My trip to Florida was so amazing I can't even begin to describe it. Okay maybe I can, I am going to give it a go anyway.

My trip began with a flight that took me first to Tampa, then on to West Palm Beach. I then rented a car and drove back to Tampa. Why didn't I fly just into Tampa? It was cheaper to fly into West Palm Beach and in the end it gave me a chance to stay longer in Florida!! The drive to Tampa was pretty nice, I took the turnpike most of the way. I had only been to that part of Florida once right after graduating High School. I can admit that when I got close to Orlando and seeing all those signs for Disney World and Universal and all other theme parks that it was a little tempting to just get off. I know however that the weekend ahead of me was going to be so much more fun. I only went the wrong way once, and only for about a half mile so I was pretty darn proud of myself for navigating so well. The venue for this night was Skippers. When I first pulled up to the place I wasn't sure if I was in the right place, lets just say it was interesting looking. It looked like a bunch of tin shacks thrown together. Once you get inside however? It is pretty darn amazing. It is an open venue, the roof is the oak trees that surround the building. The below picture does not begin to give it justice.

The people in Tampa LOVED the show. I loved the people in Tampa. Everyone coming up to the merch table loved New Orleans and the music, not just Bonerama (obviously they loved Bonerama they were at their show) but NOLA music in general. The whole vibe from the venue was amazing...everyone just seemed to be in a great mood and it was infectious. My friend Johnna was there, I hadn't seen her or her husband since Jazz Fest so it was great to see her.

Also in the house was Jessica, her sister, her mom and her brand new fiance!! It was not only Jessica's birthday but we celebrated the fact that she had just got engaged. One of my most favorite people to hang out with for sure, so I was glad that they were there.

Steve and Diane were also there. They are big fans and friends from Virginia Beach. I didn't know they were going to be there so I was glad when Craig told me they were there. However he didn't tell them that I was there, it wasn't until Mark announced the merch was for sale did they know I was there. I loved seeing the looks on their faces!!!

After a great set by the boys, a few of us went on to celebrate the birthday girl's day just a bit more. We finally made it back to Johnna's house some time close to three. It made for a really really long day. There had been talks of me to caravan with the boys. They were scheduled to leave around 10, I set my alarm to get up and get moving so I could be back by the hotel about that time. It didn't happen. Oh I did get up when the alarm went up, but I didn't really start moving until a few hours later. I was having too much fun visiting and enjoying Johanna's backyard!! I hit the road around noon, with a nice lunch packed up for me. (Johnna is the BEST) Again the trip back to West Palm Beach was fantastic. I was enjoying the scenery and wish I could have taken pictures but being the driver that was a little difficult. 4 hours later I pulled up to a gated community. I called my friend Monika and asked her "how do I get in???" She was a little shocked that I was there because I guess people always call, can't finding the place. I was the first one to make it!! Yay!!! We were at the house long enough for me to throw my things in the house, freshen up and then we were off. Our first stop of the night was Slainte the Irish Pub that Monika works at. That place is pretty damn amazing. It is beautiful. We then went off to Hollywood Beach for the rest of the evening. Bonerama had two separate gigs that night, the first one was on the Toyota stage. It was pretty much a good time...sitting on the beach, drinking beer with some amazing friends and listening to Bonerama. The second set of the evening was down the boardwalk a bit at the Clamshell. This set I did sell merchandise...it was an interesting setup as there were permanent seats and they were separated from the stage by the actual boardwalk. So you had the people dancing in that space, people milling down the boardwalk and the people sitting in the seats. Many of the people really really seemed to enjoy the guys. It wasn't as late as the night before but it was still a long day/night. It was real nice to collapse into bed.

The next day? We did it all over again. Monika made up a batch of some really yummy margaritas and we were on our way.

The first set the boys did this day it was once again at the Clamshell. The crowd wasn't as big but they were really into the music the boys were playing. It was damn hot. Not just the music but the actual weather. I don't know how the boys managed to do as well as they did considering the heat.

I was melting away, and the ocean crashing behind the stage looked so so inviting. I know Monika's kids hit the water before the set was over. The following picture is before the heat and margarita's got to us.

We were able to keep up with the Saints score during the set, because not only was there a bar right there showing the game, but Danny had it playing it on his computer. I was able to run back to the sound booth and catch the score. However there was no way I was going to sit in a bar and watch the rest of the game when the boys were done. We made a quick jaunt down the boardwalk back to the Toyota stage, literally dumped our stuff down and ran for the ocean and had a nice dip. It started cooling off soon after that. Some clouds started to roll in at this point. Pretty soon Big Sam's Funky Nation took the stage and managed to make us all forget that it was getting cloudy by the minute.

