TDY Gouge - Louisiana

Alexandria Int'l, LA - is not a garden spot, but the Staff at the Hampton Inn Alexandria 318-487-8500 was EXCELLENT. The came and picked my crew up at the JET!! Then drove us to the hotel, drove and picked us up from dinner, lunch, you name it, and then back to the Airport to the bottom of the airstairs. The actual hotel is the usual Hampton Inn, but the service of the people made it a great stay!! The person to talk to.. Julie Ann..she will hook you up! Also, it's not mentioned anywhere, and the employees of the England Jet Center won't tell you (I heard and saw it from a C-9 crew passing thru), but if you give them a call about 20 mins out(130.0), they will order you a complimentary pizza! The little tricks of the trade....

Barksdale AFB, LA - Go to Superior Bar and Grill (off of Airline HWY) for good food GREAT Margaritas and Spring Break type atmosphere! A decent place to stay is Holiday Inn on North Side. Just got back from lovely Shreveport, and our crew discovered a couple of good places to chow. Ralph and Kucoos serves great food, if a little on the pricey side. The Noble Savage in the heart of downtown is more to the crewdogs liking...good cajun food at a decent price. The music is even pretty good. For late night entertainment, we strongly recommend the Havana (club) its got a nice 70s motif, and on a Sat night wasn't uncomfortably crowded, and the music was a great blend of modern dance and 80s classics. There is even an ATM in the little club next door. If you think of venturing into the strip joint called LEGS for cash, you might as well turn right around and go elsewhere....... withdrawals are EIGHT BUCKS EACH! ~Holiday Inn-Bossier City was a dump. Filthy carpeting and apparently maid take change from fellow crewmate. Schoolyard excuse may follow, but the facts remain. Avoid the dump as we from McGuire found out the hard way.

New Orleans, LA - A fantastic hotel @4 blocks from Bourbon St. is the Marriott on Canal St. Great rooms, nice hotel restaurant, valet parking, 2 pools and a gym. They gave us the gov rate, but we had to hassle them to give it to us on for the weekend and then when our planes broke down, they refused to honor the rate any more... So, make reservations early and try to hash it out with "group reservations". The last night we stayed at the Sheraton - right across the street. This hotel was a shade below the Marriott and the rooms were worse. We scammed into the wonderful Hotel Mediterranee (aka Le Midi) place for $99 a night on a weekend, which was $11 over the per diem hotel rate of $88, but worth it. Right on Canal Street, overlooking the French Quarter. Lots of good restaurants, the casino, and all the fun right there. Talk to the nice folks at the airport FBO, especially Gretchen. They set us up well. Holiday Inn in town has rates within allowances and is in the French Quarter. A GREAT crew dog-friendly restaurant in the French Quarter is Port Orleans - 228 Bourbon Street (504)528-9315 , about 4 blocks from Canal, on the right side. Great cajun/seafood, good prices - some of the best jambalaya and crawfish ever! Salvo's Seafood- 504-393-7303 (The best and if you just want to gas and go still works - right outside the NAS and duty officer will take you/crew). I set up a trip and they gave me the GOV rate on Bourbon Street with a balcony at the Royal Sonesta! (504) 586-0300 I had to beg a little but - ask for the manager and she will help you, also it's a good idea to take her a T-shirt. At NAS New Orleans, Good Numbers to hold: VR 54 (130SQ) Duty officer - 678-3700 Transient Line - x3602 OPS - 3100 Tower - 3879 Enterprise 504-366-9400 ( They will deliver to Base ops and have key drop at duty desk)

~Ramada Plaza, The Inn on Bourbon (504-524-7611) was great! I really wouldn't say resort, but very nice. They gave us 8 rooms at the government rate on a Sunday night during Mardi Gras kickoff. Located about halfway down Bourbon Street next to Razzoo's night club. A pretty cool club for the younger crowd. A great place to eat is Patout's Cajun Cabin, also on Bourbon. Usually has a live zydeco band, and strong drinks. If you fly into Lakefront Regional, a cab will cost you about 30 bucks to get from the airport to Bourbon street and avoids most of the heinous traffic you encounter if you come in from New Orleans NAS.

~Sheraton on Canal/ Royal Sonesta -- Just a note that the Royal Sonesta seemed to be very helpful when we called and got rooms at govt. rate. Then changed the rate a few days later, then didn't hold our reservation and we were forced to find another hotel. We called the Sheraton on Canal last minute and they were able to get us 22 rooms at govt rate, no problem, no hassle. The rooms were wonderful and the service was outstanding. I highly recommend the Sheraton and stay away from the Sonesta.