Heading South

I managed to pack everything in the purple knapsack. How much do I really need for two nights away from home? If I can go to Ireland for two weeks in a carry on... The only thing I ended up leaving behind that I would have liked to have brought was a crochet project. Fortunately, I have plenty to read loaded onto my Kindle. And if I forgot something important, it's not like I'm in the middle of nowhere for the next couple of days!

The shuttle arrived to pick me up at 3:40 a.m. In our family we refer to these early morning departure times as 0 Dark 30. I completed the security screening by 5:05. Then I sat and waited for my 7:00 flight to Atlanta. Fortunately, Delta has set up areas with small tables for plugging in electronic devices. So I checked email, updated Twitter/Facebook, and started today's blog post.

The flight left on time, and we arrived in Atlanta early. I think it was colder in Atlanta than it was in New York City! After a short layover, I flew to New Orleans where I met up with three other board members. We shared a van to Christ Church Cathedral where we met today and will be meeting tomorrow.

This is the first time I've been to New Orleans. Several years ago I sat on the tarmac for an hour or so on a plane bound for Houston that had been diverted due to weather. But that doesn't really count as having been to New Orleans. And I won't be seeing a lot of it this trip, since the reason for being here is the National Association for Episcopal Christian Education Directors (NAECED) board meeting. What I have seen is a city still recovering from the flooding after Hurricane Katrina. Many houses are still boarded up. Many are still being rebuilt and restored.

We are staying at the Double Tree on the edge of the French Quarter. Our annual conference will be here in February, so part of our meeting will be taken up with planning for that event. We walked about six blocks to the Oceana for dinner, which was wonderful. Good food, good conversation. We walked back on Bourbon street--noisy and lively, though not as much as it will be in a couple of months! Even so, there were a few folks standing on balconies throwing beads to tourists walking along. I now have a strand of Mardis Gras beads tossed to me on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
It's time to turn in. It's been a long day, and tomorrow will be a full one. Sleep is a good thing.