Episode 34: February 2008
Highlights of the month include:
· Mardi Gras in New Orleans;
· Tennis tournament in Midland;
· Spa weekend and snowmobiling at Boyne Mountain.
This month brought the most challenging weather conditions yet this year, as we faced bitter cold temperatures, plenty of snow, and very little sunlight. So what do the Shorgs do in weather like this? That’s right…we get away from it! We started the month off with a trip to New Orleans to see our very first Mardi Gras. We took advantage of our company’s daily shuttle flights to get from Michigan to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After a couple hours drive, we were in the heart of it all: New Orleans.
It might be helpful to our non-American and non-Catholic readers to explain what Mardi Gras is all about. The words Mardi Gras are French for “Fat Tuesday.” Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent). Mardi Gras is the final day of Carnival, the three-day period immediately before Ash Wednesday. In New Orleans, the city puts on multiple parades over the five days leading up to Fat Tuesday. Almost all of the parades begin with a King and Queen leading the parade, followed by many floats carrying members of a “krewe,” the organization that sponsors the parade. The krewe members – dressed up and wearing masks to hide their identities – throw trinkets, or “throws," to the crowds lining the streets. The throws are usually cheap, plastic beads, drink cups, and other items that become collectibles each year. Okay…back to the story.
We arrived in New Orleans on Friday night to find a city already well into party mode. Several major roads in the city were closed off for the parade routes, which forced us to park a few miles away from our hotel after working through some jammed traffic. Dinner was on our mind first, so we dropped into a place near Bourbon Street called Mr B’s. Louisiana is well known for its great food and Mr. B’s did not disappoint. After dinner we walked to the heart of the parade scene along Canal Street and got our first taste of Mardi Gras. The floats themselves were slightly less impressive than we had imagined them to be but some were pretty creative in their design. The krewe members threw strings of beads to the parade spectators, invoking a competitive spirit in some that bordered on being a little disturbing. We were amazed by how crazy people go for a bunch of cheap plastic beads that you can buy from any convenience store! The beads themselves have a story so maybe that explains it. They are traditionally colored purple, green, and gold to represent justice, faith, and power. Somehow, I do not think those were the virtues going through many of the party-goers’ heads.
On Saturday, we watched some more parades and enjoyed more of Louisiana’s great food and warm weather. We even managed to walk down Bourbon Street, the heart of all the debauchery that happens during the Mardi Gras. Bourbon Street was an eye-opening experience. There are so many people crowded onto the street, all of them looking up to the decks above where people are throwing beads down onto the crowd. It is a weird mix of alcohol, college kids, and perverted old men. Our time on Bourbon Street was pretty short because the big event of the weekend was that night. We were invited by one of my old team members to attend the largest Mardi Gras ball of the weekend, called Endymion. In fact, this ball was so big that it was held at the Superdome, a huge indoor football stadium that seats over 70,000 people. That night, there were about 12,000 people at the ball. What made it more exciting was that the ball was a formal affair, so Neal and I had to get dressed up in our best. Neal was happy that he found yet another occasion to wear his wedding suit – still as dashingly handsome as the first time he wore it!
The inside of the Superdome was fitted with a huge stage where a regular rotation of bands was playing for the crowd. There was a cleared path that snaked through the main floor, which marked the parade route that the floats would later take through the Superdome. And what a parade it was! The Endymion ball is famous for attracting reasonably famous stars to be the parade marshal, and this year we got Kevin Costner. The parade went on for at least two hours, and the floats were truly impressive. Some were 60-70 feet long (20-23 meters long), double-storied, and held over 100 people. The krewe members threw heaps of beads and trinkets into the crowds – we must have collected at least 50 pounds (25 kilograms) of throws. It was essentially the same madness as in the streets, only everyone was dressed up in party frocks.
