1998 JAZZ FEST MONDAY - DAY FOUR Joe and I had upset stomachs from that awful midnight dinner on Bourbon Street, so we took the morning off to run some errands and get re-acquainted with each other. Julie and Mark headed down to visit the Aquarium and do a little sightseeing. Today was the PDKK Crawfish Boil - so we arranged to meet up with them at Audubon Park late afternoon. After breakfast at the hotel café we went grocery shopping for fruit to bring with us to the boil. We also called Mid-City Bowling lanes and got info on the best way to secure a lane for the night. We were planning to bring Julie & Mark to hear George Porter and Snooks Eaglin at the Rock & Bowl. Much refreshed, we headed to the PDKK Crawfish Boil around 3 pm. We helped Marisol, Pony Dancer, Steve/Miami and Alan set up the tables and tote in all the bags of crawfish. Then we chopped up big plates of oranges, apples, and melon as our contribution to the feast. The boil went on for hours and hours, with huge pots of absolutely delicious crawfish dumped on the table every 45 minutes or so. I ate more than I ever thought I could!

We met tons of Kats that we hadn't encountered over the weekend. Karen and Joachim from Germany were there - it was fun finally meeting Karen face-to-face after some late night chats on the Jazz Fest message board. We also met Lorna and Xrisma (Jan) from Washington D.C. and helped them eat a couple of muffelata's they'd brought with them. Pony Dancer and Steve/Miami had set up a stereo with huge speakers, so we all listened to tapes from their Saturday Night Crescent City Music show (from Miami) while everyone drank out of the keg of Abita Purple Haze beer. I'd brought a bottle of Beaujolais with me, so I was content. Mark and Julie arrived and got to meet all the Kats. It was a nice crowd and we took lots of photos. Joe and I walked around Audubon Park for awhile – what a beautiful setting for an afternoon party. There were enormous live oaks draped in Spanish moss all around. We walked over to look at the golf course and almost got hit by a ball. We strolled around the little lake, and everywhere we looked we saw the local wildlife engaging in the rites of spring – lots of mating birds, etc. After we couldn't eat another bite, we changed clothes in the bathroom at the park shelter and headed out to Mid-City lanes. Joe and I had agreed to get there early, so we'd be on the list for a lane.

The bowling alley was pretty quiet when we got there, so we sat around, listening to the jukebox. We watched one guy setting things up on the stage, connecting the wires, testing the mikes, etc., and after a minute or two, Joe realized it was George Porter himself who'd showed up early to get everything just right.. Joe had a good laugh on that one – it's always the bass player who's the perfectionist in the band. Then Snooks Eaglin and his wife walked in, and George hurried over, and very solicitously helped him to his seat and made sure he got a drink. It was nice seeing the sweet personality that goes with this tremendous bass players' talent. Julie & Mark showed up a short time later, and bought some red beans & rice (it was a Monday after all). In a short time, they called our name and we were ready to go – Lane 5 at the Rock & Bowl, for a price of just $10 per hour!

We grabbed some balls and drinks and started bowling. I even sampled the jambalaya, which wasn't half bad. As the night wore on, Kats started showing up. We saw Karen & Joachim from Germany and convinced them to bowl with us for awhile. Homer & Mike came by, as did George and Phyllis and Pete from the NoVa Kats. Even Dr. Steve from Atlanta was there.

After just a few minutes, we understood why they call Snooks Eaglin the "human jukebox". The man's entire set was cover tunes, and quite an eclectic selection. George Porter was just a member of the band, backing up Snooks on bass. At the Bowl-Me-Under bar downstairs, Ronny Dawson was playing, and was supposedly smokin. Joe went down to check it out, but I stayed upstairs and bowled. What an incredible scene – the bowling alley was packed out, full of people dancing on the lanes, on the seats, all over the place. We had such a memorable night! We got tired of bowling after awhile, and just used our lane as a dance floor. We stayed and rocked and bowled until around 1 am, then headed back to Chalmette. Tomorrow was driving home day, but we'd ended on a high note!

TUESDAY
We woke up Tuesday morning to a raging thunderstorm. We packed up in the downpour and hit the road. It was a long ride home, but at least we got to stop in Mobile for some great ribs at Dreamland. We finally pulled into our driveway around 9pm, to be greeted by two sleepy, happy dogs who'd partied as much as we had! (that's a whole 'nother story, though).