February 15, 2010


Bright and early on Monday morning, we were on our way to St. Bernard State Park, south of New Orleans. When we were checking in, we noticed a sign on the wall that said, “Katrina High Water Mark” and it was 2 feet over my head. I cannot even begin to imagine what is was like to experience Katrina.

It did not take long before we were driving through the Ninth Ward on our way to St. Charles in downtown New Orleans or as the locals call it, N’Awlins. As we looked for a place to park, a guy pulled out of a great spot right on the parade route. We could hardly believe our good fortune. We staked our spot with our cooler near the curb and went for a walk down St. Charles, finding a great restaurant for dinner. Many families had tents and tables set up on the trolley tracks and spend the night to be there for the big Krewe of Zulu parade that starts at 8 am on Fat Tuesday. People had tall ladders set up with a box on top for their little kids so they could see.

As we found our way back to our spot, we could see the NOPD motorcycle cops leading the parade, hear the marching bands, and see the elaborate floats of the Krewe of Proteus, the Sheppard of the Sea.

 It is second oldest Krewe and began parading in 1882. Most of the Krewes make their own floats, costumes and have a unique theme each year. It is amazing the number of parades that are scheduled from January 6th to Fat Tuesday on February 16th.

We had heard that the Krewes will toss you beads if you hold up a sign saying where you are from. I remembered that we had an extra Alaska license plate with us and that did the trick. I felt like a 10 year old little kid, collecting as many beads, cups, and baubles as possible. Sometimes a Krewe member would call me over to give me some special beads. We were so impressed with the size and detail of the floats. Next time we will make a point of seeing some parades in the daylight.

The next parade was the Krewe of Orpheus, based on a character in Greek mythology that illustrates the power of music. This is one of the larger parades and was started by Harry Connick, Jr., among others.

 In fact, he was on one of the floats, as well as Sean Payton, head coach of the Saints. When the Coach passed by, the crowds went wild, yelling and flashing their “Who Dat” signs. After 30 floats and almost as many marching bands, the parade came to an end. As we were getting ready to leave, one little girl from a group of kids that I had been sharing my beads with and giving them the stuffed animals that I caught, gave me a headband with little bouncing balls on it. She was so sweet and it touched my heart. I hauled my full bag of beads back to the truck and we were on our way to the campsite. We were talking about the parade and did not notice that our“Garmin” was taking us on a different route home. Suddenly, she said, “board ferry”. Of course, I immediately got on Google Maps to see that we were crossing the Mississippi River on a ferry that cost $1 and the other side, to our relief, was close to St. Bernard State Park.

On Fat Tuesday, we woke to sunshine and to the lovely melodies of several cardinal songbirds. We would have loved to relax at the campsite, but Bourbon Street was calling.

 As we got close, we found a secure parking place for $20 and walked a couple of blocks enjoying the costumed revelers along the way.

 As we turned the corner onto Bourbon Street, we could see the crowds and knew that it was going to be wild. The streets were packed with people celebrating, buying “huge ass beers” from the outside bars, and of course, "flashing".

 All of the balconies were full of partying people throwing beads, especially if those down below would flash and show a little flesh.

We walked the length of Bourbon and saw some unbelievable sights…unique and sometimes outrageous costumes, music playing at all the bars, and lots of happy Saints fans.

 At the intersection of each block, there were groups of men with signs and megaphones telling everyone that they are evil and going to hell. Talk about a dichotomy!

 Mardi Gras is something that everyone should do at least once!

Wednesday, was a day to relax, read, hike, and enjoy the sunshine. We met two young couples from London driving a 1964 red double-decker bus, towing an old London taxi. They had it shipped over to the east coast and will be spending the next year touring the US. Unfortunately for them, they can only go 35 mph! That evening before we built our campfire, we spotted an armadillo and about 40 wild rabbits.

Since we were in the relaxing groove, we decided to stay another day. Late on Thursday afternoon, we went to Jackson Square, walked around, and made our way back over to Bourbon Street to listen to a little jazz, some blues, and some Zydeco at the Opera House. It was fast, wild, and unique, especially the rub-board or vest frottoir, from the Cajun-Creole French meaning ,“vest to be rubbed”. To listen to the Zydeco band that we heard, click here.
We left energized and thrilled that we decided to stay one more night. We made our way back to Jackson Square stopping occasionally to listen to a street musician.

 It was a great evening, but we had to head to the 5th wheel to pack up for our early morning departure to Palatka, Florida.