We're in Lent, now, and Paul's eagerly coloring a square a day on our little calendar & glueing a cotton ball a day onto our "Lenten Lamb" until Easter. We're going simple with food, doing the KC fish fry on Fridays, and having donuts after Mass on Sundays ... because Sundays don't count.
And Ada's close to a walk, standing unaided for 10+ seconds like a champ.
But before all that came Mardi Gras! And not the drunken fiasco most people envision. Of course, there is drinking, and some people go too far, yes. But it's awesome for kids! Here's how we celebrated our very first Mardi Gras as New Orleanians.
General info
Ginny & Ryan arrived midday Friday in order to spend Friday night's Hermes & Saturday morning's NOMTOC and evening's Endymion with us. They had to go back, begrudgingly, before Bacchus on Sunday evening, but they Mardi Gras'd pretty hard and had a good experience of it. There were also a few things we had been learning from friends and neighbors about how to "do Mardi Gras" here, including how to set up & where, and we were thankful for the tips. #1, Kelly, another Point mom & friend who'd recently moved over here from Uptown, lent us her currently-being-renovated-2blks-off-the-parade-route-key so that we would have bathroom access. #2, she told me to go ahead and use the ladder (nice offer, but I didn't realize how rockin' awesome an offer it was til I saw the ladder and realized it's not just any ladder but a ladder with a kid-container on top!) #3, bikes. We biked across on the ferry and through the crowds with the kids in tow. It was honestly and really and terrifically the best way to get around. #4, unless you're at the start of the parade, a parade rolling at 6 does not mean you see it at 6; you set up by then, but where we were for 2 days, at St. Charles Ave & Washington, we had about an hour before seeing the first sirens and lights clearing the way for the parade. #5, snacks.
Friday the 13th
Gin & Ryan walked (poor things) while we rode our bikes to our spot right in front to watch Hermes. We cheersed, shared pizza, and laughed at the kiddos, making our first parade a huge success! Paul and Ada were in love with their kid-box ladder - they could see everything; Paul was in awe of just all of the stuff to see, the lights, the music, the costumes, the float designs. He very quickly learned "Throw me somethin', mista!" and was a pro come nightfall. And, boy, did he get some throws -- they love throwing to kids! Lil Miss Adeline was in music heaven; the float music, sure, but the bands - she loved the marching bands! Atta girl. She sat at the edge of her seat and watched and pointed at all the drumlines, but when the brass started blaring right in front of us, she clapped and bopped and laughed. Between the two of them, it was magic.
Then they sacked out in the Burley bike trailer. Since Dylan and I were under no time crunch to get home, we moseyed our bikes along St. Charles, seeing a bit of Krewe d'État, back into town and to the ferry. But not before, duh, having to cross the parade route in town. We found the official police-attended crosswalk, where folks would gather up to cross the street until there was a big enough gap in the parade, and we got squished through -- freedom on the other side! We both sighed relief when we exited the ferry on our side, thinking, wow, quiet & sanity. Got the kids in their beds, stayed up way too late (read: midnight) with Ginny & Ryan, and slept, refreshing ourselves for Day #2.
Saturday the 14th, Valentine's Day
New Orleans Most Talked Of Club, NOMTOC, is the Westbank's big to-do. And all the old guys at church were relishing telling us their stories and encouraging us to go. Taking in full stride that we're Westbankers, we put it on our list of must-sees. The route was super close to us, and we passed (Imma say it) the best poboys around on the way to the corner where we'd see it. Dylan and I split a crawfish poboy, Gin & Ryan had shrimp & hush puppies, as did the kids. This parade was a little more low-keyed than the bright lights from the night before, and it was daytime, so we had space to lay out a blanket to eat on, and then just stood in the street for the parade - no ladder boxes necessary. Paul stood next to me or on D's shoulders, and Ada had a turn on Papa's shoulders, too, when she wasn't in the Björn. We really loved this one, and it reminded me of Mardi Gras with my family down in Thibodaux almost 20 years ago. (Up to this point, I preferred that, almost, as it felt easier and a little more family friendly; read on, though, to Mardi Gras Day...)
