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Junketeer

Trixie Johnson had oysters brought to her New Orleans hotel room. Trixie Johnson Local Dining: $739.13 (Ranking: 6th) Travel: $7,110.75 (Ranking: 4th) An 11th-hour scheduling change facilitated a two-day layover in New Orleans between conferences in Washington, D.C., and nearby Hattiesburg, Miss. In New Orleans, "Travelin' Trixie," as she was dubbed in a campaign hit piece last year, stayed at a $130 a night hotel located in the touristy French Quarter, where she sampled the oyster bar ($17.28) and room service ($39.15). She got to the hotel by driving a $45-a-day car rental, which she later used to get to her committee meeting in Hattiesburg. Johnson says she had planned the Hattiesburg trip months in advance, but changed plans when another committee called a surprise meeting in Washington, D.C., to be held just before the Mississippi meeting. She had a choice of returning to San Jose and then flying back to New Orleans (the major airport closest to Hattiesburg) immediately later or staying on the Gulf Coast for a couple of extra days. She opted for the latter. The EPA paid for the first leg of her trip, while the city covered the rest, including $444 for her layover in New Orleans. Johnson explains that she stayed in the French Quarter rather than at an airport hotel, for example, because that's the only place she could find a room since there was a big convention in town. Regarding her room service, Johnson says, as a woman, she was afraid of going out to eat at night in a strange city. Regarding her car rental: It was either that or a pay a taxi to get into town--take your pick, she says. [ Metro | Metroactive Central | Archives ]