The People of Mardi Gras

As noted in the last post we spent the first big weekend of Mardi Gras in New Orleans and then moved west to Houma. In trying to come up with a way to convey the feel of Mardi Gras in Louisiana I decided to focus more on the people than the bands and floats and such. The people, especially in New Orleans, really love to dress up and throw a party. Some of the people in the following pics are probably wearing what you might see them in on a random Wednesday afternoon but I still found them photo worthy....whatever that means.

These first 2 pics show the ladders that you see lining the route before the parades. These give a nice vantage point for the little ones out of the crowd. In the 2nd pic you can see a bag hanging on the side to collect the trinkets.

 

The following are just some random people who may or may not be dressed for the party...

OK...the King and Queen were in costume, the rest....not so sure...

Houma was a bit of a different party but still a great party. There were parades almost every day we were there and we found a great pub along the route which gave us a place to duck inside and take a break. 

Past King Walks

Current King Rides

Geaux Tigers!

Even though we weren't actively jumping up and down for trinkets we still walked away with a fair amount of stuff. I guess we're set for next Mardi Gras....wherever it may be!

Next post we'll cover a bit about the trip to Houma, visitors we've had and St. Patrick's Day...yet another reason to throw a party!! Stay Tuned.

Lake Pontchartrain and a Visit

My sister Kathy flew into New Orleans to spend a week touring Lake Pontchartrain with us. It was more about the visit and Jill getting some girl time than the trip really….

Kathy got in Sunday night so we spent Monday in New Orleans and went into town for a bit then provisioned for the week. Tuesday we crossed the lake to the north shore and the town of Madisonville. On a clear day you can see the high-rises across the lake but Madisonville is a whole other world. Their town dock charges $20 a night with power and is paid at city hall.

We were greeted by some folks measuring the dock for their Mardi Gras boat parade and they really wanted us to stay till the weekend and join in, it was tempting. Next morning we woke to keys left on our side deck to a truck parked nearby and a note to help ourselves…what a great town and people!! We didn’t need the truck to explore the town but really appreciate the gesture. We did tour a nice museum giving the history of the lake and how it has effected the towns around it through history. The building is raised and the area underneath is a shop devoted to building and restoring wooden boats. The town hosts a wooden boat festival in the fall that is supposed to be fantastic.

We spent 2 nights in Madisonville and then moved east back to Slidell. The entrance to the Tchefuncte (cha-funk-ta) River and the town of Madisonville is tricky and it was nice to be guided in by the lighthouse even in the daytime.

After Slidell we had to exit the east side of the lake and enter the intercostal waterway for the trip into the industrial canal and New Orleans. As we passed under the I-10 bridge we saw some nice detail that people driving on the bridge have no idea is there.

Along the ICW we passed through part of the new flood wall system that completely circles the city. Hopefully this will prevent the flooding that Katrina brought to the city when the next one hits. 

Once in the industrial canal we were treated to the sight of PT 305 going through her sea trials before moving to the lake and giving rides. It’s part of the National WW II museum and the story about her restoration can be read here.

Saturday morning we headed into town to catch our first real New Orleans Mardi Gras parade. This was the weekend before the big Mardi Gras weekend so the crowds and parades were much smaller, fine with us! Kathy got into the spirit and took tons of pictures and caught some beads (OK, we all did).

I’m saving Mardi Gras for its own post, can’t do it justice otherwise. We did get a bonus night with Kathy when her flight was cancelled. Unfortunately, it was the NBA All Star weekend in town so no other flights were available till Monday. Oh well, roll with it!

Jill & I left New Orleans Wednesday and headed west to Houma LA for Mardi Gras weekend and Fat Tuesday, done well, but without the crowds of New Orleans. That’ll be for the next post as well. I’ll leave with a couple more pictures of the girls and their Mardi Gras bounty.