A song and a half into Bonerama's last set of the weekend, the clouds opened. It looked for a few minutes that it may stop but at that time the boys were done for the day. The rain just kept coming down at that point. They went ahead and stopped that stage and they were going to move Ivan Neville and Dumpstaphunk down to the Clamshell.

If they played, I don't know. We walked down the boardwalk a bit and decided to stop and get some dinner. Not two minutes after we walked in, the storm really kicked in. We enjoyed some more margaritas and some food. We were able to wait for the storm to pass. Even with the rain we had a great great time. I was at the airport before the sun was up and back to work that afternoon.

The entire trip was so worth it. I hadn't had a nice relaxing trip like that in a long time. I hope to visit the area again soon!!

Here are a few images from this past weekend's Krewe of Oak Mid Summer MG. It was an amazing evening including dancing in the street to a brass band...all through the neighborhood, enjoying some Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, and enjoying the evening as everyone just relaxed and had a great time. The theme was something like Barely Clothed in the Garden of Heathens....I went for a goth look.....

Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes


Greg Hicks and I...notice the makeup is coming off....again it had been raining...then it was hot in the Leaf. It was hopeless

Queen of Oak and I

Dancing in the streets

I am ready for a short week of work. I think I am going to be fairly busy leading up to getting out of town on Friday morning. I have laundry to do, want to get my haircut, get a new pedicure, need to clean up and organize my room some more. And the new TV season starts tonight!! I am happy that we get to see some new HIMYM. Very excited. It is the small things after all.

I will have some pictures to share from the Mid Summer Mardi Gras party. It rained....we got wet...we danced in the streets....we danced in the bar....it was an amazing time.

Now on to the techincal questions...does anyone have any knowledge on Movable Type? I have been getting a crazy amount of spam comments in the past few weeks. Up to 20+ a day. I thought I had fixed it, as there were very few for about a week and then I got something like 60+ in a day. The comments are showing up in the actual comment section, I have a junk section set up and that catches a ton as well. I am not sure how to correct this...so does anyone have any ideas? I would be most grateful!!!

Last night there was no way I was going to miss the music going down at the Maple Leaf. Every Thursday it is the Trio. Who is the Trio? Well every week it is someone different. Usually Johnny V is there however I heard this was the first time he had been there in awhile. George Porter Jr is there quite a bit, although it has been awhile for him as well. Last night it was Johnny V, Georger Porter Jr and Mark Mullins. You know with that kind of Trio the music will be out of this world. And it was. Stanton Moore even made an appearence and joined in on the fun at the end of the night. There are some people that go to the Maple Leaf just to hang out, they are pretty indifferent to the music. Not last night. They were all into it. I hadn't seen George since.....I think it was right after Jazz Fest. I am constantly amazed by his ability. One of the greatest of the great.

I am glad I went and stayed. My body may disagree with me right now...and there will be a nice nap after work....but it was so worth it.

Since life is returning to "normal" there hasn't been really much to say. I have been going to work, going home and getting things done there, cleaning up an trying to stay sane. And well we all know how that is working out!! There are several things that I am looking forward to, the mini-trip, this weekend's Mid-Summer party for Krewe of Oak. We couldn't obviously have the party during Gustav time so it has been rescheduled. It seems odd to have a mid-summer party in the middle of September. The mornings and evenings have actually been cool, I considered for a moment going back into the house to grab a light jacket. Something I couldn't fathom doing just yet since the days are still pretty warm.

Back to the party...I am having some issues thinking of a costume to wear, keeping in mind that it may be cool as we traverse from the Maple Leaf and through the neighborhood on Saturday. I am not sure which brass band will be accompaning us. I am not even sure if they have the same band booked for the party at the Leaf or if it is a new one. So if you are in the area on Saturday be on the look out for a drunken costume hoarde dancing down the street. It starts and ends at the Maple Leaf, however you have to be a member of Krewe of Oak to get into the party....not sure if there is still memberships available....but it is good for the two parties a year. :)

Today I booked a small getaway. A mini holiday if you will. I haven't had one of these in a long time. If it you recall not long ago I had stated I hadn't been out of New Orleans in over a year. Right after that I did leave the city but they weren't for vacation, I mean one trip was for a funereal and the other was an evacuation. So when I got a call from a friend asking me to come to help her celebrate her upcoming birthday, I thought what the hell. It isn't going to be some exotic place but it will be to a state I have only been to a few times. The cities will be new to me however!!

