I Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans

Last weekend I enjoyed a couple warm days bumming around New Orleans. It was good to get back to my Holiday Inn where I checked in poolside and kicked off the mini-vacation getting some much needed sun and cracking a few beers while reading Tender is the Night:

It just so happened that some of my fellow co-workers decided to spend their weekend in New Orleans as well. I was happy to walk Uptown on Saturday afternoon in my new Kino Sandals (courtesy of friend Jack) and pop into their rental house, where everyone was laying around catching the hair of the dog. This was very different from my 7:30am wake up for coffee and the newspaper. Soon we were off to Bourbon Street to begin raging:

Fellow Program Managers Kyle and Scott sharing an affectionate moment

This gentleman walked in front of the camera as we posed for a nice picture

Yes, I had a fine time until Sunday morning when I headed for the airport to fly off to Baltimore, MD. Tonight I'm headed to Kansas City, then Dallas, then a nice few days back in Seattle where my dad will be visiting for the weekend.

Numb and Dumb, the Nickel-Plated Wayfarer continues!

A couple of weeks ago I won $100 in Reno while I was supposed to be working. The rest of the week I flew daily to wonderful destinations such as Spokane, WA and Salt Lake City! I must say, Boise was actually a cute little town. By Friday I was grouchy and tired, so I drank a beer at the airport in Albuquerque before heading to Minneapolis:

A very tired Mike wondering why he's still wayfaring

Last week I enjoyed time in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Rochester, NY, among other breathtaking towns. Last weekend I watched a couple of movies, drank some beer, and waited for Sunday, when I headed for Columbia, SC, finding cross-country commuting very difficult during Spring Break season. I got stuck at the George H.W. Bush Airport for four hours and flew to a town called Greenville, where I rented a car and drove for two hours, arriving in Columbia at 2am. Special thanks to my mom and dad for listening to me vent for half of their Sunday.

Today I'm in Atlanta at AmericasMart, a giant exhibition space. There was a crazy scene on the street this morning when a car decided to try and drive off the top floor of a parking ramp but only got the front two wheels past the barrier. I chatted with Martha about that for a few minutes before we went upstairs to check on the coffee:

Martha, one of my 'friends from the road' and I hard at work at AmericasMart!

Tonight it's off to Ft. Lauderdale, then on to Orlando, finishing up the week in New Orleans where I'll spend the weekend drinking beer by the pool.

Darlin' Don't You Go and Cut Your Hair...

My week ended in sunny Los Angeles and a plane ride home to rainy Seattle, which I couldn't wait to get back to. Saturday morning the first thing I crossed off my list was getting my hair cut.

Before and After

I enjoyed a quiet night making dinner for my brother Andy and my pal Adam. I cooked the steak "cowboy style," which the internet instructs to sear on an iron skillet that's been heating on high for 15-20 minutes. The whole apartment was smoked out and we quickly learned that our fire alarm is electrically wired, so instead of just taking out the battery we had to frantically fan at the ceiling with a dish rag. After dinner we enjoyed drinks and music, finding Neko Case's new album available on NPR and can be listened to here.

Sunday morning I threw on some clothes and headed to Adam's to celebrate March Day, which Adam and I created about six years ago during our "more wild" days. My friend Harry picked us up in his mom's Volkswagen Beetle convertible, and we headed for the road to get in some trouble:

Harry picking us up in his mom's car

Adam's ubiquitous March Day camera documenting the day's debauchery

Back at my house after a hard day's celebrating

We had a great time and it's amazing that Adam and I have upheld this tradition this long. I've realized something about this blog as I'm writing it. When The Nickel-Plated Wayfarer was first created, the entries all focused on the strange and new places I was visiting. Lately it seems all I write about is what happens on my weekends home. Does this mean the road has become more familiar to me than home? Maybe all the Hilton Garden Inns and Radissons have won a place in my familiar life, and these weekend visits home are what's become strange and different? I certainly hope that's not the case, but life is sure more interesting not spent in a hotel room.

We'll see what's to come for this Nickel-Plated Wayfarer! It's been a great second year of travels, but it sure has changed my perspective on the value of your friends and family. Tomorrow, it's off to beautiful Boise! I end my week in Minneapolis, where my sister Betsy will be celebrating her 23rd birthday.