lamphs

Really enjoyed this report. A couple of football things on the 'list'. One was seeing a west Texas high school football game. I accomplished this just last month (mentioned over in the Destinations - Texas forum). The other is to go to a SEC game. Being a UMD graduate, I've been to games at all of the southern ACC school games. But I think the SEC is a notch above.

wakesetter93

Thanks lamphs! Let me know if you decide to go to a game in Baton Rouge, happy to give you the inside information on where to go

wakesetter93

We left the French Quarter and drove out to the MSY rental car center, stopping along the way to fuel up. After dropping our car off at Hertz, we boarded the shuttle over to the terminal and set off for the slow, 15-minute trip. We were dropped off on the lower level and made our way up the escalator towards the security checkpoint. CLEAR was closed for the day, so we joined the PreCheck lane.





It was here that we encountered the first, of what would turn out to be many, drunk passenger. A guy a couple of people in front of us was complaining to his friend that he was so drunk they were worried they weren’t going to let him through security. He wasn’t falling over but he was visibly dazed.

We, along with Mr. Jim Beam, had no issues at security and headed off to find The Club at MSY which is the Priority Pass lounge at the airport. The lounge is located at the A/B connector, up one level from the concourse.



The lounge dragon scanned our BP’s told us that they would be stopping food and beverage service at 8:30p as the lunge closed at 9:00p. Once inside, we found a couple of seats near the entrance and relaxed for a few minutes. Though the lounge was small, it was nicely appointed for a Priority Pass lounge and still felt new.

There were two seating areas closer to the front of the lounge, while the bar area had some high-top seating near the back.

The Club MSY Seating




The Club MSY bar

There was also a “buffet” which consisted of some sad little plates of snack mix and some oranges.

The Club MSY “buffet”


Underneath the buffet were some coolers with soft drinks and water.

The Club MSY beverage station

We grabbed a glass of wine for Mrs. WS93 a vodka soda for me, and a bowl of snack mix to share. Before long, it was almost time to board so we headed off to Gate B7 for our Southwest flight to Austin.


There were a ton of people when we arrived at the gate due to a combination of a late arriving aircraft for our flight to AUS and a flight to Nashville boarding next door. While waiting for the crew to turn the plane, three more very intoxicated people approached the gate area (a couple and what I’m presuming was a friend). They were acting somewhat intoxicated but nothing that would have raised any alarm.




Southwest Airlines
WN 2844
MSY-AUS (New Orleans Armstrong International - Austin-Bergstrom International)
Seat: 17C (Economy)
B737-700 (N7732A)
Scheduled: 9:30p-10:55p
Actual: 9:59p-11:21p

When it came time to board, they ended up having the boarding positions right in front of us. As is common on Southwest, they asked us our boarding position and we told them. When the drunken trio decided to ask the person in front of us, to make sure they were in the right spot, that pax got irrationally upset and started saying things like “why would I tell you that”, “it’s none of your business”, “you want me to show you my ticket, I’m not showing you my ticket”, etc. That pax ended up walking up to the podium as A-List was boarding and, though I was far enough away I couldn’t make out everything, when he tried to scan his ticket the gate agent told him he was lined up for the wrong flight. He walked off somewhat confused and went over to a seat in the gate area and just sat there. This was the last flight to Austin so I’m not sure where he was trying to go.

Eventually, they started boarding the B group and our line started moving. After about 10-15 people in group B had boarded, they stopped boarding which, I assumed, was due to a backup on the jet bridge. There was a girl standing near us that was texting one of her friends who had already boarded and we struck up a conversation. Apparently, from what her friend was saying, they had stopped boarding because another pax that had just gotten on the plane was being offloaded for being too drunk.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, an older woman came off the plane being escorted by a couple of Southwest employees. Finally, we boarded the plane and settled into our seats. As boarding was wrapping up, we were greeted by none other than Mr. Jim Beam from security who took a seat across the aisle from me.

Finally, with 4/5 drunks loaded, we pushed back from the gate and headed off towards Austin. Exhausted from the long weekend I nodded off for a while and asked for a cup of coffee just before landing.


We landed in Austin slightly before 11:30p and were home just before midnight.

Get me outta here!

Thanks for coming along on this quick trip to Baton Rouge!

theshaun

Thanks for sharing your adventure!

wakesetter93

Thanks theshaun! We're off later this week to Mississippi to spend some time at the Viking Cooking School, so be on the lookout for that here soon!

GregWTravels

Very nice. My one and only trip to New Orleans, I did make a point of heading to the Hotel Monteleone for a Sazerac at the Carousel Bar. Good fun.

wakesetter93

Next time you're there, stop by The Roosevelt and go to Bar Sazerac

Hoyaheel

We tried to get a drink at the carousel bar a couple NO trips ago - waited 30, couldn't even get a server's attention (it was busy but I didn't think it was THAT busy) so we left. Haven't had a desire to try again - lots of other lovely & fun bars in that town who are happy to booze me up! My husband's favorite sazerac was at the bar at Luke (while I was devouring a dozen raw oysters during their happy hour - that was many trips ago)

wakesetter93

Thanks for the reminder about Luke, I haven't been there in years!

theshaun

wakesetter93 I'm just back from my annual Christmas trip to BTR where we unexpectedly found the need to quickly move out of the in-law's to a hotel. Being a Hyatt loyalist, I just booked the HP on Bluebonnet. We stayed there about 10 years ago and it was nothing special but fine for our needs at the time. I assumed (incorrectly) that it would be fine for our few night stay. The place is absolutely disgusting from cleanliness, staff, and other guests. We managed one night and had to move. We opted for the Cook Hotel right behind the Lod Cook building at the lakes. I don't suppose BTR is littered with top lodging options but the Cook will be my go to if ever I need a hotel again. I love a good walk around the lakes at LSU and the location couldn't be beat for that. Unfortunately my BTR trip was not the exciting football filled trip you and SFO777 experienced and our holiday with family was cut short due to the in-laws having a bout with the big C, but the time we got to spend with them and catching a local show in NO with SWMO's childhood best friend was nice. And of course I did squeeze in a round of golf at Santa Maria. Happy holidays and wonderful 2023!

wakesetter93

Thanks for the update on the Hyatt Place theshaun. I had a friend that worked there during college and stayed on with the management group that used to own it, but they sold it off a few years back.

I love the Cook Hotel if I need to be close to LSU but, if you're looking for a more upscale accommodation, check out The Watermark downtown (part of Marriott) or the Hilton Downtown. The Renaissance on Bluebonnet was also good during my frequent trips there, though it has been a few years.

Sorry to hear about the family coming down with Covid. Hope they are feeling better!

theshaun

Thanks, they are all fine now. Good to know about the Watermark. We had stayed a night at the Hilton ages ago when attending a wedding and recall it was a nice stay.
The Renaissance is interesting. I saw it one evening when we were headed towards Perkins Rowe on this trip. The last I recall, that building was empty and derelict for many many years. Could be, I didn't notice it or just hadn't gone down that way for some years.

wakesetter93

Yep, that was the halfway built dorm for the Jimmy Swaggert Bible College, they completed one building but left that one as a shell.

Wampold Companies came in and cleaned it and finished it out. 2 of my college buddies helped open the place my freshman year.