We left around 2, when the kids got more needy (late night + no nap, yet), and switched gears, reloaded food and drinks, dropped off our throws to get back in the Burley (for naptime) / on our bikes for Endymion with Peter's gal, Serena ... and Peter! He wasn't supposed to be in town, but he surprised us, and the Braud kids + significant others were all together! This parade is on Canal St. rather than St. Charles Ave like all the others, and that's not the only way it's different. Endymion was flashy, loud, fast, and fun. We did not have access to our friend's house & ladder (different parade route, remember), so Paul was on Dylan, and Ada was on me the whole night. That was a much more minor thing, though, really, than I thought it'd be, and we had a ball! There was a big crowd of LSU med friends, and we were, at times, a good 15 people deep. Everyone was impressed with how well the kids were handling everything - the lights, the late, the noise, and Ada - in her bee costume facing outward in the carrier - got 3 people asking for a photo of us. She giggled and danced and clapped ... and pretty well won over the crowd. (Me inside: hooray for showing that people with kids & kids can have fun, too!)
That was a later night out, and the whole energy level was a bit more elevated than the 2 previous ones. Getting home, even on bikes, was a bit interesting. We passed street after street of parked-not-parked cars in traffic, ambulances, crowds on bikes, and we rode a little faster through a neighborhood or two before crossing that official crosswalk again. This time, there were pushers. In that moment, I thought of my Aunt Cyndi, who lives here in NOLA, who does not go out to play for Mardi Gras anymore, and her getting trampled story I'd like to hear more about. Anyway, having the bikes was a sort of double-edged sword because we got pushed around a little more because they're big and awkward, but I also felt a little more protected because I couldn't actually get knocked over. There were about 300 people trying to cross one 20ft section of a street a.s.a.p. in both directions. I even called out "Watch it, my babies are in there!" Anyway, we're all good. And we ended a second night with a big at-ease exhale on our Westbank-bound ferry.
Sunday the 15th
Ah, the joys of having children - we were up in time for 8am Mass. That left Ginny & Ryan a little more quiet time to sleep, but once Paul was back home and had had a piece of king cake already, he was ready to play with Tante Ginny & Uncle Ryan ... only they were most decidedly not ready for that. I kind of let Paul play at them, though, since, hey, that's what it's like when you stay with us, but I did draw the line when Paul started beating on a drum about 6 inches from Ryan's head. Sorry I didn't catch him sooner, Ryan ... he and Ginny suggested books to Paul instead. Paul said, deal ... read me one thousand books. Haha, ooh, goodness. They treated us to delivery pizza and slowly got their things ready to get back on the road. We all left the house at the same time that afternoon - they for Houston, and we for Bacchus on St. Charles.
It rolled in the late afternoon, but unlike Hermes on Friday, there was another parade directly before Bacchus, which means people were already set up. And lots and lots of people. We went to "our spot" and it was packed. We kind of found a nook on the streetcar line that would've sufficed, but we saw about a 2ft wide hole riiiight on the street; someone nearby heard that we were contemplating that spot and said "You set up, you gone get shot" ... alright, alright. I mean, he wasn't threatening to shoot us, but, in hindsight, I wonder what he actually was saying. Anyway, we're newbies, I get it, but it's funny feeling possessive about a little strip of grass for a few hours. A lady on the other side of us overheard us, and she invited us to put up our ladder in that little hole, saying that's her family's spot, and she wants us there, "We got da whole row here, you just go der and have fun". So we went, and had fun. (Minor annoyance and shrug-point was that about 3 11/12 yr old girls behind us on little step ladders kept calling out to the floats "Throw behind the big ladder!!" Sigh.) Peter and Serena were at a party just 5 or 6 houses down from us, so they watched the first half with us - really fun! They shared our (Ginny's) pizza, and helped me finish a ginormous king cake I'd bought Friday. And Bacchus' theme was children's stories!! It was precious seeing Paul point out "Pooh!" and "Cat in Hat!" And I loved the Harry Potter float, of course. We crossed St. Charles at a less-travelled spot than downtown and made it home with no stories to tell.
