We arrived at Fontainebleau state park in Mandeville, LA. on Wednesday 2 -19. Fontainebleau state park is 45 minutes from New Orleans and Mardi Gras on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. The previous night I twisted my ankle quite badly while taking out Pebbles and Bam-Bam, my dogs.

So a couple of days of rest and elevation was in order before we could head to Mardi Gras. Being sure to bring plenty of Aleve we headed to New Orleans on Friday 2-21 the Friday before Fat Tuesday. We arrived in New Orleans at Harrah’s after being told by a fellow camper to go to the casino to park. Unfortunately, the parking deck for the casino was underground and the clearance was not high or wide enough for our truck. Luckily there was an outdoor parking lot 1 block away from the casino so we parked there. Then walked towards the French Quarter.

The first order of business was to find Cafe du Monde and get some beignets. For those of you who don’t know about Cafe du Monde go to our blog about our experience there. After the cafe, we walked towards the French Market. This was a covered outdoor market that had everything from local crafters goods to souvenir shop finds. On our way further into the french quarter towards bourbon street, we came across a walking parade of musicians playing jazz music followed by several walkers all dressed up in elaborate costumes for mardi gras. Only walking parades are allowed in the French Quarter. To see any of the other big parades we had to head towards uptown.

Bourbon Street

Bourbon street was a mass of drunk party-goers some worse off than others. Beads and other trinkets were being thrown from the balconies, no show was required to obtain a strand of beads or two. However, not all party goers abided by this rule. Both male and female were flashing their chests and one partygoer gave the audience a full moon. As Tim put it, there were some things he didn’t want to see, and others I didn’t want him to see. I will add, better prizes were given out to those who let their wild side hang out.

The street was littered with beads, trinkets, empty bottles and cans, and other garbage. You have to watch your step or it would be easy to slip and fall, especially on the beads. The party on bourbon street was at least five blocks long and at the end of each block was a group of religious zealots with megaphones ready to pray for your soul during the madness of Mardi Gras. I wonder if they ever get any takers?

Mardi Gras Krews

The Mardi Gras celebration starts on the Twelfth Night because it marks the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas and continues until Fat Tuesday. For weeks up until Fat Tuesday, lively parades and street parties are put on by the several Krews throughout the city of New Orleans and surrounding communities. A Krew is an organization in New Orleans or a surrounding community that supports a local cause or a gathering of like-minded people. Attached is a link of all the parade Krewes in New Orleans.

There are ancient Krewes from the origin of Mardi Gras, the Krew of Rex and the Krew of Zulu, to the Krew of Chewbacchus a sci-fi themed Mardi Gras Krew. They even have a couple of Krews for dogs, The Krew of Barkus and the Krew of de Paws of Olde Towne. All the Krews parade through New Orleans on a specific day and time. There is even a parade tracker app you can download so you can follow the progress of the parade. The day before we visited New Orleans the Krews who were to roll on Thursday night were canceled due to high winds. So they were postponed until Friday. So we were in luck and would be able to see five different Krews when we went uptown to see the parades.

Krew of Muses Parade

The Krew of Muses was to roll at 4:45 pm. We arrived at 6:00 and they had yet to arrive at our spot on the parade route. The parade route for most uptown Mardi Gras parades runs mainly along St. Charles Ave. The Krew of Muses is named after the daughter of Zeus. In mythology, muses were patrons of the arts and sciences as well as inspiration for artists, poets, philosophers, and musicians. The Krew of Muses consists of 1118 female riders on 26 parade floats. Following is a video of just one Muses parade float. I could only videotape one float because I needed to be able to catch the throws.

As you can see from the previous video, the crowd goes crazy for all the throws during the parade. The throws are what krew members on floats throw to parade-goers. Throws are usually beads, cups, trinkets, and toys.

I will say New Orleans knows how to have a parade. All the major businesses along the parade route erect grandstand seating and charge a premium for the seats. One hotel was charging $65 per person and the prices went up each night as Fat Tuesday approached. Some of the New Orleans parade-goers made viewing stands for their kids. These are typically a step ladder with a wooden platform attached with seat belts. The platform was decorated with a Mardi Gras theme and had wheels on the platform to move it around. Unfortunately, I did not think to get a picture of the stands, but you can find several examples on Pinterest by searching ‘ladder stands for Mardi Gras’. After standing around for a couple of hours and seeing only a few floats we decided to head back.

A Return Trip

We really enjoyed ourselves and planned on going back but the parking fee changed our minds. It cost us $45 dollars to park! We may have found something cheaper, but we were happy to find a spot that the truck would fit in.

Unfortunately, we did not make it back down to Mardi Gras because I came down with a nasty cold that took me out of commission until Wednesday. We also planned on going to Mardi Gras celebrations in other towns but didn’t make it because of my cold. So maybe next year, now that we are older and wiser we will head back.

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