February 20-22: Mardi Gras in New Orleans



We decided to go to Mardi Gras this year with some friends. Alot of people asked me, "you're going to Mardi Gras??? With your kids????" But it was actually really fun... we'd never been before and had a great time with our friends. We were so grateful to be able to stay with Jake's parents, and they showed us real southern hospitality. The drive that was supposed to take about 5 hours, actually took more than seven due to traffic. We were travelling over the Atchafalaya swamp, on these bridges, and I have severe bridge phobia so it was a good thing it was dark. We finally made it and the next morning headed downtown with the ladders and the food and all the enthusiasm we had to catch some beads.
They are yelling, "throw me some beads!" The people on the parade floats really favored cute children and so we ended up with a ton of stuff. You have to be careful, I got whacked more than once in the face with not just beads, but stuffed animals, plastic cups, etc.) We didn't realize all the other stuff we might be able to catch (and also get whacked in the face with). In addition to favoring cute children, they also favored people who could bust a move, so Chad really challenged his previous motto, "I don't dance." Watch out, you might catch him on the next season of So You Think You Can Dance, cause he really had some moves. Its weird, because, at the time, when all the stuff is getting thrown from the parade floats, you really want it, but then after you bring home ten large canvas bags full of beads and miscellaneous stuff, you wonder why you wanted it so much. That evening, we had grilled and boiled shrimp and crawfish and IBC root beer. It was SO good. If Chad's dancing career with SYTYCD doesn't pan out, he might try to become a shrimp eating model.

Later that night, we went into town again to get some beignets, something new for me, which ended up tasting kind of like a funnel cake. We ate them with hot chocolate and they were really good.

On Sunday, we attended church with Jake's family, and it was actually really neat to be in such a small building and in such a small branch... there were some colorful charaters, but it's nice to see the church is the same wherever you go. That afternoon, we had more yummy food, this time, crawfish etouffe and jambalaya. Once again, SOO good. As we were leaving, I really felt like I got the comprehensive New Orleans experience... (minus the booze and obscenity). It was really fun, and I hope we can go back again next year.