Now Appearing in an Extended Engagement! Join Dave Robison as he takes you into his world and his daily life of reviving a stand-up comedy career. Prepare for side trips exploring Public Relations, marketing and business ethics. Enjoy some frequent detours describing his observations on life. Read the exploits of this self-proclaimed Renaissance-man and blooming blogger as you go
On The Road With Dave.
About Me
Name: Dave Robison
Location: Mobile, Alabama, United States
From Mobile, Alabama comes Dave Robison, a confessed Internet-aholic, middle-aged-married-man, who's generally a nice guy--he just has one or two issues.
Stand-Up Comedy by Dave Robison is available for corporate events, college campuses, and nightclubs.
I worked today. It's the first Mardi Gras day I have had to work since I moved to Mobile. I'm sure most of my readers are saying, "So?" It's Tuesday, you are supposed to be at work. Yeah well, maybe in a normal world; but on the Gulf Coast on Mardi Gras day, schools are closed and some businesses close or work a skeleton crew.
At least one of my co-workers brought all the staff some cool Mardi Gras beads this morning. That helped.
So, for everyone that had to work today and didn't attend the festivities in Mobile, Alabama or New Orleans, Louisiana or Rio De Janerio...enjoy a Bourbon Street Web Cam high atop the Cat's Meow on Bourbon Street, New Orleans.
Mobile has a Street Cam but it's located on a corner where not much happens and it is not a live stream(3 second refresh).
And remember, after Mardi Gras they still operate with lots of stuff to still see along Bourbon Street.
I know it's the new year, but I'm still stuck in the Christmas season of 2008. Specifically, I have more to say about my anniversary trip to New Orleans the weekend before Christmas.
You'll have to bear with me until I get it out of my system.
Our first night in the French Quarter was to be casual and relaxed, but we had specific plans. We made our usual walk around the Quarter, only during this time of the year, we listened to the street performers playing Christmas tunes, instead of jazz and blues. While walking in Jackson Square, the storefronts were decorated with red and green wreaths mixed in with the purple and gold colors of the Mardi Gras and the people walking the streets seemed just a bit more friendly than usual.
Our dinner plans led us to The Gumbo Shop. I had avoided the Gumbo Shop for many years and I was soon to find out that was a big mistake. Why had I avoided it? Illogically, it was the name. In my mind, the name, "Gumbo Shop" seemed too cliche', too "touristy." Surely, it was named that just to bring in diners that were only familiar with the name, "gumbo" and its relation to New Orleans. I was stupid.
And to add insult to stupidity, I had been searching for the "perfect cup of Gumbo" for six years while living on the Gulf Coast. I had tried gumbo in every restaurant I had been in that offered the dish over those years. I was always disappointed. The concoction was always too spicy, too watery, or too tasteless.
And where did I find that perfect cup of crabmeat, shrimp, okra "stew" seasoned to an orgasmic splendor? At a place called the Gumbo Shop, where else?
In addition, to the gumbo, my wife and I enjoyed a half-loaf of hot, crispy French bread and butter. But that was just the appetizer.
"The Gumbo Shop" located at 630 Saint Peter Street offered a combination platter of three of New Orleans traditional dishes as an entree'. A Large platter containing Shrimp Creole, Jambalaya and Red Beans and Rice put my mind at ease that this place was anything but "touristy". If I had a complaint, it would only be that the Red Beans and Rice had a more pronounced smokey flavor than I was used to. I'm more used to a pol ska kielbasa sausage than the heavy smoked sausage used in the restaurant dish. It was a matter of my taste, and had nothing to do with the execution by the chef on his variation. I had no trouble with finishing my meal.
We declined the offer of dessert by the very attentive and friendly waiter who served us, merely because we ate our fill of the meal. I would recommend The Gumbo Shop for any tourist, or regular traveler to New Orleans.
After dinner, we "waddled and rolled" our bodies down the street to Pat O'Brien's Bar. Pat O's is another one of those tourist places that I had avoided, but this was a night to experience new things.
The bar has been a landmark in The Quarter since the 1930s serving up its most famous drink, "The Hurricane", served in a glass almost as big as the lamp that gives the glass its shape and name.
We sat in the gas-lamp and torch-lit courtyard as we watch the fountain waters rise from a gas flame. We listened to good music and we sipped our 4 ounces of rum mixed with 4 ounces of the fruity(think Hawaiian Punch)Hurricane mix.
It's a dangerous drink. You can down 4 shots of liquor more quickly than sipping sweet tea on a hot day. I noticed several empty glasses on many tables and only could imagine the condition those drinkers would be in later on Bourbon Street.
But I would not imagine for long, as we left Pat O'Brien's and headed onto Bourbon Street for a stroll among the good, clean, debauchery.
Bourbon Street has all the scenes you've seen in an episode of COPS:New Orleans or a "Girls Gone Wild" video. As I pointed to some revelers on a second-floor balcony of a club; an attractive lady completed a perfect "ringer" on my arm delivering a string of beads to me. She yelled along with me in mutual admiration of her feat.
