This sort of felt like the beginning of a Real World series, as Summer and I arrived in New Orleans first, coming from Tucson, and waited about a half hour in the airport for Pat, who flew in from North Carolina. Our four Maryland friends would meet one another at the airport about three hours later and grab a cab and meet us downtown. Pat, Summer, and I dropped our bags at our hotel, the Prince Conti, and proceeded directly to Bourbon Street for overpriced pizza slices and adult beverages. The Blue Hawaiian was delicious and potent. We strolled around, found Jesus, saw a guy dressed as a hand grenade, and decided wed partake in said hand grenades before our friends arrived. We marveled at how wonderful it was to walk the streets with booze and how bar after bar had a to go window for all your beverage needs. Once the fearsome foursome from Maryland arrived, having already had some drinks on the plane and in the airport, off we went to make sure they caught up properly. There was an 80s cover band (yes, we sang), Pat taking more shots than Matt thought he was paying for out of the shot girls pants and shirt, boobs, Big Ass Beers, and of course, the patented CPDubs drunken group tackle.

Friday some of us got up and got some beignets for breakfast, walked over to the very brown Mississippi River were we were serenaded by a quite creepy old jazz man. He was short, but really, that wasnt a good enough excuse to sing starting directly to Michelle and Summers boobs. So we made an escape and ended up walking around the city for a while the rest of the group emerged and grabbed some food. We wandered around the neighborhoods and found the pirate bar Matt was looking for and a restaurant with a very animated waiter and delicious po’boys. After lunch we headed back to the hotels for much needed naps.

We got all cleaned up and looking pretty (well, the girls at least) for dinner at Fire of Brazil. Oh dinner, glorious dinner. We went to a Brazilian steak house and to keep the explanation short, each person had a business card in front of them. Red side up means youre good as far as food and green side up means bring me meat. Lots, and lots, of meat. All you can eat meat, sliced in front of you, directly off the skewers it was cooked on. There was steak, and chicken, and bacon wrapped chicken, and bacon wrapped steak, and quite possibly the best beef ribs ever created. We ate, and we drank, and I think even though we were civil, we out lasted out welcome, as they stopped sending us more meat except for when I was able to get our waiter to send us more beef ribs and steak. It was brought up amongst us that since we were seven strong all with hearty appetites and all thoroughly enjoying the endless meal that we might have eaten more than the restaurant cared to serve us. That doesnt make it any less delicious.

Seeing as how we were very, very full, we took it relatively easy afterwards. Which means we went back to the Pirate Bar and drank some more followed by more hand grenades.

Saturday we got a late start on the day and had screwdrivers before breakfast (I said a late start on the day not the drinking). We went to a place Matt knew for breakfast and it was fantastic. You can order a Bloody Mary while waiting in line and a biscuit or sandwich with debris. What the hell is debris? Im glad you asked: it is the meat that falls into the gravy while a roast is cooking. Think of it as tender, shredded roast beef and one of the most delicious things someone ever thought to serve. My mouth is watering again, excuse me I must figure out how to make something similar. We contemplated asking for cups of it to go, but we were full of biscuits, pancakes, sausage, and whatever else we had ordered and devoured.

Then we went and bummed around Jackson Square after walking around town a bit more seeing the sights.

Saturday night Bourbon street was more crowded that Thursday or Friday and the party was literally, everywhere. People up in balconies screaming for boobs (the women up there included) and the ability to stand in the middle of the street and hear at least four different songs playing at different bars at once.

We went on a walking ghost tour, which had the potential to be kickass, but dropped the ball in some respects. The tour guide told the stories well, but that’s really all there was, walk up to a house, tell us dozens of people died horribly in it, move on. We probably could have read the stories somewhere, but it would have been much more interesting if we could have gone inside some of the buildings. On the other hand, Id say the majority of the tour participants, our group included were already semi-drunk or on their way there. The tour guide, knowing what most people come to New Orleans to do, wisely had a mid-tour stop to use the restrooms and of course, get a drink.

Sunday everyone except Summer and I left at the crack of dawn to head back to the east coast. This left the two of us to meander around downtown and window shop. We walked in and out of art galleries and various shops with masks and beads plastered all over the wall and took pictures here and there. We got lunch at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, walked back into the park and relaxed for a bit.

