as either a weekend to commiserate (if I did not get into the Peace Corps) or a weekend to celebrate.  My girlfriends and I chose the most convenient weekend for four busy schedules and, a wonderful surprise, we were there the first weekend of mardi gras celebrations.

Here's my favorite shot from Saturday... we were in the take-out line at Cafe du Monde when this waitress got off shift. She sat down, pulled out a pink cloth and set about dusting the powdered sugar off of her legs, then her shoes. It must be a small misery to spend your workday delivering piles of powdered sugar. I, unsurprisingly, ordered my beignets without sugar (I do not enjoy sticky fingers nor messy food).























Saturday night we went to a parade in Uptown because the parade of the Krewe of Pygmalion turned onto St. Charles Avenue less than five blocks from where we were staying.  I was surprised by how fun it was (factoring in the whole crowd thing). Exciting. My pics turned out terribly for the most part, but I like this crowd shot.























Most of our weekend was spent wandering and eating. The house where we stayed (a vacation rental by owner property) was delightful.






















The way home was long.  About 20 miles south of Atlanta we were brought to a stop - not two minutes after H. said "I might have to pee" (translation - can you stop at the next exit?). An hour later, we were set free (the authorities on the scene still unable to figure out how to pull the toppled tractor trailer off its side). The first exit we came to had an open McDonald's. E. and H. headed to the bathroom, I to the counter. Nothing like a milkshake to help you forget the hour of your life that was sucked into nothingness by an unexpected traffic jam.

It was a good weekend.