New Years. New Orleans Style.
So there we were, most likely the only 3 people on Bourbon Street NOT drinking. And we enjoyed every minute of our short, amazing time in this incredible Southern City, still recovering from Katrina and most likely, New Years Eve too!
Happy New Years 2009 everyone. I write to you from our other staple camping oasis, a Wal Mart parking lot just outside New Orleans. We departed yesterday morning and set a new start time record: 11:30am.
The late start was a big gift because we stayed up way past our usual 9:00 – 10:00pm bedtime and celebrated with everyone until 2:00am. Crazy how one night of less sleep can make a couple of marathoners (and their crew) so pooped.
New Orleans did not disappoint in the hospitality department. Our time started out with an early 7:30am TV interview, the morning of the 31st, and culminated with our year-in-the-planning event with the amazing, incredible, Kristina Bradford and her counterpart, Jennifer at Whole Foods Market on Magazine Street! We met so many people, older and kid size, and were awestruck with our 1st bigger than 7 feet wall poster, advertising our event!
Like I’ve been saying all through the south about “southern hospitality”, it kept coming all day at Whole Foods. From the support of lunch, groceries for the RV, and all Kristina and co. did to make the event rock, to even meeting a wonderful lady named Tracy Sherry, who asked if we needed a safe place to park the RV overnight. We were treated so warmly and made to feel welcomed here in a city that is still struggling to recover from Katrina and is keeping that hospitality alive and strong to help move it along.
We not only had a safe driveway to camp at the Sherry’s. We were also driven into downtown, dropped off at the most amazing southern cooking establishment known as “Mothers” to enjoy a New year’s Eve eat fest fit for The King!
Then we walked and gawked along Bourbon Street for 4 blocks of craziness, New Orleans style. This included watching very intoxicated celebrators dirty dancing in the street to the sounds of an incredible jazz band, playing from the sidewalk stage, to beads galore being bestowed upon Simon at a rate fit for a stripper. The atmosphere was electric and so perfect for our short stay here and definitely sits atop our wish list of places to come visit again once we unlace in May.
So long from the south ya’ll. We run today to Baton Rouge and another event with Whole Foods and start making our way across to the big State of Texasssssss!
Happy New Year to all three of you! What a great way to bring in 2009. We wish we could be with you as you run through North America. However we are with you in spirit.
Comment by Karen & Andrew Hill — Saturday, January 3, 2009 @ 2:03 am
Whoa…this sounds like a great way to usher in 2009. Good things happen to good folks – and the 3 of you have earned all of this. Enjoy the road!
Comment by Steve — Saturday, January 3, 2009 @ 12:31 pm
Happy New Years the 3 of you. I hope you guys strive to make your New Year
resolutions come true – I know I will.
Keith
Comment by Keith — Monday, January 5, 2009 @ 5:15 am