Now that was a good (long) week-end.

Aaron from The Shekel came down Friday to catch the air show and hang out for a few days, and the G-rated version of this week-end's events can be seen on his page. But I just dropped his hungover self off at the airport and it looked like he at least made it inside so now the stories can begin.

Friday night I took him to work with me at a music venue where I labor part time. He put a couple pics up but I notice he omitted the best part of the entertainment. And of course there were adult beverages

Next day was airshow day, and it was good.

More on this later.

Then it was out for dinner and a second line parade--Aaron's first--and another show, this one where we were just spectators. But the adult beverages flowed free.


Sunday came and we went out to the swamp for a bit, and then came back and took kayaks out on Bayou St. John. We rewarded ourselves for that with another foray into the French Quarter and a few more adult beverages.

Yesterday we hit the Louisiana National Guard museum at Jackson Barracks.

It looks great now but it was completely destroyed during Hurricane Katrina and the pictures they have of the hundreds of historic guns ruined by submersion of the floodwaters is enough to make you cry. So we came back to my place and walked down to the Quarter to get some adult beverages to make us feel better.

I think we started out at R Bar (as seen on NCIS New Orleans) for a beer. Then I took Aaron to get some gifts for his kids and we had a few dozen oysters and some more beer Then it was into a bar where a lady friend of mine works, and she made us a couple of specialty cocktails that weren't exactly light on the rum, because she's a good friend. From there we went to Popeyes to grab some chicken on the way to the ferry dock and we went over to The Crown and Anchor, a nifty English Pub on the West Bank, to meet another lady friend of mine. We had a couple more beers, and a few whiskey shots, then caught the last ferry back in a downpour. And then because *someone* hasn't learned to use the bathroom before leaving a bar, we had to stop into another bar so he could go. And it's rude not to buy anything when using a bar's bathroom so we had a couple more tequila shots each and then I took him to a local pirate bar to get him his first Absinthe drink.

He seemed to like that 124-proof concoction, or at least that's what he told me a dozen times or so between there and the next bar, where we stopped in to see Janet the bar dog.

While we were there we ran into some Las Vegas cops here for a conference. We talked, they bought us a couple more beers, and then we invited them to join us for midnight burgers at Clover Grill, a Bourbon Street institution. Those guys were pretty hammered too, and wanted more drinks, so I steered them all to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop and got Aaron a Hurricane because he hadn't had one yet and it's his last night. There we met a few members of a bridal party from Toronto, Aaron's home town, and one of us tried (and failed) to pick up the bride-to-be. (OK, that was me. Aim high, right?) We finally walked back to my place again.

I thought that it was a pretty good night, but Aaron seemed to have picked up a case of the flu somewhere along the way as he was still quite green and slow-moving this morning.

Good times...good times.

More from the Air Expo.

More airshow stuff, because I'm still basking in the glow. Here's a nifty C-47.

I had my lunch on my folding chair in front of this nifty plane. Italian sausage and peppers. Yum! But if I wasn't keen on supporting the museum, I wouldn't have paid $8.00 for it.

Then it was a blast from the past with the "Japanese" contingent--the planes from "Tora, Tora, Tora!" Here we have a Japanese Val Dive Bomber and two Zeroes...sort of.

These aircraft were some of those made for the epic movie Tora, Tora, Tora!. Back then, there were no real Jap warbirds left flying so several were built from T-6 Texans and BT-13 and BT-15 trainers, which were cheap and plentiful back then. (Sigh...) After the movie was finished, they were sold off to collectors, some flying in other movies and TV shows. Several still fly today on the airshow circuits. Here are three.

And fly they did.

Are we at Lakefront Airport, or Hickam Field?

But sure as art imitates life, just like in 1945, the Japanese aircraft all went away, and the hero of the day arrived overhead.

Back then there were thousands of B-29s. Now there's one. (Soon to be two...oh, Joy!)

And then, after FiFi landed, we got a surprise addition to the airshow--an unscripted visit from the Louisiana Air Guard--maybe some of Juvat's pals.

Hey look! F-15s!

They flew over a couple of times, and then jumped in the pattern and shot three approaches, each time coming in gear down then pulling it back up and flying the length of the runway fast and low before pulling back up again.

Look--an F-15 flying cover for a B-29. How many times you ever going to see THAT?

Now he's just showing off. And yeah, I was impressed.
I talked to the airshow narrator afterwards. He had no idea they would be there. He said they just showed up and contacted the tower for clearance, which they got.

Too bad they didn't arrive on scene five minutes earlier. Could have been like that great scene from The Final Countdown.

One of those Zeroes look familiar?

Great day to watch planes.

A Displaced Louisiana Day.

So today, the dogs and I had a visit from Baton Rouge in the form of Displaced Louisiana Guy, who came to hang out, eat food, drink beer and deliver a holster that he spent some time making.

Here's the finished product;

It's a beautifully stitched left'handed cross-draw holster for my Uberti Colt SAA clone which will enable me to wear it in the fashion of Western icon Lee VanCleef, who always wore his gun cross-draw beneath a bad-looking coat.

The pistol fits great, but I'm going to need a bit of new wardrobe to cover it properly so I didn't wear it when we went out.

After DPL petted Murphy and Belle for a while and validated their little egos, we went out to Chalmette Battlefield to see where the Brits under Packingham got totally shellacked by Andrew Jackson and his men, earning him a place on our money until Barack "I hate America's white heroes of the past" Obama unilaterally decided to replace him last year.

Then we went to Jackson Barracks, the Louisiana National Guard facility, to see and photograph all of the wonderful tanks and aircraft on display outside of their museum. which was regrettably closed on Sundays. And alas, as we drove onto post, the MP at the gate gave us two instructions:

1. You cannot take pictures here on the post.
2. If you do take pictures, they cannot show any of the buildings.

Well ok then...and damn. I interpreted that to mean "leave the nice camera in the car and sneak shots with the camera phone then crop the hell out of them".

So here's an F-15 on a stick for Juvat.

There was an F-4 Phantom in there too that I wanted, but I would have been seen trying for it, so I did not. I did get these great shots of their A-26 Invader, one of my favorite things with wings.

There was an F-86 with the radar nose and the belly-mounted rocket launcher, too.

And an F-102 Delta Dagger, partially hidden behind Displaced Louisiana Guy.

There were several tanks and armored vehicles there, but all were in direct line of sight of the MP who'd told us "no pictures" so there's none of those today. But rest assured, I'll go back soon and get the proper permission to get better ones.

We did find this groovy Dodge Command Car that really looked sharp.

I told DPL not to mess with it, but he did not listen.

Oh, wow. That engine has new wires and belts and obviously runs.

Now close that back up before you get us in trouble, DPL! Sheesh.


Then it started to rain on us so we drove back to the French Quarter where is was not raining and I took him to a bar that serves fantastic "Hangover Burgers" which are topped with, among other things, hash browns and a fried egg. Oh, heaven..especially when accompanied by a couple large Abita Amber drafts.

Then we wandered around the Quarter and got an after-dinner coffee.

Then we strolled some more and ogled the chicks enjoyed the street scenes for a bit before DPL realized what time it was and had to call the Missus and ask for permission to stay a bit longer.

Yeah, nice bag, right? Man walks down the street carrying that bag, people know he's not afraid of anything.

Then it was into Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop for one more beer.

It was a good day and hopefully he comes back again soon.