I decided to give you an update before the final culmination that is Fat Tuesday. In all of this Mardi Gras-ing I did realize that it is much easier to give up something during Lent after participating in Mardi Gras. I am also having flash-backs to my undergrad years and the visits to K-State... Anyway, the festivities started again last Thursday (We got a day break last Wednesday from parading), we went back to our friend's office (Hargrove) on the parade route up on the balcony. I forgot the camera, so sorry no pics. One of the things that they were throwing besides the usual beads and moon pies was rolled up calenders. I caught the Anne Geddes one and another one caught was a kitten calendar. Hello, random. :)
Oh! Our friend, Paula, was handing out feather boas and decided that I needed one, so she returned to the balcony with an electric blue one for me. Being the nice person that I am, I wore the boa for the rest of the parade, even though they aren't really my thing... After the parade, I took off the boa and realized that my hands were blue...and so was my neck! I looked as if I had been attacked by a smurf! It had even turned my fleece jacket a brighter shade of blue. After I got home and 4 biore cleansing cloths later, I wasn't so blue and luckily the shower the next morning removed the rest out of my hairline. Needless to say, the lesson learned, was stay clear of the feather boas unless you are trying to dye your skin/clothes.
Friday night we returned to Hargrove (free food and beer) and this time decided to try our luck at street level. We had another fun evening, and since our friend Amanda fractured her foot last weekend, we were using her crutch to get the beads that didn't quite make it to the barricade. We finished the night at our favorite coffee/gelato/beer spot. (Strawberry chocolate chip gelato goes quite nicely with Peroni.)
The parades started at noon on Saturday, so we arrived about 11:30 to our usual spot in front of the Presbyterian Church which is only 2 blocks from Andy's office for easy access. The first parade was the Floral Parade which was all kids and teenagers. All of the floats had to have a floral theme and it was cute to watch all of the kids throwing the beads. We then went home to visit Stella and rest a bit before the evening's festivities.
We were invited to the Mystics of Time ball, so we dressed up and headed to the parade before the ball. The MOT's are known for their dragon floats. They have 3 dragon floats named: Verna, Dean and Vernadean... We then went to the ball and after the "call outs" which all members of the crew come onto the dance floor and bow to the King and Queen. The king was "Father Time" who managed to have a 20 year old Queen. She had this great train on her dress, so here is a pic of that. The craziest part about the call outs, is that each member must bow to the King and Queen and then threw doubloons (Coins with the crew theme and logo). They are metal, so I am sure after being pelted with 1000s of them, they probably had a few bruises the next day, but that is a sign of respect...I guess. This ball was very fun and they had brought in a band called the Velcro Pygmies. They were a "Hair Band" cover band, so they were hilarious. If Josh and Ryann haven't seen them, they must! Check out their website to see their outfits www.velcropygmies.com
Sunday is supposed to be the biggest Mardi Gras day in Mobile. It is called Joe Cain day with the people's parades. Joe Cain was credited with bringing back Mardi Gras to Mobile after the Civil War. He started it back by parading down the streets of Mobile in costume. Now it is a really fun parade with over 30 floats. The crew parades usually have a marching band between each float and this parade had the floats right after one another. They are more low-budget, and more risque. I still didn't see too much craziness, but it was very fun. You had to keep your head up at all times as to not get any beads to the face. :) Before the parade, lots of people go to Joe Cain's house and the widows of Joe Cain come and throw black beads to the crowd. It was very interesting and we definitely need to get there earlier next year. We were too far away to catch anything or to hear the presentation.
After that parade, we had to get home to Stella, and didn't think we could get back for the parade at 5:30, so we decided to stay home. It was nice to relax and then I was sucked into the Academy awards. I guess I need to see Slumdog Millionaire, since they received lots of awards last night. Happy Mardi Gras and I know you will be waiting in anticipation for the final installment!
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