…that I still haven’t recovered :)

The trip was actually a birthday gift for my Dad from his three sons, and we all had a great time. We stayed at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, which is smack dab in the middle of Bourbon Street. My room had a balcony overlooking the street, which was a great place to hang out and watch the freaks go by (until we joined them, of course). Apparently the Mardi Gras atmosphere stays alive all year on Bourbon Street – the number of sober people rapidly declined as the night wore on, and the number of bead-tossers rapidly increased. I was honored to have a young lady toss me some beads and ask me to strip in return, but given that I’m a married man I wasn’t about to shed any clothes (now, if she would’ve tossed me an iPod instead of beads…).

Apart from the wild night life, other highlights included a trip to the Voodoo Museum, a tour of the Honey Island Swamp (complete with a 14ft alligator that was coaxed out of hiding with a few marshmallows), and a Louis Armstrong parade that was part of the Satchmo SummerFest. The parade may have been my favorite – watching the entire street dance to the sound of the marching New Orleans jazz band was quite a treat. Rock-n-roll may have its share of party music, but it’s nothing compared to live New Orleans jazz.

Of course, the downside of having a balcony overlooking Bourbon Street is that the noise from the crowd keeps going until daybreak, so I’ve hardly slept since Friday. Recuperating from three late nights in a row is making me feel my age!