oui! naw!

Any of you who know me or have followed the blog for a year or two know that it is tradition for me to meet up with my best friend, Myron, in Key West every New Years. It turns out that tradition had to be broken this year because Myron was unable to make travel plans for work reasons, so I decided to come to New Orleans. Its been many years since I've been here, and I'm a little struck at how similar it feels to Key West - just on a much larger scale. This really is only coincidence in deciding on New Orleans - my issues are finding someplace that is likely to be somewhat moderate in temperature, and where something actually happens at midnight on New Years (because I hate the traditional new years buildup/countdown to...nothing). And since I'd be traveling on my own, New Orleans seemed like it would be more fun by myself than a smaller place like Key West. My friend Kevin offered to give me a ride from the airport - he didn't tell me it would be in his police cruiser right after he got off work. Can't beat a police escort! We went to one of his local favorite spots for dinner and he gave me a basic tour of the lay of the land and hotspots or recommendations in the French Quarter and nearby areas. It already feels like this was a good choice for ringing in the New Year. I hope the next few days are as fun as the last few hours have been.