Travis decided to mix a little business with pleasure. He surprised me by setting up a weekend get-a-way in New Orleans for Mardi-Gras.
Feeling special!
We went down on Saturday and stayed at the Astor Crowne Plaza hotel again. I love the location of the hotel, but if we go again I think I’m ready for a change. He invited several business contacts down to share the experience
Trent, Heath, Travis, Joe
Mike, Annie, Travis
Erika & me
I discovered I actually glow in the dark!! Being the palest human by far at the ball, I appear to have a "halo" around me in all of the photos...amazing! Who would have thought human flesh could be iridescent? :-/
plus I was able to convince a couple of my close friends to come as well.
Me & Mickey
lookie what I caught at Mardi-Gras ;-D
Trent, me & my fabulous hubby!!
We couldn’t have asked for a weekend filled with more perfect weather than it was, so we enjoyed several long walks around New Orleans and the French Quarter just looking at the beautiful architecture. Sunday morning started early, so we could beat the lines, with a trip to Mother’s for breakfast, followed by a business meeting, and then the Bacchus ball on Sunday night, which was FABULOUS!
their signature float
Val Kilmer was the king. 
Val Kilmer
I was joking with a friend and mentioned “eye candy.” She replied, “More like eye jello. You haven’t seen him lately!” Uh – EWWWWWW. He did not hold up well. Anyway, we enjoyed the company of my SIL and her HH, who actually rides in the parade, 
My SIL, Kay, and her HH Ken - owner and chef at the fabulous restaraunt in Jackson, MS...FOODIE'S
My SIL always brings the goofiest smile to my face :-D...never a dull moment
and saw the Top Cats live! What a way to rock it old school style – they were awesome! We left before Cowboy Mouth played, though; we were wiped out! Monday Travis had another business meeting while I walked around the Quarter for a bit shooting some pictures of my favorite sites: 
the sky was such a brilliant blue that it made everything that much more enjoyable!
a funny, but unfortunate fact of French Quarter life during Mardi-Gras
some beautiful mosaic steps that I thought would be a great idea for our back yard
architecture going to waste - the building is phenominal...and in ruins
a condo for sale - I thought I'd try my luck at talking Travis into buying our very own :-D No sale yet, but I haven't given up hope ;-)
then we went to eat at a fabulous 5 star restaurant rated #2 in 2008 America’s top ten steakhouses by Tom Horan, Dickie Brennan’s Steak House. Good thing I walked for a few hours because absolutely nothing is lo-cal and I enjoyed every bite!!! We finished the day by watching my other favorite parade, Orpheus, with Jim Belushi as the king this year.
My knight in shining armor...his eyes make my heart melt. Thank you for making my life full!
We introduced Mao to our 
by taking her to a Baton Rouge parade, 
the 
During the parades it’s custom to shout out “throw me somethin’ Mister!” and jump up and down with your hands in the air, the idea being the louder you are the more the float riders notice you and “throw you somethin’” – in this case, strings of 
caught several beads and cups, 
laughed over one float in particular, 
and listened to the bands…my favorite was the bagpipe brigade.
It is a big tradition to wear a mask on Mardi Gras! For one day you can be anonymous to the world. Many Hollywood celebrities come down to New Orleans on Mardi Gras so they can be free for a day! Most people wear masks and costume to get the bead throwers on the floats attention. The more they like your costume the more stuff they will throw you. Couples often color coordinate or deliberately contrast their costumes. Groups of friends can all wear the same mask to recognize each other in the crowd.
Men dress as women and women dress as men. It is a blast! Also masks can be made out of anything! Masks are made out of feathers, sequins, glitter, ceramics, and even plaster. People can choose to wear a stickmask or a Zorro type mask. The idea of Fat Tuesday in New Orleans is to wear a mask, any kind of mask, or costume. It is part of the fun and festivities that make Mardi Gras such an unusual holiday.
We didn’t introduce ourselves because they were on the other side of the floats, and even though Flat Evan is flat, we didn’t want to be the next ones to get flattened by crossing the parade barricade!!
Try as a might, I couldn’t be my PR of the last 10k I ran before my foot surgery, but it’s really all about the 
I got a fantastic new shirt and will be the envy of every Mardi-Gras goer this year…that’s what I keep telling myself! I will never admit I’m psychotic just for the thrill of the run!
