Just a year ago....

A member in one of my art groups mentioned this week that she was going to get to see Robert Plant and Allison Krause, and it brought back very fun and fond memories of a "girlfriend" trip I took last April with my best friends Coleen and Cindy.

Picture this: 3 middle-aged (yes, 50s is middle-aged) women go out to eat at Emeril's NOLA Restaurant in New Orleans, dressed up and looking middle-aged hot. After a wonderful meal, we weren't ready to head back to the hotel (middle-aged, but still have some partying left to do.) Cindy suggests we grab a cab & head to Tippetina's -- a small (maybe 250 people), but well-known club outside of the Quarter that's been there forever.

We arrive & there's a few pierced & tattooed folks half our age standing outside. It looks like there's a good sized crowd inside & we debate whether to try it or not - I hop out and
Me: "How much is the cover?"
Door Guy: "12 bucks"
Me: "Ooooh. (turns to tall young person) Think its worth it?"
Young Guy: "F**k YEAH."
Me: "Really...hmmm."
Young Guy: "Uh, yeah -- Robert Plant is supposed to show up later."

Well, we took a chance, half expecting it to be some Cajun guy named Robert Plant. Sure enough, way past middle-aged women's bedtime, THE Robert Plant shows up. The headlining band was a local band he was using on a Katrina benefit album & they had invited him to drop by. Because of my middle-aged women knees (which magically didn't bother me anymore), we had snagged a spot next to the stage so we could lean against something -- so we were up able to get up close and personal.

It was a night to remember -- yes, just like us, Robert Plant is older, but to hear him sing "Sea of Love" from 20 feet away...from the 20-something tatted and pierced "kids", through the urban professional 30-year olds, to those of us that still have Led Zeppelin ALBUMS...we all loved it. Excuse the poor quality video (and I deleted the audio because it really didn't record well) - its short, but you get the gist.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-662512407807231293

Anyway -- due to some speedbumps in life's road, we won't be able to take another girlfriend trip for awhile, but we WILL plan something soon. I'm not sure we'll have adventures that top this one--but you never know!

Coleen - get better soon. We have places to go, and people to see!