New Orleans and Final Four TR
 

I applied for Final Four Tickets a year ago and was lucky enough to be randomly selected to receive them. We drove from Oklahoma(about a 9 hour drive).

Lodging-
Springhill Suites-- I had a very hard time finding a hotel room a year ago. I cannot figure out how they work the lodging at major sporting events. There was absolutely nothing available. I did find a hotel room through getaroom.com. Springhill Suites was about a 20 minute walk to the Superdome and that was the only way to go. Trying to drive through all the people would have been a nightmare.
The room was large and clean. The big negative about Springhill Suites is that they don't have enough parking. I was told they were out of parking. I ended up parking 4 blocks away in a multi-level garage($20 per night).

Dining-
Commander's Palace for Saturday Jazz Brunch. Was probably the highlight of the trip. The brunch comes with aptzr ,entree, and dessert. We had eaten at CP about 20 years ago. I had forgotton how good the Bread Pudding Souffle is.
Cafe Du Monde- We had been there about a year ago and was the one place where my daughter requested we do again.
Lil Cajun Restaurant in Alexandria- I am no expert, but I think her roast beef here is probably the best po-boy in the state. Cochon De Lait was good too as was my daughters Jambalaya. Boudin was also good. Way way to much food for only $21. Could have ordered half and it would have been plenty.
We stopped at Central BBQ in Memphis on our way back home. Very good. We have eaten at most of the BBQ spots in Memphis. BBQ Nachos, Pork Sandwich, and Sausage. All very good. Their sauce is a bit on the sweet side. I think I like more of a smoky flavor. We ordered a half order on the nacho and it was huge.

We only went to the semi-finals for the Final Four as we needed to be at work/school on Monday. I sold Monday nights final tickets on stubhub. So this was just a quick 3 day weekend trip. We had about the worst seats you could possibly have, but I was suprised as they really weren't that bad. We did see two good games. I think I prefer going to a game where there is a "home team" as really the crowd never truly gets into it. We go to a few Thunder games and they are much more exciting and only a couple of hours from us. We were glad we went though. I think the sound in the Superdome is very well done. Seeing the Final Four was a cool experience, but probably wouldn't want to do it again.

We had been to Oak Alley, Nottoway, Houmas, San Francisco, and Laura on previous trips. This time we went to Destrehan. They are all unique and each one is worth a stop. Destrehan is the oldest and it is a good tour. We have tried to see Evergreen a couple of times. I think they operate on their own schedule and open and close very randomly. We had a heck of a time getting to the Destrehan because they had some marathon event and a lot of the streets were blocked off.

We also drove around the Garden District and enjoyed it.

You definitely saw 2 good games. Glad you enjoyed it. Part of the problem of the crowd is what you described as people buy these tickets without really knowing who is going to be playing so you don't get true fans.

I wasn't cheering for anyone, so you are absolutely correct. I haven't ever been to a final four, but have been to a few Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen. Those just seemed better. I am sure at a Saints game the place is rocking.

I was torn for the Kentucky - Louisville game being a UMass grad as I still like John Calipari and Rick Pitino. My dad was at UMass while Pitino was a student there. I just wanted a great game and it was. Lets go Wildcats tonight.

I cannot believe that there weren't a lot of people SCREAMING during both games, even IN the Dome

There were a lot of people screaming, but I would say less than 40% and then you would divide that by 2 because they don't yell for both teams at once really. I never even stood up except at the very end. I am used to standing the entire game at an OU football game or an OKC Thunder game. I have been to a few Dallas Maverick games and they are a lot louder as well.