Morning has broken 27 June 2006 6:31pm

Dawn has broken on my final day in New Orleans. I am sad to leave, but happy to go. It has been a roller coaster time. I got spit on, I got chased after, I met tons of cool new people and got so much stuff I don’t know what I am gonna do with it all.

Last night was the first time I got up to the observation deck of my hotel. It was beautiful. We looked out over the city and saw the river, the same river that runs through South Dakota and Missouri. This morning I finally got to sleep in. I didn’t think Cookie Roberts, although a very cool woman was worth another day of getting myself out of bed and to the Convention Center, besides I still had to finish packing.

So once I could see the promise land of the packing nightmare, I went up to take some pictures. It was still beautiful, but not like the night before. I could still see the river and the rest of the Quarter, but it was different in the day. There were people still working on buildings trying to get them back into shape from the hurricane almost a year ago.

I took some photos and on my way back to my room I ran into Misty, one of the people who picked me up over the past five days. Just a little warning, but you will hear me refer to myself as a stray cat. While I often felt that way I was never treated that way.

Misty came back to take some photos from the observation deck. Apparently it is was a major highlight of my hotel. You will hear this a lot over the next few posts and in the coming months, but I loved my hotel. I am so happy I ended up there, and not somewhere else. I got to see a lot of other hotels, but I didn’t like any of them as much as the Omni Royal Orleans. When I go back, I am staying there. Sure it is pricey, but you are also in the Quarter. Bourbon Street is like three blocks one way and Café Du Monte was about 6 blocks the other way, and tons of places to shop drink and eat. Sure they weren’t open their usual hours and they weren’t full staffed, but they said that up front. I don’t know about other people, but I didn’t expect them to be up to pre hurricane status. I was just happy to be there and help out with what I could.

I finally get everything packed and ready to go, and now I have to figure out how to get it all out the door let alone to the shuttle.

Finally I figured it out, and soon after I get to the main lobby where bellmen were more than happy to help us get it all loaded. I headed back to the Convention Center for one last stroll through the exhibits.

Ok I am off to figure out how to get something to eat. I still have another hour and twenty-nine minutes. *sigh*