Then we got some cheesecake at a dive diner slash bar near the hotel, said goodbye to New Orleans, and started our journey back to Tucson. It was a glorious trip, once that had us all thinking about doing something like this somewhere once a year. Another trip next year would be awesome, as that is about how long it might take for each of our livers to fully recover.

I took a ton of pictures on this trip, all of which are here. If you just want to see the daytime touristy stuff go here and if you just want to see us crazy at night, try this.

I was happy not to show and even though it was a long day in the sun, I didn’t spend half of it up to my elbows in car cleaning chemicals and it was cool to just relax, walk around with Kharissa and have a good time. Ran into lots and lots of people, some who I unfortunately did not remember from where the hell I knew them, others that I haven’t seen in a while. Ran into some people I’d met at CDC and National Road events as well as some of the old Krispy Kreme crew (the creator himself!). I have to say it was much more fun than worrying about how clean the car was. At the same time, it made me grin how many people walked by it and stopped and gawked at the display in the windshield. Apparently over a year later it hasn’t lost its luster. Excellent. It all but solidified my previous feelings on not showing the car anymore. It cleaned up well, but eh, like I’ve said, I just have a much more relaxed and fun time not worrying about it.

So, bottom line, good times, good people. Seems like everyone was scattered around all weekend long, but we had fun at all times and got a couple stories to tell for a while.

Here’s some pics:

It was cool to see one rolling around live, but upon closer inspection I still wasn’t that impressed. Will reserve final judgement until I can drive one.

The Schnell booth. What were we selling? Nothing! Just come by, BS, and have a good time in the “Schnell Motorsports Official Relaxation Station”. Also put us in close range to harass those good ol’ boys at Induktion.

No show is complete without something that is TWebb approved. So is a 2nd place, congrats man.

So. Very. Hot. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a ride along with Ed at either Summit or VIR. Amazingly clean and perfectly finished.

Show field. Apparently near or over 700 show cars.

The rest of the pictures I took from the weekend are here.

A small site, and admittedly, not very similar to the car I get around town in, but it was cool to see what someone in another, different part of the automotive scene does with their ride. Hopefully this will be the start of something, as in more web design projects. It can be stressful and a pain sometimes, working on ‘work’ when you get home that isn’t your regular forty hour a wee job, but I still found it to be fun. That is because I am a nerd. Like I mentioned, I am beginning to finally put together a portfolio of work so I have something to show off for potential, new gigs. We’ll see where it goes from there, as there also might be more work from the same source the Corvette site surfaced from.

Next Monday I will be back in class, Cryptology on Monday evenings and Web Application Development on Tuesday evenings. I’ve heard Crypto can kick one’s ass, and I guess I’ll find out. I’m still aiming to finish by July 2007, maybe a little eariler if I can swing it. This also means I have started researching into the wonderful world of student loans, as JHU wants a lot of money (not as much as Uncle Sam took from me, but that’s another story. Look for a taxes rant sometime soon, unless I miraculously don’t owe the entiretly of what I have in savings). The following Monday Kharissa leaves for Kentucky and is gone until almost mid-March. A blower, but not much that can be done about it; just have to make the most of the time now, and it is just a month. This will be like the warm up of sorts, as I know there will be times she’s going to be away longer than that in the future. Things with Kharissa are fantastic though (oh, but you’re just saying that because she can read this!), ah, no. Really, they are, I’m very lucky; I’m glad I can make someone so happy, and vice versa. What is this sappy talk that has found its way into my blog? Gah, beer, football, :burp:, cars. (Love you babe!). Heh, I did get the best fortune ever at PF Chang’s the other night, “You will soon bring great joy to someone”… in bed. Score. Thankfully I didn’t laugh out loud at this at the table, seeing as how I was at dinner with my parents. That would have been fun to explain.

