Mardi Gras New Orleans

Roy, Heather, Scott and Dale at Joey T's for lunch

The BudweiserClydesdales opened the second Wednesday parade,."Krewe of Druids"

 

Lucky us! We have great friends in New Orleans and got to visit them during Mardi Gras. Roy and Dale are part of the Tortugal cruising group and hosted the first Annual Tortugeezer Reunion back in August, 2022. They came up to our Fourth Reunion in 2024 and stayed with us. But this time our visit coincided with the famous New Orleans Mardi Gras. We arrived on Wednesday, February 11rh and left on the 13th.  And even during this time the parades were sensational! It's hard for us to believe they could be better. Certainly there was a big step up from Wednesday's parades to Thursday's, but Wednesday's were fantastic. We've been appreciative audiences. 

The Archdruid float. 

Between the floats High School bands along with
their dance troop and cheerleaders parade. 
Occasionally we got a performance!

Those on top fling or hand out various items: 
beads, balls, lighted swords, bags etc. 

Some of the floats are so high that you can barely
see the occupants!

This ship on the first night was impressive!

And our host's beautiful home was just a few houses away from St. Charles St. on Seventh. They put out chairs on the parade route early with neighbors so we had wonderful seats. And we could go back and forth to the house to eat (or for the toilet - very helpful as we saw no Porto potties). This is important as the parades, early ones you understand, lasted for many hours. On Thursday from 4:30 PM to after 10 PM! That was 3 Krews: Knights of Chaos, Knights of Babylon, Nights of Muses. This last is a highlight of the Mardi Gras. The Krewe of Muses was founded in 2000 and has 1100 members. Since it's inception, Muses has emphasized gifting usable and "remuseable" throws to paradegoers. The most coveted of these are the single high heels. If you manage to catch one, you decorate and keep it as a souvenir and home decor (see the two Dale & Roy have in the photo).

Two coveted "shoes" from Krewe Muses"

Dale and their friend and tenant Amy.

Roy preparing breakfast in the kitchen. 

Heather in her "bling" at the parade, front
and center.

Both evenings Dale and Roy made wonderful dinners - Shrimp Etouffee and Pulled Pork with lots of sides. And two different kinds of King Cake. Their son Timmy and several friends joined us. On Thursday we had lunch at iconic Joey K's just down the street and did some shopping on Magazine Street. It was fun seeing a lot of the parade participants meeting and boarding the buses. 

Thursday's first parade had a lot of local and 
national figures. Bernie looks a lot more
positive then Marco and J.D. at the left!

The local political floats concerned New Orleans
problems and figures. 

The theme of Krewe Babylon was Operas.

Roy and Dale's house is beautifully decorated for Mardi Gras with "bling" of every sort. I've included a few photos here and they decorated us as well. We've brought back home a bag of "swag". We'll share that with everyone at our Mardi Gras party here on Tuesday!

We left after breakfast and stopped at The Shed for BBQ as usual. We took home one dinner plate and was enough for dinner that night. Great trip! Thank you Roy & Dale!

Lady Godivas!

Signature high heels for the Krewe Muses

Lots of flames - goes back to when there were no
street lights and these lit the parades.

Nothing like a bath in public!

This Muses float was spectacular!

Lunch at The Shed overlooking the Bayou.

Valentine's Day and lots of rum!

 

Julie and I in the back seat of the convertable

Heather, Julie, Ron and Scott with the remains of the po-boys. 

On Wednesday Valentine's Day, we had a date with our friends from last season in Lafayette, Ron and Julie. We met them at Wildcat Brothers Distillery during a wine tasting and they invited us to their home the next night (along with a lot of their friends and family) for Jambalaya. We contacted them when we knew we'd be back and invited them out to dinner - their choice. They had us over for wine and appetizers first, then we jumped in their bright red 1956 Cadillac convertible for the evening. 

The view over the pond at our Bayou Wilderness RV Park in Lafayette. Baby is just visible beyond.

And the view from Baby over to the pond. 

First we went to a favorite place for Po'boys. We had crawfish ones and they were excellent. Then to Carpe Diem downtown for gelato. Ron and Julie are such fun and we hope they will come up and visit us in Vermont! 

Three of their rums - my favorite is Noire and
we bought a bottle. 

May measures out a rum for tasting - very generous
pours. I had a smoked walnut old fashioned.

Rubia, Heather, Tait (co-owner), Bernard and Scott

We stayed at the Bayou Wilderness RV Park for 4 nights and then on Thursday we moved to the Wildcat Brother's Brewery for one night. It's a Harvest Host member and we had a blast there last year. We invited Bernard and Rubia to join us. They were amazed that we were introducing them to a place in their own town - only minutes away from their home. It was, as last year, so much fun. The barrister May talked non stop, just like a stand up comedian, for the 9 rums everyone tasted but myself. I did indulge in some cocktails and as a result of those and the few I had the days before, am in for 10 days dry (due to the medication I take now). 

It was sad to say good-bye to Lafayette and our friends but we were off to Texas. Two nights in Houston and two nights in San Antonio. Then after a single night breaking up the drive in Stockton, Big Bend National Park. 

