Beads
Beads
Beads
It's Mardi Gras time in the south. Chuck had never been to one of the parades before. We went online to check and see if there were some good ones close to us this weekend and found lots to choose from. Now which ones do we pick? Our first choice was the one just up the road in the Pensacola. We got there about 5:00 Friday evening. We found an excellent parking place right on the parade route. Of course the parade didn't start till 8:00 so that might explain it. Waiting for the parade to start we walked all thru the historic district and down to the marina at the end of Palafax. We got to see some really super boats, or maybe you call them yachts. They were impressive. By the time we got back to our car it was almost 6:00 and CJ had time for a short nap before the parade started. As soon as the fence people closed off the street by our car we got out and took our place right next to the fence. We had perfect spots to watch the parade. I took some pictures but they didn't come out so well in the dark. At the very beginning of the parade one of the policemen dumped his motorcycle right across from where we were standing and that stopped the parade for a bit. Once things got rolling we caught a whole bag full of beads and toys and candy. Chuck even managed to catch me a lighted superball. After the parade we drove thru Pace and ate at the Whataburger. Now that's one really good fast food hamburger place. Especially the french fries! It was after 11:00 by the time we got home. That's pretty late for us old farts to be out wandering around. We went straight to bed and got up at 7am to get ready and head back into Pensacola to meet our friends Laura and Dave and their grandson Jay Jay. We all headed to Mobile Alabama to enjoy the parade there. Again, we arrived early and got excellent parking places right on the parade route. There was a huge crowd. Thousands of people crowd into Mobile to watch from the birthplace of the parades. There were 2 parades in one starting at noon. Jay and I both filled up our bags with lots of goodies. Chuck and Laura and Dave were helping us catch the tropheys. As soon as the parades were over we hit the streets to scavege goodies left behind. We were even lucky enough to find several coins. Laura had to get a picture of Jay and I when we were done. I've included it in our film strip below. We look like a couple clowns with all our beads and goofy hats. When we left Mobile we stopped at Daphne and checked out the Mardi Gras store called Toomey's. As if I didn't have enough beads, I had to buy some more. We stopped in Fairhope for dinner and then headed for home. Two whipped puppies. It's been such a full week for us old retired folks. We were out and going every day. Monday we went to Walton Beach to Sams Club with our neighbor Glenn. Tuesday we went to Navarre Beach to spend the day and visit my great aunt Charlene. Wednesday we went to Best Buy in Pensacola and stopped off to see Dave and Laura. Thursday we went shopping in Crestview for warm parade coats and groceries. Thursday nite we had big storms moving thru with rain and wind. I was running back and forth doing the laundry thru it all. Friday and Saturday were filled with the parades and today, CJ was outside washing the coach. In fact lots of people were taking advantage of the warm sunshine to wash and wax their coaches. All week long was pretty chilly with frost everynight but by Saturday it had warmed up and was a wonderful week end with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures. Tomorrow we'll put the awnings back out and bring the hanging plants back out. Tonight after supper the campground is having a campfire across the lane from our coach. That should be fun. I'll have to send CJ to the store for the marshmallows.
Click on the link for Parade pictures.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=enxxrx4.iys2btk&x=0&y=h41qsw
Here's some pictures of CJ washing the coach and roof.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=enxxrx4.mbf77iw&x=0&y=-60ltm5
Link to Fat Tuesday Parade Pictures in Mobile Alabama (added 2/5/07)
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=enxxrx4.190hdqug&x=0&y=-gxxfvt
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=enxxrx4.190hdqug&x=0&y=-gxxfvt
A few links that tell about the history of Mardi Gras and what it symbolizes
1 comment:
We enjoyed watching the Great Coach Wash. Sure, we'll have to do it too sooner or later, but we elected for later since this quadrant of the park was already using pretty much of the available water ;-)
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