Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 2:21 pm
All in all a GREAT trip. Met up with several old friends and their spouses who are now scattered around the east from Boston to Atlanta.
As expected LSU beat WV but at least it was a competitive game if you like defense or in this case 2 lousy offenses, 2 good defenses and one team with good special teams (LSU).
The trip started with a flight into Gulfport, MS and a drive up the coast to New Orleans along the white sandy beaches of the gulf. We saw 2 things that were sad. First, the beaches were empty. The only life we saw was what we believe were clean up crews still on the beaches about every 1/2 mile or so. The other was the building foundations along the road. 5 years after Katrina and we saw TONS of old steps, concrete pads / pillars and land for sale signs every where and not much construction. Hopefully that will come as the economy heals.
Here's one (sorry about the index finger)
Things got A LOT better after that. We got into NO, checked in and headed to Bourbon St. Not much to say there. If you like drinking, seeing topless girls and having fun, this place is a BLAST. 3 for 1 beer specials are right up my alley. Great atmosphere and great food too.
Here are pics of some "g rated" pics of some of the peeps on Bourbon
My buddy and his wife
Gold painted dude
Live Band
Sadly, my pic of the girl riding the mechanical bull did not come out.
We managed to stay out of jail and got some sleep that night. We grabbed some alligator bites on Sat down on the Riverwalk and tooled around before the game. Never had gator - reminded me of sausage.
Creole Queen River Boat
Trolley by the river
We popped into Harrahs Casino and dropped a couple 20's into the slots while waiting to board the Alumni Buses to the game. We could not take a pic in there to prove it but my wife turned her 20 into a 10 and I made mine a fifty in about 2 mins. That paid for the drinks we took on the bus.
Everyone gathered up at the Lowes Hotel and boarded 9 charter buses to Baton Rouge. The bus trip was well worth the $$. Plenty of beverages were had.
450 Mounty Fans waiting to board
We arrived at Walk On's in Baton Rouge where a giant tent with a band, food and open bar from 2 - 6 PM were all set up. They also have an outdoor giant TV screen.
My buddy Scott, Me and Alex
After the party we headed to the game. Based on some feedback from a few forum users, I was expecting VERY BAD behavior. I was extremely surprised to find that 99% of the peeps were cool. We got the usual visitor ribbing like I expected but no one was yelling stuff like go home MFer or your mom's a ___.
I think the only 2 words they know are "tiger bait". That became annoying after hearing it 10,000 times.
The stadium was nice, I'd like to say I had 50 yd line seats (which I did) but they were 3 rows from the top. I wish there was a ski lift to get there. I think our seats were at a higher altitude than my condo at Snowshoe.
Here's Pregame warmups
And the Pride of West Virgina
Even though we lost, it was a great trip south. The south certainly did not disappoint us with the weather or hospitality.
I wish I had not booked an early flight home but I wanted to see my Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday and I don't think my liver could take a 3rd day of non stop partying.
As expected LSU beat WV but at least it was a competitive game if you like defense or in this case 2 lousy offenses, 2 good defenses and one team with good special teams (LSU).
The trip started with a flight into Gulfport, MS and a drive up the coast to New Orleans along the white sandy beaches of the gulf. We saw 2 things that were sad. First, the beaches were empty. The only life we saw was what we believe were clean up crews still on the beaches about every 1/2 mile or so. The other was the building foundations along the road. 5 years after Katrina and we saw TONS of old steps, concrete pads / pillars and land for sale signs every where and not much construction. Hopefully that will come as the economy heals.
Here's one (sorry about the index finger)
Things got A LOT better after that. We got into NO, checked in and headed to Bourbon St. Not much to say there. If you like drinking, seeing topless girls and having fun, this place is a BLAST. 3 for 1 beer specials are right up my alley. Great atmosphere and great food too.
Here are pics of some "g rated" pics of some of the peeps on Bourbon
My buddy and his wife
Gold painted dude
Live Band
Sadly, my pic of the girl riding the mechanical bull did not come out.
We managed to stay out of jail and got some sleep that night. We grabbed some alligator bites on Sat down on the Riverwalk and tooled around before the game. Never had gator - reminded me of sausage.
Creole Queen River Boat
Trolley by the river
We popped into Harrahs Casino and dropped a couple 20's into the slots while waiting to board the Alumni Buses to the game. We could not take a pic in there to prove it but my wife turned her 20 into a 10 and I made mine a fifty in about 2 mins. That paid for the drinks we took on the bus.
Everyone gathered up at the Lowes Hotel and boarded 9 charter buses to Baton Rouge. The bus trip was well worth the $$. Plenty of beverages were had.
450 Mounty Fans waiting to board
We arrived at Walk On's in Baton Rouge where a giant tent with a band, food and open bar from 2 - 6 PM were all set up. They also have an outdoor giant TV screen.
My buddy Scott, Me and Alex
After the party we headed to the game. Based on some feedback from a few forum users, I was expecting VERY BAD behavior. I was extremely surprised to find that 99% of the peeps were cool. We got the usual visitor ribbing like I expected but no one was yelling stuff like go home MFer or your mom's a ___.
I think the only 2 words they know are "tiger bait". That became annoying after hearing it 10,000 times.
The stadium was nice, I'd like to say I had 50 yd line seats (which I did) but they were 3 rows from the top. I wish there was a ski lift to get there. I think our seats were at a higher altitude than my condo at Snowshoe.
Here's Pregame warmups
And the Pride of West Virgina
Even though we lost, it was a great trip south. The south certainly did not disappoint us with the weather or hospitality.
I wish I had not booked an early flight home but I wanted to see my Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday and I don't think my liver could take a 3rd day of non stop partying.