Mardi Gras in Louisiana

The pig was mostly demolished by the time we
arrived on Sunday.

There was a big table where outfits were being
sewed and glued. Bags of accessories were
around and some of the ladies enjoyed dressing
us up! And Scott has a silly streak.

Many of the guests were VERY costumed!

This looks pretty strange here but I took the
sequined top and put it over a purple (a
major color for Mardi Gras) top and wore it
with beads and black pants to several 
events.

One end of the party which was at Mark's home

Some of the Pig Roast Crowd poses for a shot.

This neighborhood group had a sign that was very
 elaborate with lots of fringe,
this year's signature addition to every outfit. 

 

But not in New Orleans! We were in the Lafayette area for almost a week and it was Mardi Gras for part of the time. We would have missed it altogether but were saved by our old friend Barney Ussher, now known an Bernard. At our Christmas party our friend Decklin told us that Bernard had married again and was living there. We hadn't seen him for 40 years but when we contacted him, he was delighted that we were coming and persuaded us to come several days earlier so that we could party. And we did!!!

It's easy to meet people in Mamou and maybe
especially at Mardi Gras. And certainly at 
Fred's Lounge!

These four photos are all at Fred's Lounge.

The band was great - Zydeco or Cajun but
all good.

Our first event was a Pig Roast at Bernard and Rubia's good friend Mark's home. There was wonderfully dressed up crowd as you can see from my photos. And they worked on getting us into the spirit of Mardi Gras. Various bling was donated for the event to us. The roast pig was delicious and we met so many fun people. We loved getting to know Bernard's wife Rubia and all their friends.

Our next day was choreographed by our hosts and we danced to the tunes. We spent the morning in Mamou, a small town with a heart and Fred's . They are normally only open all day Saturdays but for Mardi Gras, they open Monday as well, from 9 AM to 5 PM. And the place was hopping at 11 when we arrived and we made new friends immediately. Dancing to Zydeco or Cajun is similar to jitterbug but a bouncier two step. And everyone dances all day and night! There were several food trucks for lunch - boudin, sausage/beans/rice and Cajun tacos for us. We brought some of it back along with some amazing crawfish bisque that we enjoyed the next day. 

These fellows were making boudin, the one on
the left was using his hands to mix up the stuffing,
a blend of pork mixed with onions, peppers,
seasoning and cooked rice. We're at Lakeview now.

Andouille sausages being smoked and grilled.

The crowd gathered around the chickens for the Chicken Drop - lots of money on the line for shit.

This is the barn venue at Lakeview, or a part of it. 

Then we were off to our next stop - Lakeview RV Resort. They have a big event barn with more live music, dancing and a Charcuterie. We were too early and already full for this meal but enjoyed watching the men making boudin and smoking sausages and pork of al types. There was a lively crowd around the Chicken Drop arena. People bet on which square the first chicken will poop!! Really!

Ren and Heather at the Whirlybird gallery

Bernard and Rubia on the dance floor

And the day wasn't over. We had a few hours back at our RV to rest and change for the evening. Bernard wangled tickets for us to the Lundi Gras at the Whirlybird.  This is a big compound with an Airbnb, B&B, a art gallery and studio, and an event space - another barn look alike. "Knock 3 times and whisper low", we were sent by Bernard! We arrived early as recommended before the music began and at first were worried we were in the right place. It seemed dark and not many cars were parked. But a lamp lighted path led us behind the main house and we met the owners, Jim & Christie greeting people. They suggested we tour the gallery and we met the artist if residence there, Ren, who was giving a class in Tibetan flag making! Looked like fun. Scott bought a wonderful blue shirt with embroidered sunflowers that she made. Then we moved into the big barn and the band was already jamming with lots of dancers. We managed to get one seat and later added a second. We took turns resting with Bernard and Rubia. 

It was hard to get photos that night at the Whirlybird but it was an amazing place and evening.

The next day we had our schedule mapped out for us. We met Bernard and Rubia at Iota and although it's a small town, it's a big celebration. Most of the main street was cordoned off with two stages and tons of food and other vendors. We sat next to the main stage (we brought chairs) in the sun and watched the band, dancers and all the crowd. This was a family event and at around 1:30 the kids from the community took the stage. They are fully costumed as you can see from the photos and parade and dance around while gathering the coins that the audience throws. Its a hoot and everyone had fun. 

We were supposed to go on from here to D.I.'s Restaurant for more music and dancing into the night but we begged off. Exhaustion had set in. And we were seeing Bernard and Rubia again on Thursday so we bade farewell to Mardi Gras...for this year. 

The highlight of the time in Iota was the children's
parade.

The costume were all different and elaborate!

After the march there was a scramble for the tossed
coins.

Often they just stood against the edge of the stage
and pointed at their hand. The money was collected
by adults and went to some charity.

Sometimes the masks were a little frightening!

There was some dancing as well. You can see the
fringe here which ornamented most costumes as
it was a theme for this year.

Here's a section of the crowd at Iota.

A view from the stage

Bernard and Rubia's masks on!