Day 158 - NOLA photo safari

O.M.G! It. Is. So. Hot. Here.

My hair is melting.

In New Orleans for work. A huge mongo technical conference with every Microsoft (R) nerd (R) with any travel budget whatsoever.

Flew in this morning. 6:00 a flight. That means I've been up since 3:30. (Dead stare.) I'm really tired.

The good news is that the GF was able to join me on the trip. The also good news is that we got uber lucky with her flights. Though she was booked on two equally early and slightly more inconvenient flights, she was able to run the stand-by gauntlet... twice, and fly on my flights.

The bad news? Her luggage wasn't as lucky. Meh. Who needs a hair brush and make up and clean clothes for a ... photo safari!

What can you expect in the Big Easy?

Hells yeah, Big Fun!

And to kick off the big fun, let's go to the big tech conference! Woohoo!

First we need to register...

Wow, the registration is REALLY specific this year. I wonder what the Bi folks get in their welcome bag...

Ok ladies, I need an opinion here...

Kilt to a geek fest: tragically hip? tragically desperate plea for attention? Epic fashion fail?

Ok... short shift that the show booth and it's time for a run in the sauna that is NOLA.

First, I stop to consult with the great Winston Churchill. "Hey Winnie, what do you think of that flag behind you?"

"Wow, Win, kinda harsh."

"Ok. Here's a non-controversial question. Given the ungodly heat and oppressive humidity, how may miles should I run this afternoon?"

"Cool, I was thinking about 2."

First up is the Louisianna World Trade Center. Sorta...

Nice fountain. And what was cool was that there ere other folks enjoying it as well...

My kinda people.

Now off to the French Quarter for some classic architecture and live jazz and the smells of cajun cooking.

And strip clubs. Lots of strip clubs. And t-shirt shops.

Sure, there were the balconies. And this lone guitar player.

But at least at 4pm, The Big Easy was more than a little hard to take.

Occasionally the views were classic. But most of the time it was dirty. And smelly. And not in a good way.

I heard the unmistakable sound of live music in the distance. I picked up the pace and followed it, eager for my first taste of real New Orleans jazz.

Yeah, no. They were covering Zeppelin. The only live bad on my entire run through the historic French Quarter, was getting the Led out.

Dejected, I headed back to the hotel.

Did YOU know that New Orleans had trollies? I didn't.

Seeing misplaced trollies wasn't enough to bouy my spirits. I needed something special.

The fountain outside Harrah's is a challenging one. Deep AND sunken. Getting out would be a challenge. As would avoiding the swarming valet guys.

This was just what I needed.

In and out and scampering away to the hotel.

After a long busy stint at the booth, I'm typing madly so I can go out to see the French 1/4 at night, optimistic that there will be some magic to be had.

Good running,
Doug

Numbers: 2.1 miles on pavement and even a few cobblestones.