Today in NOLA: Cop runs into car

We were working late the other night at HOP & JAUNT’s office in the warehouse district of downtown New Orleans. There was a crawfish boil going on at the bar next door, but other than that it was a pretty quiet night. Suddenly, we heard this loud crash outside, and then roar of cheers and laughter. We jumped up from our computers and ran outside.

Sure enough there was a wreck outside. Some poor guy in a van got hit by a police car. Fortunately, the only thing injured was the police officer’s pride. The bar crowd got a big kick out of that.

Our Eureka Moment

A few weeks ago Alyson and I had an unique and amazing opportunity. The chance to view our city of New Orleans from aboard the world’s largest airship.

The Farmer’s Airship

The Farmers Airship Eureka is a 246 foot Zeppelin owned and operated by Airship Ventures of California. It is the only commercial passenger airship in the United States, and one of only two Zeppelins flying in the world.

Awaiting Take off

Government Cover-Up: A Graphic Blog Episode

*[ a Fictional Graphic Blog Episode sprinkled with tidbits of truth?]

Excerpt from Travelouge: October 31, 2010

Something is going on. I’m sure of it.

The clues have always been right there, staring me dead in the eyes, but it wasn’t until recently that I’ve been able to put them all together.

I remember when it all started just earlier this year. It was a strange news story, but nothing to make a big deal over. I didn’t even give it a second thought…until now.

But looking back I see that it was a piece of the puzzle. And as the year progressed and more seemingly unimportant and trivial news stories aired, I began to notice a pattern. A connection. And when all these stories, all these puzzle pieces are viewed as a whole then you can really see how they paint a bigger picture. A shocking and horrifying picture that may very well rock the foundation of mankind’s civilization.

I first became aware of this revelation in April of this year. Stephen Hawking had just completed a documentary about the universe for the Discovery Channel. It was creating a mild buzz with little public interest, as most science news stories do. ‘Who cares what are the latest advances in cancer research. Just tell us when the next iPhones are coming out.’ The intrigue over Hawking’s documentary stemmed from some controversial speculations he made warning mankind to cease any attempt to contact extraterrestrial life existing elsewhere in the universe. Hawking theorizes that intelligent life would most certainly present a hostile threat to earth and its inhabitants.
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HOP & JAUNT TEAR UP the BIG APPLE!

Everything has been a blur since we’ve returned to sweet home Alabama after our trip to New York City this summer. Alyson and I have been steadily busy doing work for our clients at HOP & JAUNT Creative Design. Here are couple you may have seen within the travel community recently.

This was a custom blog designed for Spencer Spellman of The Traveling Philosopher fame. We met Spence in New York at TBEX10 and decided to meet up again down in Mobile, Alabama. He wanted a great looking site to accompany his great writing. I really love the custom Twitter, RSS and Stumble Upon badges we did. Check out Spencer’s site when you get a chance. He has some entertaining articles, and each includes a bit of southern charm and wit.

HOP & JAUNT did this custom logo and header for Matt Long of Landlopers.com . The circular mark of the Landlopers logo represents a path leading into the distance between two mountain peaks. Its sleek, simple and iconic (which makes my graphic design senses tingle). Check out Matt’s site too, cause he has a lot of great advice for getting around the globe without breaking the bank.

So, what else is new from the desks of the traveling designers. We’ve done blogs, websites, ebooks and now…perhaps theater.

When Alyson and I were in NYC we saw a Broadway play. The set and costume designs inspired me to use our trip photos to create a mock-broadway production of our trip. Check out some of the images from the soon-to-be Off-Off-Off Broadway play, “HOP & JAUNT TEAR UP the BIG APPLE”.

We arrive in New York City!

We rented an apartment for the week.

We took a trip to the top of the Rockefeller Building and watched the sunset and the city’s lights come on.

We advanced down Wall Street.

On Independence Day we visited Liberty Isle and Ellis Island.

For the long ride home, we caught the Crescent Line back to Birmingham.

TBEX 10: Bloggers Take Manhattan

After our first night out in the Big Apple, Alyson and I just managed to slip into our cozy hostel bunks before the “tranquility” of dawn descended on the city of New York. The symphony of the morning began pianissimo before a quick crescendo of trumpeting cab horns and thundering garbage trucks. Burying my head beneath my pillow, I began to understand the meaning behind “the city that never sleeps“.

Stairs in our hostel.

The view from the roof of the Jazz on the Town Hostel.

We somehow managed to resurrect ourselves, grab a cup of coffee, and make it to the conference just in time to be a half hour late. The fact that we arrived late puzzled us a bit, but we were too tired to dwell on it. Only later did we discover that our mobile phone had not automatically updated to the new time zone. We spent the rest of the weekend arriving fashionably late to all of the TBEX functions.

After our morning boost of caffeine had begun to take effect, we made our way into the crowded auditorium. It was a packed house. Travel bloggers from URL’s all across the globe were in attendance. Surely, some world record for largest group of people simultaneously twittering had been broken. We had all taken our pilgrimage here to study, discuss and learn the revered ways of Travel Blogging. Very important issues were discussed such as, “What makes good stories?“, “How do you do Podcasts and Videos“, and “How the Hell Do You Make Money at Blogging?” Time will soon show whether Alyson and I were listening closely enough.

In the thick of it at TBEX TEN.

Yours Truly.

Aside from the panel discussions, the remaining two days of TBEX were filled with glorious gifts, platters of free food, and cups that overflowed. Alyson and I were seriously impressed (and impressing Alyson is no easy task). I have to say that both NYC and TBEX far exceeded my expectations. Understandably, the glittering lights and tall buildings of the Big Apple would ‘WOW’ anyone just off the plane from a sleepy, small Alabama town, but I still found it amazing that a group of backpackers and travelers could pull off such a well done convention.

Those glittering lights and tall buildings you just read about.

Obviously, a church.

Alyson twittering as usual.

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