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New Orleans was a great venue and the
weather was perfect for this reunion of the O2-A Night Rustic group. We had 8 members of our elite group attending
and all brought spouses or significant others. Initially there was a bit of a transportation problem, not for
lack of the same as many forms are available in the city, but rather the need
for expediency as the long-tested forms of streetcar, bus and taxi were
long-suffering in wait times for arrival to board. Hoppy (R-45) Hopkins changed all that upon his arrival. He introduced the group to travel by Uber,
which was an awesome revelation for this group’s travel needs during
reunions. In fact, Hoppy may just
have nailed down the position of Transport Honcho permanently for our future
reunions. He showed those with smart
phones (not all had them) how to use the Uber App and with some “buddying up”,
away the group went in a super timely manner to and from all our subsequent
events. Thank you Hoppy! What a cool tool and super economical, as
well.
We had great accommodations
at the Homewood Suites by Hilton in the Business District, just a block or so
outside the French Quarter. We all
had at least 1-bedroom suites and the premises were immaculate. We even received a complimentary Social
Hour with beer, wine, and appetizers on Thursday evening. Each day we were there, we received a
complimentary hot breakfast buffet as well.
Several points of interest
and activities were put into the Events schedule: Dinner at Acme Oyster House
the first night; A luncheon cruise on the Mississippi, a visit to the French
Market, and dinner at Pat O’Briens Courtyard Restaurant & Piano Bar on
the second day; Coffee & Beignets at Café Du Monde, lunch at the Gumbo
Shop, beer tasting and a tour of the NOLA Brewing Company, and dinner at
House of Blues on the third day; Admission to the National WW II Museum took
up most of the fourth day followed by our traditional Closing Dinner Banquet
that evening at the Domenica Restaurant in the famous Roosevelt Hotel in the
French Quarter.
In between all these
events, there was plenty of time for self-guided sightseeing, shopping, or
just restful snoozing in our comfy “digs”.
Everyone expressed to me what a great time they had, which immediately
prompted me to issue the following assessment regarding the above battle plan:
“MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!”
I would like to thank all
those who attended and I highly recommend to every member of our Night Rustic
Group to plan on attending the next reunion.
There is a very strong bond between us which is nearly
inexplicable. We need to keep renewing
that bond by getting together as long as we are able, and time is becoming “of
the essence”, given our inevitable aging.
--
Capt Zeke D, Reunion Chm.
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