Ladewig.com

If you follow me on my blog, via Twitter, on Facebook, or on FourSquare, you’ve probably figured out by now that I’m in New Orleans to attend Microsoft TechEd 2010. Some of you (perhaps all of you!) are hoping I’ll shut up soon. Well, sorry to disappoint, but TechEd is a big deal so I’m going to keep at it. All of you on Facebook will be glad to know that I’ve switched to using Selective Facebook a few weeks ago, so the stream of activity from me should be quite a bit less than before.

OK, that’s out of the way. So what happened today… The flight from St. Louis on Southwest was uneventful and on time, and my bag was one of the first on the carousel, so things were going well. And then I tried to get to the hotel. I should have gone for the taxi, but I’m thrifty (even when WashU is paying for everything) so I decided to take a hotel shuttle. Big mistake. We waited almost 45 minutes for a shuttle to show up, all the while standing outside the terminal in the hot muggy air. Watching cab after cab drive by made it that much worse. I’m sure the occupants were comfortable and cool and looking on the huddled masses waiting for the shuttle with pity. Then again, they could have been laughing at our misfortune, but I digress.

I did finally make it to the Embassy Suites, checked in, and found myself walking back outside (?) to get to my room on the 11th floor. I’m not sure why there is an outside corridor, but there is. Someone wisely installed a sunshade right in front of my room, so I’m hoping that will help keep things cool. I had to crank the A/C way down, but it isn’t too bad now.

I hopped the bus over to the Convention Center after unpacking to get register and pick up my badge and bag. I would have walked since we’re only two blocks away, but the A/C in the bus felt really good. Registration was as fast and efficient as it can be. Probably didn’t spend more than 10 minutes total in the Convention Center, and that includes the time to walk to and from the doors. I’m hoping that means the logistics for the rest of the week are as well executed.

Another stop at the hotel to drop off my bag, and then I started walking down to the French Quarter. I met up with a contingent of The Krewe at Oyster Fest. According to them, I was the Man Who Wasn’t There at TechEd last year. Everyone seemed to have a “Where’s Ladewig” story to tell. Who knew?

I met up with @Brian_Bell later for lunch and left The Krewe at Oyster Fest. We went to Johnny’s Po-boys and it was well worth it. The po-boys were delicious and the gumbo had a great, rich flavor. You just can’t go wrong with the food down here.

We walked back to my hotel so I could give Brian the 3 lbs. of Provel cheese I brought for him. Oh, didn’t I mention the cheese? Yes, Brian had asked me to bring some Provel for him so I went over to Schnucks for a late night Provel run and came back with 6 packages of slices since the deli counter was closed. Brian acquired a taste for Provel via a friend from St. Louis, so I was glad to be able to help give him and his family back in North Carolina a way to get their Provel fix.

Wow… it is midnight. I need to wrap this up so I can get some sleep. After relaxing in the room for a couple hours, I changed, and went to the Manager’s reception at the hotel for snacks and drinks and met up with @wcaubrey. He headed off to do some work while I headed to the Party with Palermo. Considering there was a $10 cover this year, I expected more than we received. The food was not the “full dinner” that was promoted, but at least I had something in my stomach to tide me over. I found The Krewe inside, and we all made our way to Bourbon Street and My Bar where @thekrewe had arranged for the Krewe Meet ‘n Greet. We had the whole second floor as well as the wraparound balcony looking out over Bourbon Street. Plus bags and bags of beads. Booze, beads, and Bourbon Street… What a powerful combination. It is amazing what people will do for beads, and quite entertaining. I do question the wisdom of the parents I saw who bring their small children down to Bourbon Street at night. Seriously, is this an appropriate environment for young kids? I can only imagine the conversations when they get back home… “Daddy, why were those girls rubbing each other and pulling up their tops while people threw necklaces at them?” Good luck with that one…

Anyway, the party was a great opportunity to meet people. I finally met, live and in person, @TIffanyWI (who is NOT from Wisconsin, which is too bad for her), @ClauPerez, and @ClosedSocket, to name just a few. I finally headed back around 10 PM, but had to duck into a Krystal to pick up a late night burger fix on the way home.

Whew! I think that’s everything and in much more detail than you ever wanted to know. Hey, I didn’t make you read all of this. I figure if you made it this far, you must have found something worthwhile. Didn’t you? What, you were only reading because you wanted to see the first Swag Report? OK, OK, here you go. It isn’t much, but it is day 0, so you can’t expect much.

• Official Microsoft TechEd 2010 T-Shirt
• Microsoft TechEd 2010 Bag and Water Bottle

I added Azura, P&O’s new flagship, to the P&O webcam page. Fincantieri delivered the Azura on March 26.

I also added a placeholder for Adonia which will join the fleet in 2011 and replace Artemis.  Artemis was sold to Artania Shipping which will charter her to German operator Phoenix Reisen as MS Artania.

I’ve added webcams for Crystal Cruises to my Cruise Ship Cams page.

I’ve added webcams for P&O Australia Cruises to my Cruise Ship Camspage.

Our Disney World trip to celebrate my birthday started yesterday. We flew Southwest to Orlando (to heck with American and their bag fees and exorbitant charges to make changes to reservations) and arrived a bit ahead of schedule. A good omen perhaps?

We made our way down to the Magical Express area only to find the longest line I’ve ever seen for ME. We were a bit concerned but the line moved pretty fast, so while it took longer than we had anticipated, it really wasn’t long until we were on the bus.

We arrived at All Star Sports (Not our preferred level of resort, but we wanted to minimize the costs for the trip… we miss you Wilderness Lodge!) and put the new online check-in to the test. The idea is you provide all your info ahead of time and check-in by showing photo ID and picking up your pre-printed materials. Honestly I’m not sure we saved all that much time. Perhaps if the lines had been longer for regular check-in, the advantages may have been more apparent. Would definitely do it again however.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that we were in Surf’s Up building 1. Nice and close to the pool and main building but with a room facing away from the noise around the pool. We settled in, changed into warm-weather clothes, and headed for the bus to Downtown Disney. We were easing into things with a park-free day. After arriving at Downtown Disney we spent the rest of the day shopping and eating.

Lunch was at Earl of Sandwich (love their bread), and dinner was at Cooke’s of Dublin (fish and chips!). We’re on the Disney Dining Plan this trip. Used to be a better deal when the tip and appetizer were included for table service meals, but you can’t beat the free dining promotion. Our only complaint was the inclusion of a dessert item with every quick meal. It is OK if the venue has a fruit option, but not ever one does.

We also did some shopping though not as much as in previous years. Nothing was all that compelling. We were disappointed that we couldn’t find a Chipbacca or Mashter Yoda Star Wars Potato Heads. Will check Hollywood Studios and keep our fingers crossed. We had our real dessert at Ghirardelli. As usual there were way too many people there for their seating area. It doesn’t help when people hold a table waiting for the rest of their party to arrive. Wish the staff would police the area and reserve seating for people who have ordered.

We also took the boat up to Port Orleans Riverside (aka Dixie Landings). We honeymooned at Dixie Landings and it remains a favorite of ours. We checked out the Christmas tree in the lobby then boarded the boat back to Downtown Disney. During the trip we had a good look at the reconstructed treehouse villas. Very nice. Curious how many points these go for.