New Orleans Craziness

Here we are in New Orleans for a little retreat -- really just to enjoy some good music, good art and good food over a long weekend. New Orleans is a frequent site of our adventures over the years, but it never ceases to amaze! In addition to the usual craziness, already, we have spotted three interesting "celebrations" occurring this weekend:

• The Half Way to St. Patrick's Day celebration, featuring a parade with floats, the tossing of green beads and a lot of drunk Irish (or those just pretending to be Irish, but nonetheless wearing green shirts).
• The 61st annual anniversary commemoration of the "Stormin' of the Sazerac -- a seige of women on the Sazerac Bar to demand to be allowed to drink without being accompanied by a male escort." The "protest march" was successful and for the first time in the city women were served alcohol without having to drag some poor guy along. And so, we saw 200+ women dressed ala the 1940's with great, funny feathered hats at an all afternoon drinking fest at the Sazerac, which is in the lobby of our hotel, the Roosevelt.
• Our hotel is also hosting a conclave of weirdos: the Grand Masquerade of Darkness. It seems that most of the guests in the hotel are participating. They are fans of a series of role playing games, novels and some cult TV show and they are engaged in a grand weekend-long role playing game at the hotel, wearing special badges and dressed in character. There are many piercings, tatoos, overweight nerds and a lot of black. Creepy!

Paul and I may be the only normal folks in town!! But, since this is New Orleans, the home of voodoo, etc., we are perhaps considered abnormal!