New Orleans

I just had the best 4th of July weekend ever! Let me remind you that last April (If my memory serves me right, and it usually doesn't) I was informed that the film I was in, Shout It Out (check it out here) which was released in the summer of 2008, was receiving an award from the National Education Association for it's work in teaching parents and students alike about the struggles of high school life. The conference was in New Orleans, and Bess O'Brien (the director, producer, writer, basically a goddess) was inviting Annalise Shelmandine (another actress in the film) and me on the trek to help accept the award. Now that the summary is over, let me tell you about this amazing adventure!

First of all, I have to say that if you're trying to pack, make yourself up a bowl of stuffed shells and call Megan. That is the best way to pack which took up my evening last Tuesday. With my bags all packed, it was time to leave. Megan and I had an amazing experience trekking to the Burlington airport which included an interesting stop at a 24 hour drive thru McDonald's (we think the guy was lonely), weird weather which included hail and 15 minute spouts of rain, drag racing po-pos through the streets of Barre, and almost hitting a raccoon which Megan managed to avoid. Needless to say, it was a pretty eventful morning at 2-3 AM. We also drove past 308 just to say hi.

After a sad goodbye, I had a pretty smooth flight down despite almost missing my connecting flight in Washington DC. I didn't know I had to change buildings seeing how the signs telling me to catch a shuttle were about six inches long, size 10 font. Awesome. I did get to see the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building during the shuttle ride which was fun. When I finally arrived in New Orleans, I was almost knocked down by the sheer humidity which was enough to choke you. I soon got accustomed to the climate and took my first cab ride by myself. Thirty-three dollars and a whole Hispanic radio station later, I got to check in to my hotel. It was a beautiful place right on Canal Street in the heart of the city. I was on the 20th floor, so the view was absolutely amazing.

Later, I had a fun lunch with Bess and then I became a tourist. With my camera in tow, I took my own personal walking tour of New Orleans. I started on Royal Street where there were beautiful art galleries, singers, palm trees, and a unique New Orleans candy called a praline. So good! Also, a homeless guy asked me for money on the sidewalk, and when I didn't give him any he swore at me in Creole. That was a fun experience. I also made a trip down to Jackson Square and the Mississippi River where I could see some tar balls in the water from the bad oil spill. It was an upsetting sight, especially when the woman standing next to me on the boardwalk started crying. Other than that, the whole place looked beautiful to me, especially because I had never seen so many black people in my life! That night; Bess, her husband Jay (who is also a local filmmaker, check them both out here), and I went out to go see a movie at this special theater (apparently all the rage with city folk, I'm a country rural boy, OK?) where they serve you dinner while you're watching the movie. Not just like some blah dinner either, like 5 star quality at least it was for me. You can tell I'm really experienced at this.

The next morning I awoke very refreshed which was good after staying up for practically over 24 hours the day before. That day was the day of the awards gala so after we all met in the lobby (Annalise arrived at 12:30 the night before, she came in from New Zealand!) we went to the rehearsal luncheon at the GIANT conference center in New Orleans. There was also a music festival going on next door where apparently Mary J. Blige was performing, but we didn't get to see her unfortunately. We saw lots of limos. I told Megan later that I should have started banging on some doors screaming, "MARY J. BLIGE! WHERE YOU AT GURL!?" I think that would have gone over well. Anywho, after learning that Bess wanted me and Annalise to speak as well to accept the award in front of 1900 teachers in a giant ballroom, I was nervous all day. But later I got swankified and we traveled back to the convention center where we attended a VIP reception. (I felt very cool, especially when we got introduced one by one into the ballroom with cameras rolling. My face was massive on the giant TV monitors they had hanging at the front of the ballroom. Very swanky. The evening went perfectly. Our escort Whitney was absolutely no help to us at all although she was very fun and we has some great time with Chris and Darius who had made our intro video and had interviewed us in Burlington. Our speeches went very well, except when the teleprompter got a little ahead of us...eeek!

The next day, I had to return to Vermont although there was so much I still wanted to explore in New Orleans. Annalise and I had a very expensive breakfast together, a quick swim in the pool, and then I had to catch my shuttle to the airport. Once again, I almost missed my connecting flight in DC, but this time it was because it took me 40 minutes to get to my gate. I think whoever plans airports should do something...I don't what but something else because right now they suck. On my flight from Washington to Btown I had a talk with the nice lady sitting next to me on the plane. Apparently she is a retired ballerina from Austin, Texas who was coming to Vermont to teach a week long intensive at the Vermont Ballet Theater. Pretty amazing, huh? She was kind of crazy though. Sort of reminded me of Mrs. Fields, only a little more out there if you can believe that.

Anyway, I made it home and back in our beloved and missed Burlington where my parents and I had an amazing dinner at Bove's (308 needs to make an appearance there), and then we hung around for the July 4th party down at the waterfront. There was an airplane doing tricks right above the water, and then the fireworks show itself was astounding. I miss Burlington so much!

It was a fantastic trip and experience. I'm so glad I decided to go. Hope you had an amazing Fourth as well!

Peace out!