Where is this trip to? Well....I am going to fly into West Palm Beach, FL. I am then getting into a car to drive to Tampa. Because it was cheaper to fly into West Palm Beach...yet the lay over is in Tampa? Yeah...I don't get it. Gonna celebrate my friend's birthday with her that night in Tampa and then head on back to West Palm Beach to hang with some friends that live close by.

Okay...there is a certain band that is involved as well. But really? I can't wait to see my friends that I have met because of the band....and those that I have known since before. I can't WAIT!

Last week at this time well I was just plain miserable. I know I wasn’t the only one. On top of evacuating and worrying about Ike, there was a bunch of other issues. You know, like did we have power? Did was there any roof damage that may had been missed by those that went to look? Will my check be direct deposited? Will I be getting paid for this evacuation? When are we going to go home? Yeah the list goes on and on.
This week is a 180. I guess the fact of being home and having all those above questions finally answered helps out. It seems like everything has fallen into place right now. You know how they say for every good there is a bad? I am in the good part right now.
What are some of the things that just seem to be happening right now? Confirmation yesterday of a Harry Connick Jr. tour. It will start in mid November and be in support of his Christmas album that was just recorded. Heard there is an amazing guest artist on it as well!!! Chances of Harry coming here to New Orleans for the tour are pretty small as he very rarely plays here in his small town. So if I can afford it, I may travel to see him. I also got a call from a friend this morning just giddy beyond belief. She has a big birthday coming up and she just found out about her present and asked me to join along. So I am in the process of seeing if I can make it happen. It is looking good. I think I am going to enjoy this good part of life. I kinda like it and wish it would stick around.

So we are home. Have had a fairly nice weekend, hanging out with friends, hearing some great great music and trying to get back to normal. We are keeping an eye on Ike, but not as much as a few days ago. So all and all things are going great here in NOLA.

However there are places here in Louisiana that desperately need help. Just because NOLA fared alright from Gustav, many places didn't. On our way back from Dallas, we took a smaller route, route 77. Right before Baton Rouge. Thru Rosedale and several other small towns. Trees were down all over the place. Power lines were also down. The entire 40 mins we were struck by how beautiful the area was, and how devastated the area was. Those people need help. Baton Rouge needs help (several friends had been severely affected including trees landing on houses and cars). Terrabone and Lafourche Parishes. The United Houma Nation. What you haven't heard of these places? Well you should. Because they need you to hear about them. They need your help.

NOLA Notes really inspired me to write this with her wonderful blog. She says it much better than I could. So do Maitri and Karen G. Check them out. See what you can do to help. I am going to do what I can...it may not be much but it will be something, if everyone just did a little it would add up to a lot.

-House is in same condition as we left it. A little stuffy.
-We have power.
-Have no food in the house.
-Maple Leaf Open
-Johnny Sketch rocked the place last night
-Keeping an eye on Ike.

We are going to make the trek home either on Friday or Saturday. Waiting for the first wave of people to dissipate a bit. I mean there is a strong possibility we don't have power (although the Maple Leaf and Rue does). As much as I want to go home, sitting in traffic doesn't sound like my idea of fun at all. Especially to do all that waiting for the possibility of no AC, not many grocery stores, and what not. I don't have to be back to work until Monday so I might as well keep enjoying my time here in Hickory Creek, TX and hope that Ike or Josephine doesn't push me back here in a few weeks!

Made it to Hickory Creek Texas yesterday morning. It was a looooong drive. However we weren't stuck in traffic. We took a lot of back highways and while it did take us 12 hours, at least we weren't sitting on the freeway. It could have potentially taken us a lot longer.

Slept for about 2 hours yesterday morning and then got up and started watching the progress of Gustav. Been sleeping in short spurts since then.

Everyone went to breakfast, I didn't want to leave the house. Watching CNN on the TV and then have 4 local stations streaming from one website watching...we are far from taking a BIG sigh of relief. Almost afraid to take it just yet because we did that with Katrina...then the breeches happened. So a small one for now. A few friends are in my neighborhood right now, hopefully when it all calms down weather wise one of them will be able to go and check on my house.