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Okay, so Hair Balls was in New Orleans Sunday trying to get out (yes, we know, wrong way) after a business trip and found out the hard way that it would have been better to order a cab before the Mardi Gras/Saints parades started that day, rather than after.
Cab couldn't get to the hotel.
The hotel manager ended up on a walkie-talkie device, trying to guide the cab driver through the back streets so he could make it to where we were in the French Quarter. It was like the last days of Saigon.
Then it took forever to get to the Louis Armstrong airport because guess what? People filled the streets, walking right in front of cars. And this was even before the big win.
Who Dat can get real tiresome real fast.
Prior to going to the airport, Hair Balls checked out where to get the best King Cake and found several likely possibilities. One of the entries that came up was the airport's website, where she found this warning penned by one Sean C. Hunter, director of Aviation:
Many local travelers will be taking the Mardi Gras
celebration with them to places outside of the area. A
key component of the celebration is a King Cake. As
delicious as a King Cake is, in an airport environment it
could pose a security risk. You can travel with a King
Cake but there are some rules to follow. King cakes
should be declared at the checkpoints. Plain king
cakes, i.e., king cakes without filling, may be permitted
through the checkpoints. Filled king cakes (king cakes
with fillings such as cream cheese, strawberry,
blueberry, etc.) will not be allowed through the
checkpoints. Why? Because many of these king cake
fillings may be prohibited as gels. Passengers should
pack filled king cakes in their checked baggage, or ship
them in advance of traveling. Passengers should also
arrive early enough to check any King Cakes that
cannot be allowed through the checkpoint. If you do
not want to go through security with a King Cake but
wish to still take one with you, check with some of our
airport stores beyond the checkpoint. They plan to
have King Cakes for sale. As usual, your safety is our
main concern at Louis Armstrong New Orleans
International Airport. For this reason, our security will
be in full force to handle any problem that might arise
during the holiday season.
So Hair Balls bought a King Cake at the airport, past the security checkpoint and made it back to Houston in time to watch the game.
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