NOLA

 After final packing and clean up, we were out of the River Run Condo and headed for San Antonio.  Stopped at El Tapatilo for a b’fast taco which was the best yet (other than the ones I make!).  We weren’t too early as it turned out, arriving at T&D’s a couple of minutes after noon.  After a bit of consideration, we decided to hail two Uber’s rather than try for an XL.  The first car was a sub compact, so we did a bit of mix and match with the luggage and managed to get all of us and all the bags to SAT in good time.  Check in was complicated by a hiccup where Tim didn’t have a reservation on Dru’s companion status, so they sent us ahead while they got the situation sorted.  Fortunately, the flight was not completely full so Tim managed to get on.  Met the balance of our party of 10 at La Gloria inside security for the opening round.  The group consists of five couples who we had met previously at Dru’s office in San Antonio.  Hugh and Shannon Miller, Juan and Romy Barrera, Steve and Belinda Yndo are our new friends and have been to NOLA for Mardi Gras with T&D previously.  The short flight got us there on time and after a fairly long wait for luggage, our limo driver (Theron) had the whole group + luggage crammed into his 11 passenger van.  Theoron was known to our fearless leaders as they’ve worked together before on trips to NO.  The airport was further from downtown than I had remembered and the trip was long but comfortable.  Once we got into town, we started to get a sense for what we were getting into.  Traffic was gridlocked, but Theo executed some bold manoeuvres through blocked off streets and wrong ways plus a bit of misdirection, he got us close.  The last bit of the Krewe of Endymion parade passed right alongside our hotel as we where arriving. We piled out of the van and the first indication of how poorly K&I had chosen our luggage became apparent.  With two golf bags and two other large suitcases plus K’s wheeled carry on, the two of us didn’t have enough hands for all of it.  This didn’t present a real struggle until we had checked in and were on our own to get to our room.  We’ll have to be more strategic upon check out.  Check in was very busy but we managed to find our way.  Once in the room, I was relieved to find nothing broken in the bags. After a quick turn around we met the rest of the tourists in the lobby bar of Le Meridien where the lonely bartender was struggling a bit to keep up with the throng of guests clamouring for a drink.  In spite of some difficulty with getting checked in, Juan and Romi had managed to get in costume for night one’s adventure.  Juan in full Elvis mode and Romi decked out in a colourful tu tu.  They came prepared and made the rest of us look pale with only beads around our necks.  We then made our way about eight block walk (past Le Pavillon - which brought back fond memories) to the Krewe of Isis parade route and found a cocktail bar where we could await the commencement of this parade.  

We only watched a portion of the parade to get more of a taste for things to come because we had a reservation at the Ritz Carleton for dinner at 8:30.  The floats and marching bands are truly spectacular and the Krewe participants put on quite a show with their costumes and “throws”.  Karen made sure to have a front row vantage point and recorded some great footage that can’t be posted here but will make for good evidence!  After dinner we wandered back Le Meridien through the crazy streets of NOLA on a Saturday night during Mardi Gras.