Ultimate Lindyhop Showdown: Day 5

Last day in New Orleans! :'(

After only a few hours of sleep, our bags already mostly packed from the night before, Dean, John, and I were off to the airport, bidding farewell to one of the most awesome cities in North America. Both of the guys were dressed up really nice (John because it was Oct 1 and the start of Oc-tie-ber and Dean because...well it's Dean), so I had a very nicely dressed entourage. We got to MSY really early, but whatever we were awake anyways. We hung out with Mel at breakfast until her flight to Montreal took off.

All was well on the trip home, I got to read some papers, Dean slept, John listened to pod casts. At the Atlanta airport, we hung out with Amanda Stock, who had the same flights as us. As a pass time, I took pictures of Amanda and Dean lindy-bombing the Atlanta airport thanks to Dean's portable speakers, for which they got applause.

Dean was kind enough to drive John and I all the way back to Waterloo but he was ridiculously tired, poor guy!

Overall thoughts:

ULHS 2012 was quite a different experience than last year, but I still loved it. The weather for some people was a downer, and yes the second line parade was cancelled. However, I looked at it and saw it as typical New Orleans weather, I thought it was almost more genuine. Plus, you're not made of sugar, so go run through those puddles, do the 'Singing in the Rain' routine!

I danced with lots of new people, but I found that a large proportion of my dances were people I knew from Canada/Northern US. I thought I would change that and be that person who dances with everyone, but I was still really happy with my dances since there are a lot of people that I don't have as many opportunities to dance with. I had awesome dances with some of the best swing dancers around, too!

I went for a run in the French Quarter the morning, which I'm still ooo and aaa-ing about, I don't know the architecture is just so neat. Plus, my route took me around some of the more normal local area, so it felt like actually being there, rather than sticking to touristy things.

Also, I really appreciated the down times with Erika and John individually since this is when I connect with people the best. Amongst all the craziness of meeting up with people and events and such, it's my time to be grounded.

Will I go again? Hmm tough to say, since I really enjoyed my time there, but it's not the same feeling as I had after going my first time. I think it depends where I'll be in my life and research work. Would I recommend it? Absolutely :D