At the end of Bourbon Street bordering Canal Street, we were treated to an impromptu dance party. A Street band was entertaining a small crowd standing in a circle and taking turns at taking the center stage to dance, to writhe, to booty-shake, and to two-step to the lively music. I was going to join the dancers and put them all to shame with my skills, but decided against the action. It would be better if I just took a photo of the moment.
We ended Friday night back at our starting point, The Hotel Montleone, and its very own Carousel Bar. For those that do not drink enough to make their heads spin, they can sit at the bar as it slowly rotates a full 360 degrees as the hour passes. I'm not sure how the bartender keeps track of his clients, as they slowly trade places along the bar's carousel track. Luckily for the heavy drinkers, the stools do not rise up and down like a carousel pony.
We did not end up at the hotel's bar, by accident or as a last resort. I had one more thing planned.
I had met The New Orleans Pianoman, John Autin, on MYspace and knew that he was a long-time fixture at The Carousel Bar. John plays a seven-foot Steinway with "sets" filled with Jazz, Blues, Rock, Funk, Standards, and Pop.
I had asked John via email for a small favor before we left for the weekend. He was only too happy to oblige. As we found a booth to sit in, I waved to John. He smiled.
Moments later, he announced to the crowd that a "young" couple was celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in New Orleans and that it was his pleasure to sing "Their" song.
My wife and I danced to "It Had To Be You" as if Harry Connick, Jr. was covering the song in "When Harry Met Sally". We smiled, we laughed, we danced, we kissed.
It was the end of a very good first night in New Orleans.
Walking into our room on the fourth floor of The Hotel Monteleone brought back that relaxed feel that I had prior to our problems at check-in. We had stayed at the Monteleone several years ago before Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and it was nice to see the grand hotel back in its finery after renovations. The balloon you see in the photo was from our co-workers who had thrown us a fine at-work party the day before. My wife insisted on bringing it along with us.
Once in the room, we did our standard unpacking routine; lay out the toiletries, hang clothing up in the closet to avoid wrinkling, and look at the room literature.
The room had all the amenities you'd expect; hairdryer, iron, ironing board, two fluffy long terry cloth robes, a large TV, an electronic room safe and the evil mini-bar fridge and pantry. No smoking is allowed in the hotel, even in the bar...so for smokers, you'll be taking numerous trips on the elevators to smoke outside the hotel on the sidewalk.
QUICK TRAVEL TIP: If you bring kids on a trip to the Monteleone, forbid them from even opening the Fridge or cabinet. Young children should be watched at all times. The mini-bar is electronic. Simply removing an item automatically charges you for the item whether you consume it or not. Quite the scam. I did not remove anything.
After we had settled in, it was time to take our trip's initial walk into the French Quarter. The Monteleone is located on Royal Street and is centrally located to all of the Quarter. But first, I had to do one thing.
A week before the trip, I had purchased a small emerald ring for my wife. She knew about it, but was forbidden to wear it until the trip. Over the week she had taken it out the box and admired it. A single square-cut emerald stone with two smaller ones on either side surrounded by diamond chips. Before you get all "Dave, did you win the lottery?" on me, let me say, it was a good deal, and the ring, although beautiful, is not something Tiffany's sells. But, my wife loves it.
Anyway, I took the ring out of its case and placed the anniversary gift on her finger and said some "gooshy" mushy stuff to her. It was time to venture out into the Quarter and continue on with our vacation.
Just about every two months, my family gets the "New Orleans itch" and we make a drive over to the "Big Easy" for a day trip. We spend the day walking in The French Quarter--sweating, eating, shopping, and watching other tourists do the same thing. Although, the family and I consider New Orleans almost a second home rather than classifying ourselves as "tourists".
This past year we decided to buck the current trend of "staycations" due to high gasoline costs and drive to New Orleans for a night in a hotel, dinner, music and a mini 36 hour vacation. It was nice to head back to an air-conditioned hotel room at the end of a day instead of climbing back into a car with our bodies soaked in sweat for a two-hour drive back to Mobile, Alabama.
For my 25th wedding anniversary, I decided to take my wife back to New Orleans, sans kids, and spend not one night, but two, in one of New Orleans' most notable hotels and celebrate not only our anniversary, but the sights and sounds of the Christmas season in a city we both love.
You could visit New Orleans a hundred times and plan a hundred different itineraries and expected experiences...architect walks, antiquing, partying, voodoo, carriage rides, shopping, gambling, even museum experiences. Ordinarily, we would plan to wander the streets of the French Quarter and let the experiences come to us. This time, for this occasion we had an itinerary.
Our celebration/vacation would start at The Hotel Monteleone. The Monteleone Hotel began in 1886, and was started by Antonio Monteleone. Since 1886, four generations of Monteleones have dedicated themselves to making their hotel what it was and still is--a sparkling jewel in the heart of the French Quarter.
