The Hangover: Mardi Gras in New Orleans 2015

My friends know that I am one of those people who plan my vacations. Actually, I plan my life. My finances are laid out paycheck by paycheck, with a quarterly savings plan for the entire year. If we are planning a trip together, I will have an hour by hour itinerary prepared. If we are trying to hangout, we typically have to get in on my schedule at least a week in advance. My road trip around the entire U.S. was extensively planned for months before hand. Don’t get me wrong, I know plans change. I am very reasonable with that, and it does not phase me at all when plans do change. As a matter of fact, I have a plan for that. 

You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack.

Sometimes, however, some of the best moments in life are the unplanned adventures you go on with your best friends. Mardi Gras in New Orleans was very much one of those unplanned plans (hence the last minute $300 hotel room… <- Example of why planning does matter in the long run. Just saying – haters gonna hate).

But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack… it grew by one. So there… there were two of us in the wolf pack… I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later.

Briana and I were sitting in my room Monday, and she said it was on her bucket list to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans. “I mean, we are so close, and it’s just one of those things. Once in a lifetime type of experiences.” (Once in a lifetime is enough……). As we talked about it, we were sure it was like a month away, and hey maybe we could make this happen. So I googled Mardi Gras 2015 dates on my phone, only to my surprise to learn that Mardi Gras ended the next Tuesday. That meant the upcoming weekend was our last chance to make this happen this year.

And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, “Wait a second, could it be?” And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack.

“We are doing this, aren’t we?” It was official. We were going to make it happen. We texted 5 of our closest mutual friends we thought may be game. This is Mardi Gras in New Orleans… Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this, right? Here was the problem – the upcoming weekend was Valentines Day. But that’s okay. (Lucky for me, I have a very understanding partner) Two of our best friends were game. We googled hotels, to find that only one room was left in the area (right by the parade) but it was $300.  One room we won’t really even be in the majority of the time…  Plus $300 divided by 4 really wasn’t terrible for a hotel… We talked about it and we all decided this was happening. It’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!

The bachelor party. The whole night. It’s… Things got out of control and, uh… we lost Doug.

From the (window to the) whale wall, the hang over remake fun, the parade, Bourbon Street, the masks, the assistance in parallel parking (“I’m going to murder you, but first let me help this guy parallel park”), the beignets, dancing on the bar, collecting beads, the two liter vodka bottle, running into more friends, and making it home alive.. It is a memory I will always cherish with friends I will always love.