Phoenix Rising More Good Times

[lady_karelia]

The last full day of Phoenix Rising. Tomorrow is the Coda Breakfast and the auction and that'll be Teh End. Damn, time flies when it's good!

So, I overslept royally this morning after getting lost on my way to bed last night. I was not pleased, but what could I do...

Starbucks was the order of the day as usual because I don't talk without caffeine in my veins, and by the time I got there, only a double-dose potion of caffeine could remedy that. Someone had obviously put a tracking charm on me, for how else would they have known at precisely which moment to phone? *ponders*

Then I met up with the grangersnape100 lot, well, some of them, and we were going to walk to the cemetery because no trip to Nawlins is complete without visiting the cemetery, right?

Let's just say that Le Prophet du Jour, Nawlins' own wizarding daily, had a special edition tonight with the headline
Illegal Activities Suspected Amongst Visiting Witches

Yup, I'm afraid that was us. Because just as we were about to cross the road, southernwitch69 spotted her hubby driving his wizarding vehicle, disguised in the form of a pick-up truck. Much shuffling and climbing ensued, and we all found ourselves in the back of a perfectly Muggle looking car.

Needless to say, the Ministry of Magic got wind of it almost instantly - effing tracking charms! - and started to chase us. But thankfully, gifted wizard SW69's hubby is, he made use of his driving and Charm skillz, and before we knew it, we found ourselves in front of the cemetery, and by the time the Ministry of Magic Aurors arrived, both car and hubby had long gone and we played all innocent. "No, sir, we walked here," followed by agreeing nods of the GS100 lot. They were not able to prove us any different and left soon. That chick, I think her name is Pansy Vanilla, tipped off the Prophet du Jour...

Of course, by the time they left, the cemetery had closed because it's Sunday, and they're only open till 12 on a Sunday. We did try our best to climb up the gate, but, oh boy, their repelling charms are some work of art! charmed310 managed to climb highest, about 4 foot above ground, before being catapulted back to street level in the most spectacular fashion. And what's worse, it all happened too fast for any of us to switch on the cameras! Sorry about that.
So here be some picspam since you've come to expect it...



I only just made it into the back of the truck before it took off at high speed. Boy, scared ain't the word. One foot still in the air, remusseverus thankfully grabbed my wrist and pulled me in before disaster happened.



ellaselenelupin, soul_bound_8686, and snapeophile looking totally comfortable with this wizarding method of Muggle-disguised form of transportation...



This pic was taken from the very back of the "truck". You get a good view of Canal Street if nothing else.



We got so excited when we saw this...



... until our eyes descended...



... charmed310 had just hit ground again.

So we walked to the next cemetery, about five minutes walk...


... And guess what happened...



On the way back on Canal Street, we were glad to find a streetcar-named-desire stop so we could sit down. The heat... "OMG, I'm so fucking hot"
"Yes, we all are. And the weather's quite warm as well."



The nearest streetcar was about forty miles away.

Out came the wands, and suddenly, as if by magic, we saw the streetcar approach.



And we entered, and there were even enough seats for all of us. Magic Rulez!

I then had to jump off very suddenly because I hadn't realised that the folks were continuing the entire round-trip. I don't know who cast the Imperio on the driver, but alas, I jumped off at the last second at the Sheraton stop because blue_paris was waiting for me to take her for lunch. i don't know, some people...

We went to some place owned by a Germish, and the food was absolutely fantastic. I had shrimp remoulade, and it was gooooooooooooood. On Decatur Street, micro-brewery, don't remember the name. But gooooooood.



ofenjen was willing to have me capture her. She is the president of the Austin Ashwinder Association, crafty witch on the Leaky Cauldron forums, and she's just awesome. Between her and kimberly_elf, I wouldn't know which one is more awesomer! If you were one of the lucky people who received a Shrimpcast button, please thank her! Cuz she made all of them!

I have tons of more pics, but honestly, it's late, like, really late, and I really do want to be awake for the coda breakfast...

The masquerade ball, well, I have pics, which I'll post tomorrow night. I stayed for longer than I'd thought I would. But loud music isn't my thing unless it's Beethoven, and not being able to have a conversation because of noise isn't my thing either. So I left.

As it turned out, I wasn't the only one *grin*. Our room was sort of occupied soon and we had an absolute blast, finally being able to talk about all and sundry about podcasting, adminning, and I've had an absolute blast. Then I finally managed to meet ellaselenelupin properly because I'm leaving tomorrow, and she had some stuff for me, like Kinder Schokolade, which I will not share, and some Belgian chocolate, which I'd asked her to bring. But, OMG, she not only brought those, but she made me some really wicked Ravenclaw earrings I shall wear for breakfast and show off, AND OMG, I have a new Mozart cd!!! *squeeeeeeeeee*

It is so beautiful! There are about 20 pieces I like of Mozart, which is very little, considering how much he wrote. Those twenty range from about absolute squeee to very acceptable, and I've always found it difficult to find a cd that captures enough of my favourites. But this one cd contains 11 pieces, and all of them make me totally squee. Thank you so much ellaselenelupin!

And I totally need to go to sleep now cuz I have to be up in about four hours to catch the coda breakfast, and ariadne has threatened to meet me. Which is probably a good thing cuz I'd love to meet her as well. Hey, Ari, some people seem to like audio stories. :-)

*waves goodnight*