Monday, Dylan went to work, and we took a break. Chill out at home day!
Tuesday the 17th, Mardi Gras Day!
Early to rise! We packed pancakes, coffee, and hot coco in the Burley along with two very bundled children and hit the ferry in time to watch Zulu come down the street around 8am. And just in time, too. We were riding on Baronne (where Kelly's house & ladder are), and we were one major street from Washington when we had to cross ... a parade? We asked a man standing next to us which parade this was ... "Zulu, man!" It was coming down a cross street we didn't expect, ha! So, we stopped right where we were and stood in the intersection for our first Zulu. It was gorgeous! I loved the Indians' costumes, the music was fab, and we caught a few coconuts! In fact, that same man said his wife's sister marches in Zulu, and she gave us our first coconut ... then 2 others were given to Dylan when he had one or the other kid on his shoulders - seriously, they love the kids. This was the first parade we didn't plan on meeting up with anyone. Other families and Peter & Serena didn't do the early morning, but we ran into friends from down the street! New Orleans is the biggest small town. Besides, to me, it seems the most traditional of all on Mardi Gras day to wake up for Zulu and follow with:
Rex, the Carnival King. Rex did not disappoint. I wonder if it was the tradition, or the early morning, or the daylight instead of night+flash, or maybe it was just too cold this year for many, but I. loved. Rex. Seems if ever the word "classy" could be tied to anything Mardi Gras at all, which is debatable, it'd be Rex. The parade overall was shorter, the floats were more approachable (read: smaller scale), there wasn't any bling, just prettily decorated floats and costumed riders, everything was very orderly and smooth, and they're the ones who make you learn to catch. OK, so there's this thing with Mardi Gras that you can't pick up beads or anything from the ground; you're supposed to catch stuff, and if it falls, you leave it for lost. I dunno, but that's a thing. And Rex has uniquely designed beads in a tiny bag for each float, like - this is the Boston Tea Party float, so there's a bead, a cup, etc, from that float with the Boston Tea Party logo thing on them and if you don't get one as it passes, you don't get one. Makes it kind of collectors-y, ya know. Anyway, there's a medallion on each float's bead that cracked if it hit the ground!! So, you had to catch or it'd break! There were also tons of riding lieutenants, which are the men in gorgeous purple, green, and gold capes and masks on horses just strolling through who give out doubloons, my fave. I asked for one, and he threw it to me, but with my mittens on, I stumbled and dropped it. He shouted out "Ya gotta catch it!" Alright, alright, Rex, I'll try harder next year!
Then we caught an hour or so of the trucks parade which has big ol' 18-wheelers decorated in kitsch with loud uhns-ts-uhn-ts music throwing kitsch, which is all kinda fun, but we'd had enough, I think, and the kids were done by then. Cold day, outta food, ready for naps. I think we did it well!
We came home, sorted through all our throws, made piles to be sent outta state, and had Mexican for dinner. Since Dylan and I have been married, I've always tried to have the most cajun meal with king cake on Mardi Gras day, and now we're here, we were outta king cake, and I couldn't cook anything delicious quick enough, bizarre. In hindsight, that's what our chill-out Monday's gonna be for - making Tuesday night's delicious meal. All in all, I'd say we had a wonderful first year here - family, friends, kids, & bikes -- all great! (Mom & Dad had such FOMO*, they've already decided to come next year.)
*fear of missing out
After Mardi Gras, everything purple, green, and gold got packed away, Paul and I made a couple of crowns of thorns from our dead ivy/creeper in the garden, and we got our ashes to begin Lent.
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