N'Olens!

Having never been to New Orleans myself, I was unsure what to expect of the Big Easy when we rolled in two nights ago. I think I can speak for the entire crew when I say by the end of the trip, we were in love. Post-Katrina the city is still rebuilding and it is coming back strong. Everyone we spoke to was optimistic and excited about the future of their city, and very eager to show it off. This was doubly true for our incredible hosts Richard ('84) and Michelle Tupler. The Tuplers not only opened their home for us but the whole of New Orleans as well. Between late night tours of the garden district, trips to the French quarter, and more food than even Merrit could eat the Tuplers made New Orleans our second home. To the Tuplers, Thank you! (Also, Psi-Upsilon, Psi-U forever, hey!) [The girls would also like to thank the Argotes, and Nate and Merrit would like to thank the Wards for being incredible hosts as well.]

Our first morning in New Orleans was spent working on the bus. Merrit and Nate re-bolted the interior and the exterior was fitted with sponsor banners and graphics. Overcome by the majesty of Brent's swim trunks sported in the Tupler's pool, Kate and Frances went in search of a Lily Pulitzer store while Hayley had an adventure in communication with the manager of a local Kinkos. The afternoon was spent across Lake Pontchartrain at the Mandeville Seafood Festival which was noteworthy for its lack of seafood and excess of Lynyrd Skynyrd cover bands. We did however park across from the Toyota "we can fit six sumo wrestlers in our quad cabs" truck tent. Assuming we had parked near them on purpose (maybe they felt guilty about helping the average truck owner burn more petroleum than a Nimitz class air-craft carrier) the Toyota folks made a point of shunning us and occasionally lobbing foam footballs in our direction. After a quick walk around the park where we were able to sample not one, but two! different types of gumbo (I am still confused how so little sea-food makes a fest) we decided to pack up and prepare for one of the most anticipated nights of the trip, Bourbon street.

The boys put on cologne, the girls did their hair. Merrit flexed in a mirror repeatedly and Frances slipped into a pair of heels slightly taller than Brent. Chris put on deodorant and Lucas put on a clean shirt. In short the bus crew looked good, real good. It was time to hit Burbon street, a series of bars, and clubs that make Vegas look like a Church retreat and Chi-Gam dance parties look like Sig-Ep. We pulled into Bourbon street with our intrepid guide Jen Argote '10 and were amazed by the lights, the noise, the mechanical bulls, the overflowing fountains of ...

[the following has been censored by the FCC due to extreme and graphic content. We are sorry for the inconvenience. –Tipper Gore]

... and though we never did find out how they gotten the cell-phone there in the first place, even Kate was happy to leave it behind. What a night.

- brent



A familiar view of Lucas.

Tip-o-the-day: Turn your car off instead of idling! It's one of the easiest ways to be environmentally aware!