Oh yeah, sort of speaking of things that are completely not sappy at all, ever. Carly pointed me to this podcast a while back when it started, called GuyCast. Hilarious. Pretty much two college-age guys bullshitting about what every (normal) guy bullshits about. Plus they did a show (episode 10) completely plastered and in a shed. That, my friends, that is quality entertainment. There are on MySpace, their site is GuyCast.net, and you can find their podcast in iTunes. Check it. I havent gotten into the whole podcasting thing, just because there isnt a lot of content I feel like listening to in this manner other than stuff like SportsCenter, which I watch all the time anyway, but this one has stuck around. Im running out of excuses for busting out laughing at work while listening to GuyCast through my headphones though (by the way, the site and show are not, how we say, ‘work safe’, hence, the headphones. Think of how often you hear the word fuck in Boondock Saints and youll get the idea of how much these guys curse). Righteous. Oh, and for the record, don’t make the fucking show go clean! Boooooo!

Anyway, thats all out of me. Im tired and its only 12. Im old, I know. Depressing in that I dont think I have had anything to drink this year since New Years Eve. Paging CP Dubs?

Good night bitches!

Thursday: The pool was nasty. The ocean was a thief. The pina colada at Smitty McGees was loaded and the nachos and steamed shrimp caused a food coma. Mmmm Old Bay. Driving 40 blocks looking for grocery stores only to later realize there was one on 118th, three blocks away. Eating more Oreos than anyway should, drinking crunk juice, and decorating the refrigerator.

Friday: Cruising around most of the day in this hot little bitch basket (which cooperated quite well the rest of the weekend, knock on wood)

Shopping for NUMMERS, having the fridge appropriately stocked for the weekend, and plotting to steal a street sign as a europlate.

The gang’s all here, Balla Impala rental included.

Cruisin’ coastal highway with more Dubs that I have ever seen. It was absolutely fantastic. Then the partying began. Jello shooters. Andy’s German pussy. Even a lukewarm car bomb. Parrot Bay invades the Tropica Twiser.

The beach at like 1:00am, trashed, giving Hurricane Rita all she could handle.

Saturday: U-Turns breakin’ the rear end loose, tires beggin’ for mercy. Was that an undercover cop? I guess not… Food at, Dough Roller I think it was, setting off the car alarms whenever someone so much as looked at them. T Webb supervising the tow hitch equipped truck backing up near my car and giving the ‘T Webb approved’ thumbs up. More cruising. The best nap ever minus waking up stuck to the couch. The cleaning extravaganza at Brett, Katie, and Dan’s condo.

Mmmmmmm hamburgers. Brett reaffirmed his love for hot beef. Out to cruise again. Hooters, busted. Jolly Rogers, busted. Where’d we end up rollin’ into? The police lot. What irony. Chilled there a bit, then over to Candy Kitchen to watch folks fly by. Then back to cruisin’, ended up at Hooters, then back to the Serene, where the drinks were already flowin’. Dave takes Jaeger from T Webb. T Webb chases Dave. Dave exits via the balcony. Insane. A visit from a friendly female OCPD officer, whom once she closes the door, a drunken T Webb let us know she was the shizzle, in the biblical sense. Crashed early for the show Sunday.

Sunday: I hate 6:45am with a passion. Hungover? Back to Brett & Katie’s to clean again, and we roll out to Ocean Downs. Beautiful day. The usually cleaning madness ensues, and we await judgment. I snag Gabe the Heartbreaker under the guise of allowing his parents to clean the GLI in peace but really, in was an attempt to see this kid’s potential at chasin’ the skirts. They knew. Katie gave me that big sister-like head shake and grin. Gabe did not disappoint. Haha. “Skirts!?” What can I say, we kept it real. Like these guys’

Judgement passes, the car gets packed, and it’s time to roll around and see the sights. It wouldn’t be proper time with the CP crew if we didn’t get the munchies. The fries were magically delicious. I love you Patrick. Hahaha.

Watched the folks leaving the show do some burnouts.

Dinner at Hoopers. Oh. My. All you can eat shrimp, crabs, corn on the cob, hush puppies. All that and a couple of Coronas and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven after a day getting crispy in the sun. I can’ even being to relate the dinner conversation, it’s just, it’s just too much. There was also the occasionally non-vital food utensil that Gabe launched out the window every so often, just at the right moments. Back to the hotel, chill and watch The Longest Yard, which was decent, then pass out as a combination of all you can eat, beer, sun, and exhaustion.