Following the parade is the “Endymion Extravaganza,” a party/concert that goes on into the wee hours. The concert started with some really good local cover bands who got the crowd going. Then, to our dismay, they allowed Kevin Costner and his band onto the stage. Regardless of what you think about Kevin Costner the actor, trust us when we say that you really do not want to bother listening to Kevin Costner the musician! After Kevin sunk the crowd’s mood, the Go Gos came onto the stage and I got that version of “We Got the Beat” that I was waiting for. In fact, Belinda Carlisle and band were on one of the parade floats, and Belinda threw some beads specifically to me! My inner-80s child was beside herself.
The next day, Neal and I walked around the city and tried to avoid the parade crowd for the most part. We stopped for lunch at a famous restaurant called “Mother’s Restaurant” that makes a darn good sandwich and, based on the photos plastered on every wall, has been visited by pretty much everybody who has ever been to New Orleans. By early afternoon, we were back on the road, heading to the airport. I dropped Neal off so that he could fly back to Michigan. I stayed in Baton Rouge that night and then flew to Texas the next morning for some work meetings in Houston. Weather challenge number one presented itself on Neal’s trip back to Midland. After reaching Detroit fine, it came to bear that his flight to Midland was significantly delayed. Rather than wait, he decided to rent a car and drive the two hours back to Midland. Half way through the drive, he soon realized why the flight was challenged, finding himself in blizzard-like conditions with close to zero visibility. The drive home took an additional two hours (a total of four hours driving) and made for one very tired and frustrated traveler!
The next weekend we spent some time in Midland. The weekend started with a dinner on Friday night with my colleague, Lisa, and her husband, Leonard. Lisa and Leonard have just moved to Midland from Shanghai, China and there wanted to keep up their traditions for Chinese New Year. So, they invited us over for a traditional Chinese dinner. The food was exotic (for us, at least) but very well prepared and tasty. It was a great experience!
The next day, Neal got us tickets to a local tennis tournament. Despite its small size, Midland has a thriving and well-equipped tennis center. For years, Dow Corning has sponsored a professional women’s tournament there and has attracted some young names that have made a mark later on: Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova, and Justine Henin. We attended on the night of the semi-finals and watched what was, to be honest, a lop-sided match. The favored seed won in straight sets and fairly easily. Still, we had a great time, and it was a great way to get out of the house while not having to face the frigid weather outside.
The next day, we decided to finally face the weather. We took a fairly long hike along a path in one of the city’s parks and got in some good exercise.
Weather challenge number two brought us both a terrible strain of flu which left us bedridden, weakened, and sickly. Hence, the following week and a half were uncharacteristically quiet for us. I joined my book club one night for an end-of-week get-together, and Neal and I drove to Saginaw to see “Rent,” a Broadway play that was touring through the area. While things were quiet outside of work, we were very busy at work with both of our respective new jobs taking up lots of our time.
In the final weekend of the month, Neal planned a weekend for the two of us to visit Boyne Mountain in northern Michigan. The word “mountain” is a huge overstatement. Boyne is really more of a big hill. But leave it to the Michiganders to make the most of it. The Boyne Mountain resort is situated at the base of the “mountain” and is like a mini city, with a few restaurants, some entertainment, and a spa. Neal arranged for us to have an afternoon at the spa. We both got massages and I added a manicure to the package. Afterwards, we chilled out by the pool, had a little nap, and read our books. The next day, Neal had organized a couple of snowmobile rentals! I was a little apprehensive about the snowmobiles at first because I did not know how easy they would be to handle…and I am not that big a fan of speed. But was I ever wrong! They are loads of fun and the ride is not that rough. It helped that we rode on a beautiful trail that weaved through forests and by snow-covered rivers. On the way home, we stopped in the lakeside town of Petoskey, which we visited last summer. The temperatures have been so cold that the bay on which Petoskey sits is now completely frozen over. We could not resist taking the opportunity to walk on the thick ice that now covers the water.
We both came back from the weekend relaxed and ready to take on another week. Good thing, too, as both of us had to travel to Texas once again for meetings.
And that brings us to the end of another fun (and cold) month. Until next month, when we will hopefully be able to report warmer weather conditions, take care!
