The moon is rising over the beautiful Mississippi River as I site here typing this from my hotel room on the 25th floor of the Sheraton New Orleans on Canal Street. It’s a lovely view, and a lovely way to end the night.

Not much to say after a day of business meetings and boring presentations. Tonight, however, was a different story as we high-tailed it out of this drab and colorless corporate environment and headed over to Frenchman Street and The Spotted Cat for some New Orleans swing-jazz by the fabulous New Orleans Jazz Vipers (pictured here at the ‘Cat, BTW)…

It certainly was a joy to get out and experience a little of New Orleans, but it certainly (at least in my mind) begs the question: why would a company pay good money to fly 500 people down to New Orleans and then serve them a dinner buffet of lemon-broiled chicken, a fish dish, penne pasta and Caesar salad? I mean, if we were in Roanoke, Virginia, or Omaha, Nebraska, or Denver, Colorado – yeah, there’s nothing special from a culinary prespective in those places (with all due respect to those towns). But in New Orleans – what are they, nuts? So, a bunch of us are kissing the hotel food au revoir tomorrow night and heading over to the Gumbo Shop or the Cajun Cabin for some authentic New Orleans cuisine. And maybe a return trip to Frenchman street afterwards?

Man, I love this place!

When in Rome…