Quick Travel Tip--While the prestige exists to drive up to a fancy hotel and have a valet unload your luggage and drive your car to a parking garage, ready at your bidding; the $30.00 dollars a day to park on-site can be budget breaking. You can save almost $15.00 a day by parking in Central Parking off Canal Street and walk a short 4 blocks to the hotel. This also makes your car a convenient storage area and rest stop while walking in Jackson Square. Store some soft drinks in a cooler in you car trunk and save on snacks while exploring the Vieux Carre'.
We arrived at the hotel excited after a short walk and started to check in. This was to be a perfect weekend right up to the point we arrived at the desk. This story should be another "Quick Travel Tip"--but it's more of a rant, than a tip. You see, at this writing, the USA is in an economic recession, a credit crunch, businesses are going bankrupt and homeowners are losing their houses to foreclosure. Everyone is overextended on their credit cards. So why is it that a person paying cold, hard, CASH is discriminated against?
First, we had to use a friend's credit card to make reservations for our room. That wasn't much of a problem because we informed the reservations attendant on the phone that we would pay in cash, we merely were reserving the room with the card. Cash. "No problem," we were informed.
Second, What we were not informed of, was something called "Incidental Charges" This is a deposit one must make to cover incidental charges such as the "honor bar", towel theft, room service,phone calls, and such. I can understand this to a degree, and if you use a credit card, you can charge these things to your room during your stay, but Hotel Monteleone charges $60.00 a day for these incidentals. Right away, they wanted $120.00 out of our budget to sit in their coffers, in case we drank a Coke out of their outrageously expensive mini-fridge. I wasn't paying for it. I had not been informed to bring a $120 dollar cash deposit. I had not budgeted for it. I asked to see a manager.
I explained that I do not use a credit card. I did not bring a debit card. I brought cash. I had other plans, that did not include room service or Adult movies. What could be done? The manager and I settled on a $60.00 deposit. One night. If I abused any of their services the first night, then I would be charged and asked for the remaining 60 bucks. If not, the initial deposit would carry over to the next night. I decided I could live with that.
Deep breath. Calm down. Relax.
We received our room keycards and boarded the Bienville Street Elevators and rose to our floor. The Vacation could finally begin.
Just saying the name of the city brings to mind images of Mardi Gras, drunken parties, graveyards, bare-breasted women, voodoo, and in recent years; destruction, poverty, and a slow rebirth.
I've been to New Orleans, Louisiana dozens of times and each trip brings a new experience. I've yet to lose my awe of the city. You can cite murder rates, homelessness, graft, and point to examples of a city with a dichotomy between tourist fantasy and resident misery and still--New Orleans resists being placed in the "cynicism" category of my mind's attitude.
Last weekend, my wife and I started our 10-day Christmas vacation with a pre-anniversary celebration trip to our favorite city. The giddiness we still feel as we approach the city still amazes me. And then, no sooner than we park the car, the total relaxation that sweeps over me is likened to a drug. I breathe more deeply, smile more broadly and a spring is in my step as I put my feet down on the pavement of the French Quarter.
But this trip was to be different. I was celebrating history itself in the historic "Big Easy". I had been married 25 years. This was our second honeymoon. Yes, we had talked about a hundred places over the years to celebrate this occasion, but in the end, we chose our reliable, comfortable, New Orleans.
Christmas in New Orleans is special. Along Canal Street, Christmas decorations hung from the old lampposts. The Street Cars were clad in garland and wreaths. The shops were decorated in Christmas regalia along with the gaudy mix of Mardi Gras-inspired colors.
In The Quarter, speakers blared from the various stores and bars with traditional Christmas tunes, rock and roll, blues, and Christmas songs done with a Zydeco mix.
Along Royal Street, the street performers sang carols and played "Silent Night" on old trumpets and trombones. Your senses were bombarded as you are transported from a Victorian Dickens-esqe scene on one block and then swept back to present day as a street hawker invites you to come in to a bar and see the "beautiful ladies on stage". Of course, maybe that same street hawker lived a past life just down from Ebeneezer Scrooge's Counting House and barked those same words to Bob Cratchitt as he strolled home.
If you wanted a White Christmas, you would have been a week late. Prior to this particular weekend, New Orleans had received some rare snowfall of a few inches. But now, the weather was overcast and warm. Not the humid, sweaty heat of a "Big Easy" summer, but the kind of warm that people living in Michigan or Connecticut in the winter might envy. The temperature was around 70 degrees and a cool breeze blew through the alleyways. It was the kind of breeze that elicited an involuntary "ahhh" as it blew past you.
My next few entries here at "On The Road With Dave" will divulge more details of my Christmas In New Orleans. I hope you will join me as I re-live what my wife called our "perfect weekend".
Thursday at 5:00PM, I will clock out at work and begin a 10-day glorious vacation. First one in quite some time.
Tomorrow will be a tough day to get through at work, as I'm already experiencing "short-timers" syndrome. It's so close to Friday, that I already don't want to be at work and I'm getting lazy. Although, today I was really busy, trying to get things done before leaving.
For those familiar with my "likes" and "dislikes", you might already have guessed that a trip to New Orleans has already been planned. It's a great time of the year to be in the Humid-City. New Orleans at Christmastime is a great experience.
More about the planned trip and the itinerary tomorrow.
