Mardi Gras 2012

In Brazil, the entire country shuts down for Carnaval/ Mardi Gras.  To the best of my knowledge, only a select part of our great country truly celebrates Mardi Gras. The area includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama- centered around the central party area of New Orleans.  Well, since I live in North Carolina, I guess I better make my way down there.  

On board for the trip

Kristi Spartz, Meggan Lytle, Lindsey Shaw, and risen from the dead, you know him from the road trip, the legendary driver, Allen Bradley.

I attended Mardi Gras last year, and vowed to go every year until I died.  Mardi Gras weekend runs from Friday until Fat Tuesday. Last year I arrived on Saturday afternoon- just in time to get stuck in the incoming traffic.  This year, the plan was to arrive on Friday afternoon.  The drive is about 12 hours, so in order to arrive on Friday afternoon, looks like we're leaving on Thursday night at midnight.  Allen took the wheel in Marion and drove us all the way to New Orleans.  The girls slept in the back, while I stayed awake the whole time and guided us there.

To get from North Carolina to Louisiana, you get the privilege of driving through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.  These states are awful to drive through- nothing along the route to New Orleans is in the least bit exciting, but hey, at least everyone in Alabama drives fast.

The only way to describe Mardi Gras is pure chaos.  I'm not exactly sure how things operate in New Orleans during regular business hours, but from Friday afternoon until Tuesday night, it's a madhouse.  The streets are packed from noon until the wee hours of the morning.  Parades start on Saturday and increase exponentially until Fat Tuesday when they start in the morning and end around 10 pm.  The protocol for Mardi Gras is basically wandering around in the afternoon, laying low in the late afternoon and spending some time in the casino and then getting back to the streets for the night shift.  If you have time to eat or sleep, that's great. 

Some observations from Mardi Gras.  

1.  The only rule of Mardi Gras is that you can't pee on the streets.  This may seem pretty mundane, but I have seen more arrests for public urination than anything else.  Other than that, anything else goes.  I have seen some cops shrug off some pretty crazy stuff.  

2.  There aren't open container laws on the streets.  I have seen (but wouldn't recommend) people walking around with entire bottles of liquor and cases of beer on Bourbon St.  If that isn't your thing, a cold 24 oz brew is pretty nice.  

3.  Bourbon St. is the place to be.  Our hotel was conveniently located 2 blocks from the start of Bourbon.  I have seen estimations that the 2012 attendance was anywhere from 350,000 to close to a million people.  A mil might be pushing it, but I would believe half a mil.  

4.  While most people protesting these days claim to be part of the 99%, a very small group of people were actually protesting on Bourbon St.  I have no doubt that they had good intentions but are we sure this was worth their time?  I mean, you don't see people going to the Super Bowl to protest football.  My guess is, their message did not reach very many people.  

    

5.  Many people wear costumes on the streets.  This guy definitely had the best one.

6.  This guy was pretty cool, too.  Not only could he sing, but he played the bango, the drums, and the harmonica.... all at the same time.

7.  You gotta feel for the city and what they have been through.  If you drive in from the east, you take a bridge right into the city.  From the bridge, you can see the outskirts of the city where houses are completely abandoned.  You can spot moss and grass growing on the rooftops from the aftermath of Katrina.  Some of these houses were almost completely underwater.  The fact that New Orleans can still host a couple hundred thousand people a few years removed from the hurricane is unreal.  

8.  The Gulf Coast region is certainly not the prettiest region in the country, but the city of New Orleans is pretty cool.  The Mississippi River runs right through it, the downtown area is nice, and the European influence can be seen in the French Quarter.  

The Mississippi River

Downtown

A street in the French Quarter

9.  The Parades are fun, but after about the 25th one, you have seen enough.  On Fat Tuesday, the parades run all day.  This is fun and all, until you have to wait 30 minutes for a break in the parade to cross the street, or you get hit by something thrown from a float.  On the floats, people are throwing beads and other itmes to the crowd on the street, and the goal is to get the most beads.  Most people would just catch as many beads as possible with their hands.  The ladies below took it a step further.  

Turn your umbrella inside out and catch as many beads as possible.  

If the umbrella isn't your thing, try the net.

10.  At midnight on Fat Tuesday, and literally, exactly at midnight, the cops align at the beginning of Bourbon St. and attempt to stop the madness.  The blue lights come on and a row of cops on horses as wide as the street slowly make their way through the crowd to break up everything.  It is the unofficial, abrupt end to Mardi Gras, but hey, if you have anything left in the tank by Tuesday at midnight, you're a better man than I am.  

If you were wondering about my casino adventures, I have no good stories for you- I'll admit I lost a few bucks.  However, my 2nd trip to Las Vegas might entertain you, but hey, we'll talk about that one later.    

RIP JHW 3