In all, five of us made the trek to New Orleans to run the Rock and Roll Half Marathon on Sunday, March 4th. The weather was expected to be in the 70's, so the two friends and I who left on Friday right after work had not bothered to bring jackets of any kind. Once we got to New Orleans, the weather had turned cold and overcast, and one of our first stops was to the Riverwalk and buy sweatshirts before we went out sightseeing. Of the five of us, I was the only one who had been to New Orleans before, so we wanted to fit as much in as possible during our three day stay. After having lunch at a cool little place by the Riverwalk and then sweatshirt shopping, we headed for the trolley, an experience I had not had in my previous visits to the Crescent City. There was a dance competition in town that weekend as well, and a few school tours, so the trolley was crammed with teenagers from end to end. My friend who would be celebrating her birthday in New Orleans was wearing her birthday beads, and thus we met other women on the trolley who were also there to celebrate birthdays. Good things and good times are all around us if we are just open to the opportunities.
Birthday girls......
We headed to the French Quarter and walked around and then had to make a stop at Cafe Du Monde for cafe au lait and beignets.....Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
We decided to do a ghost tour, something I had done last year, too, but this year it was with a different company, so the stories and places were, for the most part, different. Along the tour, we had a little break, so my friends and I headed to the Community Coffee shop on the corner for more cafe au lait. We made it back to the hotel about 10 PM, and then we got our things ready for the morning race. Our hotel was just one block from the start line, so we met in the hotel lobby at 6:30, one of the latest starts ever for me in the 11 years I have been doing events.
The morning of the race, the sun was out and shining, a most glorious day to be out and seeing the sights along the route. It was a perfect day and run!
Afterwards, we decided we wanted to do a cemetery tour, but the tour companies wanted 45 bucks to take us around to a few which we would not be able to go in because they were locked up at noon on Sundays. Instead, as soon as the race was over, we headed for the buses to take us back to our hotel, quickly changed clothes, got the car from the valet, and headed out to Metaire Cemetery, the lone cemetery open until 5:30 on a Sunday in all of New Orleans. It was a really good experience. I had no idea how many German and Irish immigrants had come to New Orleans!
I love New Orleans, and I'll be sure to head back next year as well. There's just something about that city that calls to me, and I will always heed that call....
Next stop, Dallas for the March 25th Rock and Roll Half Marathon there. After that, the Jailbreak Run in Austin on March 31st, Austin 10/20 on April 15th, and the the Hell Run on April 28th.
I stay busy leading this life on the run....and there is never enough time to bike, to run, to motorcycle, to hang with friends, but I have to keep moving. I have to be an active participant in life so that it doesn't pass me by and I end up with regrets about what might have been or what I "could have done." I'm doing it.
Try and stop me.
"The notion of looking on at life has always been hateful to me. What if I am not a participant? In order to be, I must participate." ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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