This Yellow Taxi Cab In Which I Ride

Wednesday 1/31/18 8:48pm Caribbean, Carnival Triumph, Alchemy Bar Last night was “Elegant Night.” My friends and I took turns getting dolled up for a nice dinner. I left the room and went up to the lobby bar around 6pm where I ordered my first martini of the evening. While waiting for my friends, I noted the photo ops set up around the lobby. One of them was a chaise lounge in front of a black background with a chandelier and I got an idea. I asked the photographer if he would help me out with some goofy pictures to show my friends later on. I wish I could have bought all of them… there were some funny poses.

Tuesday 1/30/18 11:00am Gulf of Mexico, Aft Deck, Carnival Triumph It is loud on the enclosed aft deck pool area with the splashes and shrieks from a few kids. It is not very packed however. The sun peeks through the clouds now and then, but it is mostly overcast. It’s warm when the sun is out, but it’s chilly when it is not.

Tuesday 1/30/18 8:30am Gulf of Mexico, Carnival Triumph, Promenade (near the coffee bar). I left the Booze Bar on Bourbon Street, buzzed, with bourbon drink in hand. I walked the street for only a short time when someone hollered at me about my shoes. Before I could realize what was happening, this dude started cleaning my shoes and telling me some stupid tale about shoes and kept saying “ten and ten.” I went to give him a dollar and he started to get aggressive, asking me for “ten and ten.” I pointed out his gold teeth and explained that I couldn’t afford gold teeth so maybe he should give me “ten and ten.” He walked away. Shortly after that, my friends texted me and invited me back to the hotel so that we could walk to dinner together. I was preoccupied with “ten and ten” guy and wasn’t really too excited about Bourbon Street anymore, so I told my friend’s that I’d be right there.

(Continued from Part 2) We woke up at 6:00am on Sunday. I rolled out of bed at 6:20, climbed into some clothing, and followed my friends downstairs in somewhat of a haze to the hotel restaurant for the breakfast buffet at 6:30. The buffet consisted of the usual: eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and orange juice – actual real orange juice made from oranges, which I was happy about.

Sunday 1/28/18 3pm The Booze Bar, Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Louisiana I am sipping an ultra sweet Manhattan at the Booze bar on Bourbon Street. It is delicious. 80s music is playing at a mild level, but the sounds of a busy Bourbon Street are directly behind me. The bar is right on the sidewalk with large double doors that are open letting a cool breeze into the bar. The street itself feels warm, however, probably from all the people. It is crowded as people walk the sidewalks and street and gather to listen to street musicians. There is a group of young kids banging on buckets with drum sticks and I can hear a tuba from a somewhere further down the street.

NOLA & Mexico Cruise Adventure Saturday 1/27/18 7am The Local, Albany Airport, Albany, New York I tried to go to sleep at 7:30pm last night, because I needed to get up at 4am for an 8:20am flight out of Albany. I did not fall asleep until close to 9pm and I woke up at midnight completely unable to get back to sleep no matter what I tried. At 1am, I picked up my phone and entertained myself with an endless queue of Fail Army videos until 2am, at which point I stopped fighting the inevitable and got up.  I am now sitting at The Local at the Albany Airport eating eggs, tater tots, and sausage for breakfast. I wanted to get a pina colada (because I am on my way south for vacation and nothing says vacation to me more than a pina colada), but the restaurant doesn’t serve alcohol until 8am. My friends and I had joked about drinking tropical drinks in Albany in the middle of winter prior to our flight. It was a great photo op that was missed due to the 8am alcohol thing....

(*WARNING* Explicit Language) Counting Crows are calling their 25 th anniversary tour, Twenty Five Years and Counting. I wasn’t going to go because there weren’t any dates near upstate NY and concerts these days are expensive before adding traveling and hotels to the mix. But, I had taken some days off from work for some plans that ultimately fell through and decided to take a look at the tour schedule on somewhat of a whim. There were two dates that would have fit into my schedule and I checked out ticketmaster to see what seats were still available only days before the show. There was a lonely 6 th row seat at Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts, which was enticing, so I started to plan out an adventure. On Friday, August 17, 2018 (it’s always apropos to see Counting Crows in August, isn’t it?), I packed up my car with blankets, a pillow, snacks, water, and a change of clothes. I plugged Mansfield into the GPS, dialed up Counting Crows on Spotify, and started my car… t...