Due to the nature of this post, let’s just start with the lesson of the story, as logic leaves the protagonist as the story goes on…
- Always know the details about the location you are staying; know your expectations.
- Always discuss those expectations with your traveling companions.
- If you are going to a big event in a popular city, there are tricks to booking ahead, even if you haven’t secured your tickets and may need to cancel.
- Plastic, refillable fishbowls, full of alcoholic cocktails and attached by the bar to a lanyard for portability, are not a good idea.
Oh, and if your amor sees you vomit into a potted plant in the rain and not only doesn’t scold you, but rubs your back and says it’ll be ok, then you probably got yourself a keeper.
In 2012 I “won” tickets for the Final Four college basketball championships. The culmination of the March Madness that America stops to binge. Really, winning means you are selected in the lottery of applications to buy the tickets directly from the NCAA, at normal prices, instead of being robbed on secondary sites. But it was wildly exciting as I was going to get to combine my bucket list Final Four with my bucket list New Orleans.
Hubs (then Manfriend) and I took our first real road trip together, driving down through Arkansas where the Ozarks give way to the South. We stayed in Vicksburg and toured the National Military Park. We traveled the Natchez Trail and wandered that southern belle. And then, NOLA.
I knew where we were staying and I’m positive I told Hubs about this in some moment where he was partially listening. By the time we had secured the tournament tickets, the majority of centrally located hotels and B&Bs were gone. The ones that were left had astronomical prices. I would see more of this later, like when a $100 Holiday Inn room in Louisville turns into a $1000 room during the Kentucky Derby. But this was my first time with this phenomenon. So we were booked into the Balcony Guesthouse in the Faubourg Marigny district.
The Balcony Guesthouse is this funky mix of convenience store, restaurant, and bed & breakfast. A few simple rooms upstairs with small baths, a big beautiful balcony looking out over a residential neighborhood, and the BEST included full breakfast with a drink each morning in a restaurant that is always hopping. I did my research, even walked the streets on Google Earth: safe place. A mile walk away from the French Quarter and an eighth of the price of other places- it was a gem.
It became apparent as we traveled into NOLA that my husband did not fully understand everything I told him. He had never stayed in any sort of B&B, had not really looked at the maps or pictures, and didn’t pay attention when I said that it sounded like NOLA can change drastically from block to block.
After GPS and I had a vicious fight near a dead end by the Harrah’s casino, we switched drivers and I was navigating us off I-10. Desolate, boarded up homes greeted us as that cheeky GPS man stated we were just 5 minutes from our destination. The visual epitome of that pompous phrase, “urban blight.” Hubs looked at me with massive skepticism. It didn’t matter that the streets adjusted to a thriving neighborhood just four blocks south. Didn’t matter that people were walking and biking, and sitting on porches and shopping near the Guesthouse. He had been envisioning a hotel, a chain hotel, with standard rooms and a homogenous feel in the middle of The Big Easy. And in his mind he kept the image of those dilapidated houses.
You see, when you travel with people, it’s important that they know what is going on too. It’s important that they have a say or at least an understanding. These things are important for a lot of reasons. Mutual enjoyment and respect. Shared experiences. And you might then get very inebriated and the person you’re with has no idea where you’re actually staying.
About that night. Normally I like to get my bearings in a strange town before I drink much at all. But…..Bourbon Street. And plastic fishbowls you can wear around your neck that are such a great deal because you can refill them for $2, c’mon Manfriend! And sharing rounds of shots with Ohio State fans. And 
playing a drinking game with some random people from Connecticut every time Kentucky fans did their obnoxious “Cats, Cats, Cats” chant. Which is a lot, by the way. Yes, NOLA had picked herself up after that bitch Katrina and was ready to host this major party. And then…. emphatic arguing with Hubs about why I should be able to keep my fishbowl instead of leaving it behind (I lost). And hazy arguing with a carriage driver about which direction we should walk after Hubs asked for directions (I was wrong.) The days before Uber and no taxi in sight so we’re walking a mile down the middle of the quiet residential street, me leaning on Hubs while he watched the surroundings. Sitting out on the beautiful balcony, talking in the rain. Puking in one of the potted plants.
NOLA beat the hangover back. The rest of the trip was about beignets and chicory coffee. We were sipping IPAs and eating crawfish and etouffee at what became our “regular” bar. Seeing alligators in the swamp. Walking with the entire state of Kentucky as the Louisville and UK fans shouted it out on the way to the Final Four. Seeing my grandfather’s alma mater beat my parents’ alma mater for the championship.
It probably would have been better if we had stayed in the French Quarter. I don’t regret it, because the place we stayed at was very New Orleans and gave the whole trip some extra flavor. We can both laugh about it now and I am happy to see the place is still kicking. Yet I have learned that if you’re going to a big event, it’s better to do one of two things. One, book far in advance AS LONG AS YOU READ THE FINE PRINT. Many sites, my favorite being hotels.com, allow you to book up to a year ahead with features to pay at booking or at the hotel. Many have free cancellation. So if you’re not sure you’ll be able to secure tickets to the Final Four, or Kentucky Derby, or Olympics, or say, you’re not sure you will actually go to Munich for Oktoberfest, go ahead and book. Just make sure you can get out of it. Second, hustle the discounts in buying points. It’s a genius move if you’re sure you’re going and easy to do if you understand what to look for.
By the way, I do have a conscience. I went out the next morning to try to blot up my vomit from that potted plant. The rain had already washed it clean.
May the road rise to meet you, travelers, and may you stay clear of fishbowls.
hmmm–think your parents “trip gene” come out in you at times–I think back to all the trips with Barc & Sherry and the weird places we stayed (a’la Bates Motel; sleeping in the middle of the Mark Twain Forest while the nearest house rocked Ozark Mountain Daredevils, etc)! You are probably too young to remember, but we also had a trip to Steamboat Springs that we stayed in a condo that had no tv–at least we knew ahead of time and brought our own! (with a toddler, not much apres’ ski!)