My friend Jeremy sent me to New Orleans at the end of May to represent Freshwaters Illustrated at the NABS annual meeting in New Orleans. I picked up a nasty cold there, but met up with a lot of friends and explored the French Quarter and the Garden District. I had a good time, even though I wasn’t feeling my best. (This is a picture of Rue Royale, one of my favorite streets in the French Quarter.)

I got to spend some time with Toben and Brenda, two of my very best friends who now live in Minnesota. It was great seeing them, even though I was running a fever and wasn’t up for going out much.

Julie and I worked on our M.S. in Ecology together at Colorado State and it had been a long time since I’d seen her.

I set up the booth for and represented Freshwaters Illustrated at the NABS meeting in New Orleans. I thought it looked pretty good, and I got lots of really great feedback about the organization.

Bob flew out to meet me from Miami, and we stayed at the New Orleans guest house, which was awesome. The building was the color of Pepto Bismol, and the courtyard was guarded by a rather friendly (and ancient) orange kitty. We ate at many fine establishments, visited the St. Louis Cemetery #1, and the aquarium, but our favorite part of the trip was exploring the garden district and looking at all the beautiful old houses.

The New Orleans Guest House – we had the Red Room!