Gulf Wars XIX: Wednesday & New Orleans Thursday
Wednesday was cold and overcast. Hubbyfink spent the morning in Early Period Life doing Norse things that didn't actually involve going a-viking (the site was much too dry for rowing a longship despite the rain the previous evening). I slept in and tried to stay warm until my retainer shift. While minding our lovely Queen, I caught the end of the Diamond & Rose Tourney (Atlantia won), watched a bit of the joust (and was completely disillusioned as to the majesty of horses), and shopped with Her Majesty. When Hubbyfink and I both eventually convened upon home, I asked if we could get a motel room for the night because I was too freaking cold. Yes, Wednesday is the big party night, but neither of us are partiers especially when we're freezing. We grabbed our overnight bags and spent a warm night with hot showers that stayed hot through their duration in Hattiesburg.
On Thursday, we hit the road for New Orleans and a much-anticipated visit with thisoldgrouse and cold_spaghetti. Firstly, they both look fantastic. Secondly, they have the most adorable children. Thirdly, I love their house (even if it tries to kill them on a regular basis) and neighborhood. While the kidlets were still in school, we adults zipped down to Mahony's Po-Boy shop for lunch. We stuffed ourselves on the world's best onion rings and the best shrimp po-boy I've ever eaten (they, unfortunately, did not have soft shell crab). Happily stuffed, we piled back into the car for a tour of the Garden District, a walk-through of (I think) Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, and a short stop at The Fly to watch tugboats and barges on the Mighty Mississippi. Back to the house for tour through the remodels and oohing and aahing. Paul retrieved the kidlets from school and we all piled back into the car. Poor Holly was squished into the very back of the wagon. The kidlets entertained us with French songs as we made our way through town towards the French Quarter for beignets at Cafe du Monde. Mmmmm... everything about the Quarter was better than I'd remembered. The music, the street artists, the vibe, the smell. Even the beignets were thicker than those in my memory.
Eventually, it was time to head back to the woods. We bade our farewells and Hubbyfink and I bargained back and forth about whether or not we should go back to site or get another motel room. Hubbyfink finally agreed to go back to site and we donned our warmest clothes again to hit the merchant area for Midnight Madness. MM at Gulf Wars seems a calmer affair the MM at Pennsic, but the difference could simply be due to the number of people on site. I was still waiting for my paycheck to kick in so I couldn't buy anything, but we had fun strolling about, watching Wolgemut and Owain Phyfe perform, and visiting with kass_rants and nq3x and all the lovely people in their shop. Bob even shared some of his creme brulee from the Gode Bakery with me. We love Bob. We got back to camp very late and donned even more clothes before bed to stave off the bitter chill of the night air.
On Thursday, we hit the road for New Orleans and a much-anticipated visit with thisoldgrouse and cold_spaghetti. Firstly, they both look fantastic. Secondly, they have the most adorable children. Thirdly, I love their house (even if it tries to kill them on a regular basis) and neighborhood. While the kidlets were still in school, we adults zipped down to Mahony's Po-Boy shop for lunch. We stuffed ourselves on the world's best onion rings and the best shrimp po-boy I've ever eaten (they, unfortunately, did not have soft shell crab). Happily stuffed, we piled back into the car for a tour of the Garden District, a walk-through of (I think) Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, and a short stop at The Fly to watch tugboats and barges on the Mighty Mississippi. Back to the house for tour through the remodels and oohing and aahing. Paul retrieved the kidlets from school and we all piled back into the car. Poor Holly was squished into the very back of the wagon. The kidlets entertained us with French songs as we made our way through town towards the French Quarter for beignets at Cafe du Monde. Mmmmm... everything about the Quarter was better than I'd remembered. The music, the street artists, the vibe, the smell. Even the beignets were thicker than those in my memory.
Eventually, it was time to head back to the woods. We bade our farewells and Hubbyfink and I bargained back and forth about whether or not we should go back to site or get another motel room. Hubbyfink finally agreed to go back to site and we donned our warmest clothes again to hit the merchant area for Midnight Madness. MM at Gulf Wars seems a calmer affair the MM at Pennsic, but the difference could simply be due to the number of people on site. I was still waiting for my paycheck to kick in so I couldn't buy anything, but we had fun strolling about, watching Wolgemut and Owain Phyfe perform, and visiting with kass_rants and nq3x and all the lovely people in their shop. Bob even shared some of his creme brulee from the Gode Bakery with me. We love Bob. We got back to camp very late and donned even more clothes before bed to stave off the bitter chill of the night air.