Nola

I just booked our next vacation.

Well, not our next vacation exactly. Our next vacation is to Ohio to visit my sister and her family. Then after that we're spending a week in Tofino. Then, after that, we're going to New Orleans. This year's vacation schedule is totally out of character for us - we normally try to visit at least one new place a year but between Kona, Tofino, and New Orleans we're hitting up a bunch of old time favorites.

Alan and I first went to New Orleans for our second wedding anniversary. When I booked the tickets I didn't realize that it was during Carnival. Then, a couple of days before we left I was chatting with my BFF and she said that her boyfriend at the time had asked her to join him at a conference in Nola. I asked her when, and was utterly astonished to hear that it was for that weekend. We had a blast! My god, though, the hangovers. Ever since that trip I've been saying how much I love the city and want to go back. Then Katrina hit and the city was torn apart. I hated seeing the footage on the news. 

When David Simon, the mastermind behind one of TVs greatest shows ever - The Wire - announced he was doing a show about New Orleans I knew I'd be hooked. And I am. I like to DVR a bunch of them and then go on a marathon Treme watching spree. A couple of days ago I told Alan that I really, really, really wanted to go to New Orleans again. He was less excited than I was, but I can be persuasive when it comes to travel. After watching a couple more episodes of Treme tonight I found an excellent flight price on Hipmunk and as they say, the rest is history.

As I mentioned above, we've been there before, but that trip was a little less refined. Lots of drinking and carousing. I'm thinking this time we'll focus on music and food. I'd love to hear any recommendations you have for both.