Monday: Breakfast at The Bayside Skitllet. NEVER AGAIN. This unfortunately led to ditching the idea of go karts, talk about what would not have gone well, and after feeling better, some beach time and some cruisin’ time. Jailbait giggling ina white New Beetle… dusted. I decide to roll out with Brett, Katie, Gabe, & Dan because no one else was staying behind and I think I was ready to bolt from the OC anyway. Would rather feel sick in my own apartment then some ghetto fabulous hotel. Drop by Wawa, and yeah, Katie got me good, a joke not worth repeating because I won’t get it verbatim. Dan will attest however, the breezy skirt we witnessed was so worth it. Most action I caught all weekend. Haaaa haaaa. Mmmmmm mmm.

A fun, if uneventful cruise home, minus one run in with some fool in a gold Legend who thought he was the shit and some sassy chick in a black Tiburon that was tryin’ to start some ruckus. The long black shiny Magnum (it was a rental!) had to assert some authority. Otherwise a relaxing and rather quick drive home. Get home, moderately unpack, sort through pictures, passssss out.

Man the weekend was a blur. I can’t believe it flew by and that it’s already been almost exactly a week since I left to meet up at the Route 50 Wawa to cruise down. Vacations always appear that way in retrospective. It was some gooooood times. Until the next time…

]]> http://www.stripethree.net/blog/2005/09/29/reflections-in-the-h20/feed/ 0 http://www.stripethree.net/blog/2005/09/24/exhaustedly-excited/ http://www.stripethree.net/blog/2005/09/24/exhaustedly-excited/#comments Sat, 24 Sep 2005 18:39:09 +0000 Jeff http://www.stripethree.net/wordpress/2006/08/24/exhaustedly-excited/ So wiped out, yet so ready for Ocean City. Cleaned the car inside and out, she’s looking about as good as she’s going to get. Packed up all the stuff and I’m ready to roll tomorrow with the small cruise leaving from Wawa on Route 50 around 1.

By Friday night, all of CPD will be under one roof; chillin, drinkin…

It’s gonna be one helluva weekend.

I’ll catch you on the flip side, and by the flip side, I mean Tuesday.

As I have found myself oftentimes lately, I do not know exactly what I want to say. In some respects, I know no more about where I want to be than I did last year. The thoughts of wanting to leave Maryland linger, but are not as strong as they could be because the opportunity is not there yet. I wonder how much more time there is for that opportunity to come up though, there are times when I really feel like I want, almost need, a change. The last year has also brought more reasons for me to stay… More than ever I find myself going back and forth between things, staying in Maryland and finishing grad school being the obvious examples. There are quite a few more where those came from, but that’s the extent of what I want to let out. If there is one thing I have picked up, it is that I need to figure out more on my own than I used to. We’ll see how that goes…

I wanted to say something about perspective because it’s been on my mind a lot, but again, I’m not sure what to say. It seems like it’s been everywhere, but I still manage to loose sight of it sometimes. Broken windows don’t compare to a house under twenty feet of water, for example. It’s been like that all year, the perspective thing and the examples of it that slap you in the face. I still catch myself flippin’ my shit over things I shouldn’t, but nobody’s perfect.

Mark 5 GTI

R32 lineup in the back of exhibition area Saturday

A hot Porsche 911

A break from cleaning Sunday when the rain came

3rd Place in R32 Modified!!!!!

Rollin’ home next to the Mark 1 Scirocco

The rest of the pics are here. I had an awesome time with everyone I was around – CPDubs, Schnell, Induktion, everyone. Met and hung out with some great people all day and night Saturday and Sunday and managed to come home with a trophy on Sunday. That blew me away.

Now it’s on to another install day, skid plate arrived on Thursday and brake lines have been sitting at home as well. Headlights and exhaust should be said and done before H20!

I hate beltway traffic at 10pm on a Saturday. That was ridiculous. Absoult juice is dangerous. Seven eleven spicy hot dogs may be your friend when you’re drunk at 3am, but they won’t be when you’re hungover at 11am. CPDubs is always a good time, and we missed you Carly!

Another crazy weekend comes to a close. Sunday was dulled by having too much time for sitting and thinking in a semi conscious state but was brightened by grilled food and Family Guy. And now, thanks to the Simpsons, I have Journey stuck in iTunes and my head.

Don’t stop, believin’. Hold on to that feelin’.

That’s a wrap.