On the way home

We left New Orleans this morning after a night of not as much sleep as we’d like. Some party of early 20’s kids rented out an entire side of the same floor we were on and decided to make lots of noise all through the day and night. But anyway, we decided to hit a plantation on the way out of town, and that was pretty cool. But something happened there that really bummed me out. My three year old Nikon camera may be done. There’s a problem with the internal software that is causing problems writing the images to the card while also locking up the entire camera. It erased (or didn’t record) a number of images that I took earlier, and it really pisses me off because not only is my camera probably dead, but it was the perfect infrared conditions in a really unique setting.

The two images on this posting are a few of the surviving images. The bottom one is an infrared image, and the top one is a standard one… All of the images from the trip that I have posted online are in a set within my Flickr account. My wife also has a set on her Flickr account for your viewing pleasure…

I am writing this from Memphis, and we’ll be waking up to hit Graceland in the morning. Then it’s back home for a few last days of rest before going back to the grind. I’m more worried about what I’m going to do about the camera…

The Big Easy

So the end of out first full day in New Orleans is approaching. It’s been interesting to say the least… First there’s the coincidence that we decided to come when Notre Dame just happened to be playing LSU in the Sugar Bowl. So it’s busier than a normal January week, but it’s no Mardi Gras or Jazzfest. The game is on right now, and the last thing I’m going to say about this is that LSU fans are for the most part a little on the juvenile and annoying side. But I digress.

The most shocking part of the trip down was seeing the lingering destruction that is readily apparent while driving in on Interstate 10. Remember that it’s been about a year and a half, and there are still many neighborhoods completely decimated and many more that show any level of destruction that is still apparent. Many people have thanked us for coming down for a vacation. I’ve heard people complaining about some post-Katrina politics, and there is even notable New Orleans artists taking swipes at FEMA. Just weird in that respect. We only saw what was visible from the Interstate, and I can’t imagine the areas I can’t see. The images and footage do little justice to seeing the magnitude of the destruction. I am completely in awe.

But otherwise it is the same New Orleans that I remember (I’ve only been once 11 years ago). There are so many wonderful restaurants. Beautiful architecture that you can’t see anywhere else in America. The debauchery of Bourbon Street. Just many different experiences available to any type of person / traveler. I really hope that things start coming back here. It’s one of the top treasures in the country in my opinion.

Tomorrow is our last full day before heading back with a stop in Graceland. It’s supposed to rain, which may give Burbon St. a needed wash, but it may limit the number of photos.

Pre-Easy: The Beginning

I’ve been itching to take one for a while, and while I won’t satisfy my desire for Pearl Pass, I will be making my second trip to the Big Easy.

We leave on Jan. 1, and we’ll stop in Birmingham or Montgomery for the evening before getting into New Orleans on the 2nd and be back in Indy sometime around the 6th or so (stopping at Graceland on the way back).

So I’ll try and blog / post images to Flickr given I have access, but it may just be a flurry or post dated blogs a la Maine last May…