Life with Dee

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Pirates and Wenches

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I’m still processing and recovering from our trip to New Orleans but I just had to share a few pirate pictures. I can honestly say these are some of the best people on the planet. Even if they are a bit crazy. Or maybe because of it. But truly, I cannot imagine a better group of folks. Kind, generous, and heaps of fun.
We had a lovely pirate dinner one evening, attended by over 50 pirates. It was a gorgeous venue with views of the river and the French Quarter. Here is our infamous “Pink Pirate” gazing out toward the river:
The infamous Pink Pirate
A little pre-dinner socializing on the veranda:
Mingling before the pirate dinner
One of the best parts about being a pirate/wench is getting to know people from all over the country. Captain Ron stumbled upon our humble “krewe” a couple of years ago as he set out on a road trip from his home in Florida. He had recently lost his beloved wife and we all gathered him to our collective bosom and adopted him as one of our own. On at least three or four nights, Ron, David and I hung out together until the wee hours of the morning when we’d finally end up at the Clover Grill for biscuits and gravy or whatever else sounded good at the time. Here are the two guys, affectionately known as Captain Smartass and Captain Ron:
Captain Smartass and Captain Ron
I love these guys…and this picture:
Some of my favorite pirates
(left to right: David, Ron, Papillon, and Jay)

Captain Ron brought with him what turned out to be the hit of the party – Pirate Dice. I love this picture. They may be using plastic cups for the game but notice most everyone is drinking from their own tankard. Aye, we be environmentally friendly pirates. I also like the way everyone has their weapons on the table. The best part is that the one woman playing won almost every game and earned her new name, “Lady Luck” (no, it wasn’t me). 
Put yer weapons where we can see 'em.
One of the fun things we did was to board the Natchez steamboat in full regalia for a 2 hour cruise on the Mississippi. The tourists didn’t know they’d be sharing the boat with dozens of pirates but we behaved admirably. Or at least as well as can be expected. 
The four day “Shore Leave” event also included a “Meet and Greet”, pirate trivia, bead tossing, silent auction (I’ll have to do another post with a picture of what David bought), pub crawl through the Quarter, and a crawfish boil at Turtle Bay on Sunday as we all sadly bid one another adieu. But plans for next year are already in the works! 

New Orleans adventures

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I know, I know.  I promised stories and pictures of our recent trip to New Orleans.  And I do intend to follow through but life has been nuts.  Two days after returning from NOLA we zipped off to California for five days.  David had to go on business and took me along.  And if that weren’t enough traveling, we are going to Tulsa Sunday for an early Thanksgiving meal with my brother and his family, then to Joplin, Missouri from there in order to attend a funeral on Monday.  After that I just might become a hermit for the month of December.  
I still haven’t uploaded all the pictures from David’s camera (having connection *issues*) so there will be lots more to come but here are a few for now.
A couple of months before our trip David started throwing out ideas for our Halloween costumes.  After such stellar suggestions as both of us dressing as Oompah Loompahs or him going as a French maid, I was ready to eagerly accept his plan to dress up as Dr. Feelgood with me as his nurse.  Hey, at least scrubs are comfortable.  
Of course, Dr. Feelgood needed some “medicine” to hand out to friends.  He ordered syringes online and then spent a couple of hours making jello shots in our condo.

Making jello shots:

He made 100 of them because we certainly wouldn’t want to run out, right?

The finished product:

Dr. Feelgood was rather popular, as you might suspect.  
He also had a prescription bottle which he filled with Smarties candies.

Dr. Feelgood:

Halloween in New Orleans is quite a kick.  Some of the costumes were incredibly clever or elaborate.  Others?  Well, let’s just say that tightie-whities and a towel around one’s neck isn’t the sort of *costume* that just every man can pull off successfully.

A trip to New Orleans just wouldn’t be complete without at least one night spent with our pirate friends.  David arranged a pub crawl mid-week and about a dozen of us took part.  One of the cool things about being a pirate (or wench) is that the bars are delighted to have us stop in and will happily fill our own tankards rather than the usual plastic cups.  See?  Even pirates can be “green”.  Plus, you can carry your mug from bar to bar without having to purchase a drink in each place.  Good thing since I think we hit eight or nine bars that night.  And if you’ll promise not to tell, I’ll share my little secret.  You can even drink water from a pirate tankard.  Shhh!

Captain Dave Blackheart and his wench:

Jay and Dave, a dangerous duo:
Jay and me
The NOLA Krewe of Pirate Wenches:

There’s nothing quite like roaming the Quarter with a motley crew of pirates and wenches.  But you have to be careful or you just might find yourself being abducted and taken into The Dungeon leaving your own pirate to wonder where you went.

Tune in tomorrow for more about our trip to New Orleans!

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Thar be pirates!

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Just a few pictures from our adventures at Shore Leave New Orleans:

“Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.”~ Mark Twain (Life on the Mississippi)


Captain Blackheart – my favorite pirate

Marching in the French Quarter Fest parade


Yes, he’s wearing pink. He’s the infamous “Pink Pirate”.


They just look like trouble, don’t they?

A pirate’s gotta eat, you know.


Everyone needs a little Captain in them.


I think this speaks for itself.


The creativity of pirates.

A modern pirate and his iPhone, or iPatch as he calls it.


Isn’t it cute that they dressed alike?
A scurvy dog

Being a wench is hard on the boots!

Do you still wonder why this is fun?

God, country and pirates!
Put ’em in the brig!

Just a few of our scurvy mates

Me and my pirate
David’s motto
“Life’s pretty good, and why wouldn’t it be? I’m a pirate, after all.”
~Johnny Depp

I can’t begin to tell you everything about our piratical adventures but I will share a couple of amusing stories. On Saturday night all the pirates and wenches gathered for a bar crawl through the French Quarter. We divided into 4 groups of about 50 each, started in different locations and then were led on a tour of several bars, meeting up on Bourbon Street where we all recited a toast we had learned (one line per bar) and then threw beads to tourists from the balcony of Johnny White’s.

Our group had the *honor* of being accompanied by a brass band on our trek through the French Quarter. This wasn’t planned; they just showed up and decided to follow us. I kept thinking that while it was rather fun, they really weren’t playing that well and they kept playing the same song over and over. At one point we had all gathered outside one of the bars on the tour and watched as a wedding party and its band paraded down the street in front of us. I always enjoy watching these wedding parades with everyone waving their white handkerchiefs and dancing down the street. *Our* band suggested that they should challenge the other to a “battle of the bands” but fortunately for the wedding party, they didn’t pursue this plan.

It wasn’t until the following day, while sitting around with several pirate friends rehashing the weekend, that we found out why the band was a little different. Turns out they had all indulged in ‘shrooms just before deciding to join us. Ah, it all made sense.

The other funny story I can share (there are others I won’t!) took place Sunday. David and I were eating lunch at this fabulous new place, The Royal Street Deli. David overheard the waitress say something to another table of diners about being out of something because of the pirates. When she came by our table he asked her about it. Turns out they were completely out of hot sauce because the pirates had come through the night before and used all the hot sauce in their bloody marys. No hot sauce at a restaurant in New Orleans? I never would have believed it.

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