Oh, God. This again?

 
Shout Out to Slidell (I-10 Exits 263 and 266)! Comfort Inn Rocks!
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Our New Orleans trip was a mixed success. The main reason for the 11-hour roundtrip drive (Interpol) was missed, but the rest of the trip was pretty awesome. Even if we did have to spend a lot of our non-driving time in Slidell. But, really, the whole trip boosted my view of New Orleans. It’s like, finally, after a half-dozen visits, the city shows me a good time!

I wanna send some mad props out to some people who made the trip worth taking:

-- To the parking attendant at the Canal Street Plaza Whatever-the-Fuck, you were most helpful. That corkscrew ramp up to (and down from) Level 7 was da bomb. I think the view of the Mississippi River from our parking spot was one of the highlights of our trip. And sub-props to that slow-moving tanker!

-- Shout out to Osaka Sushi in Slidell. The one at Exit 266. Not really the food or service, per se. Just that blog-worthy conversation that I had with Michelle. Like, “Wow, Slidell does have some culture.” “Yeah, but you haven’t even had the sushi yet. It could taste like plastic dick.”

-- A solid “You go, girl” to our waitress at Mena’s in the French Quarter. We tipped her, like, 40% for what I termed as the best service EVER (no, CW, there was no hand-release involved).

-- Hot props to Dino’s. With their $3 martinis. Nice selection, even though both Michelle and I chose to drink beer. Still. Oh, and the nice waitress who asked if I was related to some girl in St. Louis who shares my last name.

-- And, of course, eternal thanks to the poofy-haired guy in front of the TwiRoPa. Although you should be thanking me, fucker. I totally didn’t rape you for the ticket to the sold-out show. One dollar over list price? And you offered more? This makes me look like a sucker. But I wasn’t sure I was gonna be able to sell both tickets. Until I was swarmed with lots of people wanting the other ticket. The high point of the ticket-dumping transaction? As I was walking back to the car, hearing that post-punklet spouting, “No, that guy had two tickets, but he sold them!” I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t make another “hand-release” reference here. Ah, what could have been.

-- Last, but not least, kudos to Louisiana State liquor laws, whereby you can purchase full-on liquor in any grocery or convenience store. I wasn’t looking to get too crunk in the hotel room, so I opted for some light, malty beverages . . . and some godawful vodka/melon-ball concoction. Sweet thunder, that was not very good. Went great with a side of Twister, though.

Oh, and I have to mention that our “continental breakfast” on the morning of our departure was quite comprehensive. The banana nut muffins were out-of-sight. Thanks, Comfort Inn. I’m only sad we didn’t get to see the severe, bowl-cutted dominatrix that checked us in one last time.
shaken and poured by Scott-san at 5:04 PM