My friend Stephanie and I went to New Orleans to attend the annual American Historical Association conference. We rented a hotel room and hit the road, not knowing what ridiculous events were in store for us.
The first few days of the trip were peppered with an interesting assortment of experiences, both good and bad. We went on a ghost tour, got hundreds of dollars in free books, stopped in the most racist city in Texas, hit a car while attempting to parallel park, drank on Bourbon and Frenchman Streets, got followed home by creepers, and met some incredibly big deal historians who have decisively shaped their fields. Additionally, we bumped into an old professor of mine who is the dean of the liberal arts department at Lone Star - Kingwood, who told us to come interview once we graduate. Win.
We also accidentally stumbled upon the best soul food we've ever had because our first choice restaurant was too crowded. It ended up being the best decision we ever made. Everyone should go to the Praline Connection on Frenchman Street. Amazing.
We also accidentally stumbled upon the best soul food we've ever had because our first choice restaurant was too crowded. It ended up being the best decision we ever made. Everyone should go to the Praline Connection on Frenchman Street. Amazing.
It wasn't until Saturday, the third day of our stay in New Orleans, that the wheels began to fall off. It started when Stephanie lost her ID. We called everywhere to find it: The Mariott, the AHA office, Harrah's (where we were parked), and nobody had it. It also wasn't in the room or the car. We knew we had to find it if we wanted to go to bars or casinos, so we were slightly concerned. As we frantically searched through all of our things, I told Stephanie about a wonderful book I'd read that says:
"Take the worst case scenario. Asking yourself, 'What's the absolute worst thing that could happen?' if something goes wrong can be very empowering. It helps you put things in their proper perspective. To take it further, you can also ask, 'Will the world end if this does not go the way I expect?' Shockingly, I've found that the answer is usually 'no'."
We realized that, worst case scenario, we apply for a new driver's license online and spend the rest of the weekend eating and exploring rather than drinking and gambling. Definitely not a crisis. Definitely fixable. Definitely not worth freaking out over.
After putting the situation into the proper context, we decided to head to Harrah's, even though Stephanie had no way to prove she was 21. Because we were parked at the casino, we were required to gamble for at least 30 minutes, so we decided that we would try to get in without having our IDs checked. Our brilliant plan was pretty much "If they ask for our IDs, just keep walking." We arrived at the casino and made our move to sneak past security.....and failed. (Note to self: never try to sneak backstage at a concert or infiltrate an enemy outpost. You're not as much of a ninja as you think you are.)
Stephanie tried to sweet talk her way into the casino, but the security attendant wouldn't have any of it...until she noticed a Michigan driver's license sitting on the desk in front of her. Turns out that the very security desk we were attempting to bypass coincidentally had Stephanie's ID. Thank goodness we failed at our attempt to sneak in, or we never would have recovered it. (And, for the record, she did not lose it. The casino took it to validate our parking and never gave it back to us.)
Elated, we hit the penny slots, requested our drinks, and proceeded to have a great time. And by "have a great time" I mean that Stephanie and I downed 3 long island iced teas and 4 gin and tonics, respectively, within an hour's time. FO' FREE! Gotta love casinos.
Our winnings from "the corn game" penny slot. Show me the corn. I want da corn.
After leaving the casino we had a few hours to kill before we had to meet up with friends, so we decided that we would get some wine and a Domino's pizza and be fat kids in our hotel room while watching trainwreck reality television, but fate had other plans for us.
When we approached our hotel we saw that there were about 4 fire trucks and a news crew outside. Our response was something like:
We didn't grab no shoes or nothing, Jesus.
Turns out that there was 4 alarm fire on the 4th floor and the whole hotel had to be evacuated. The Hilton hotel across the street was kind enough to set up an area where all the displaced persons could stay, so we spent then next hour or so in what was effectively a very, very nice refugee camp. Undaunted, Stephanie and I popped a squat on the floor and proceeded to eat our pizza and drink our wine.
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| "Kristen, don't throw away the floor pizza. We may want it later." |
Eventually we were told that we could get our luggage, but that we would have to move to another hotel. In our slightly inebriated minds, Stephanie and I decided that we would exact our revenge on the hotel by stealing every complimentary item we could find, including coffee, slippers, toiletries, a sewing kit, styrofoam cups, and toilet paper. That'll show 'em.
When we got back down to the lobby, we were met with chaos and pandemonium, but we eventually found out that we were going to be moved to the Crowne Plaza a few blocks away, so we dragged all of our stuff, including the bags full of books that we had acquired earlier that day, to the new hotel. At eleven o'clock at night.
Thankfully, the two of us laughed our way through the whole thing. Though slightly inconvenienced, our night was by no means ruined. Nobody was hurt in the fire and the damage was minimal. We had a fun little adventure and we got moved to a hotel that was actually in a more central location than the other one had been. Additionally, we got our last night's accommodations comped, so we saved money too.
In the end, the trip turned out to be amazing and fun and full of hidden blessings. We couldn't go to dinner where we wanted and ended up having the best fried chicken we've ever tasted. Stephanie's ID was lost, but we happened to wander to exactly where it was. Our hotel caught on fire, but we got a discount and had an adventure. We both learned that worst case scenarios are never as dire as they seem and that humor and flexibility can make a crappy situation into a fun, positive experience.
AHA 2012 will definitely go down as one of the better road trips we've ever had, not because things went perfectly and smoothly, but because we made the best out of every ridiculous, problematic moment and allowed ourselves to enjoy the ride rather than encumbering ourselves with unnecessary worry and frustration.
