Recovery Time
Mardi Gras 2007 is officially over and has been over for several days. I am just now starting to feel "normal" I don't even know where to start. I guess starting way back about 2 weeks ago. Because that is what started it all in full swing.
Friday Feb 9th. I got off work and ran down to the quarter to catch a bit of the Krewe of Cork parade. That looks like a good krewe to be part of! Dancing through the quarter in costume drinking wine. The band consisted of a few people I knew, Leroy, Katja and Mark Braud. Some friends caught up with me as well in the quarter. When the walking parade was done we headed out to Matty's house which isn't that far off the parade route. It became a gathering place. Food and booze were collected then we headed on off to catch the evening parades. We then decided to go to the Maple Leaf for an AMAZING night of music and celebration.
Saturday Feb 10th Kristen and I decided to go downtown to watch the parades so we would be closer to the ferry to Old Point. We caught about 4 floats of the first parade then we had to leave, we wanted to make it across the river before the Orpheus Open House ended. We just barely made it. Appetizers and drinks were consumed at the Dry Dock Bar with our dear B.R. friends. We then all headed back to Matty's to hang out and wait for the evening parades. We ended up missing the parades, and that was just okay. We did make it out to Le Bon Temps to see Big Sam that night. Talk about crazy packed. Le Bon Temps isn't that big to begin with. I thought for awhile it was just me getting old and not liking the crowds, but it was REALLY packed.
Sunday Feb 11th We watched the parades out on St. Charles. This was a special day as my dear friends got engaged this day. There were a TON of people out there to witness the event, Megan had NO clue it was going to happen at all. A ring box was tossed off the float during King Arthur, it was a quick swap with the real ring box with the ring, next thing Megan knew (she was trying to get beads from their friends riding) Andy was on bended knee presenting the ring. Needless to say we didn't see much of the rest of that parade!!
Monday Feb 12th. Recovery day. I was going to do laundry this day and start cleaning as family was arriving soon. I made Kristen do her laundry first.
Tuesday Feb 13th. 3:00 AM tornado rips through the neighborhood. We lost the balcony roof, shattered windows (the one in my room is not repaired yet not that I am complaining) We spent all day cleaning up the mess. I was amazed and shocked at how fast the response was. The city had people out on our street by 7:30 AM done by about 4:00 PM. Nagin (our mayor) stopped by our house to see how we were. Kristen and I decided to stay at the house even without the power.
Wednesday Feb. 14th. By noon we had power, which was a good thing because my sister was coming into town!! Lisa came to my work, hung out for a bit then Kristen came to pick us up. We went back over to Matty and Sherrilynn's for more parade madness and a very yummy dinner. While they all went out to hear music, Lisa and I headed back to the house.
Thursday Feb. 15th. I worked this day, taking off an hour early and met up with my sister on the bus who had been out exploring Magazine. Once home we got all bundled up in layers of clothes then headed back out to Matty and Sherrilynn's. There we took in the 3 parades, the favorite being of course Muses. That parade pretty much rules.
Friday Feb 16th. I went into work a bit late. I spent most of the day praying to the flight gods that the Mulveys would FINALLY make it to town (they were suppose to be here on the 14th) Lisa and I wandered through the quarter for a bit then met up with our dear B.R. friends and Kristen at the Ugly Dog. At this time I knew the Mulveys were on their flight but I was under strict instruction NOT to say anything to the B.R. krewe. That was some damn hard work. We wandered up to Lee Circle and caught the parades. Right as they were ending I told Hank that I had a few new friends for them to meet, cuz coming down the street were the Mulveys. The look on Hank's face was priceless!! We even convinced Gayle to meet us back down at the Dog, and she was suprised, though I think she figured it out before she walked in. We then ran off to the airport (back roads don't help during MG time, we kept getting trapped behind floats on the move) were we picked up my brother in law.
Saturday Feb 17th. We started off towards the quarter and saw the masses of people all lined up already for the parades. Kristen and I decided to find spots to hold down for the day. We sent my sister and bro-in-law off to the quarter with the Mulvey's while we held down a spot at Lee Circle with Matty and Sherrilynn. The best parade of the day was Tucks. Our next door neighbors were riding and they piled us with loot. In fact Kristen is still sporting the bruise on her forehead from a full on frontal attack. I had words with the cab driver who wouldn't bring my cousin downtown. It is a flat rate from the airport and the cabby would have been stuck in the traffic for awhile. Not my fault she was on the airport run. If we had given the driver a hotel to drop my cousin off in, she would have had no choice. As it was I had to give her directions to my house, which is right off a major intersection. My cousin had to sit on the porch until we got there to pick her up. Kristen knew a round a bout way to get back, and she managed to score the same parking space. Endymion sucked except for my Taylor Hicks beads that some lady caught and gave to me. She had heard me telling people around me that that was the mission, was getting beads from Taylor. (I am guessing she heard or someone told her) the throws sucked from Endymion (when they threw em) and the drunken college students that showed up (squeezing into the space we had been in for 8 hours) really put a damper on the parade. They were even throwing beer bottles at the riders. Jerk offs.
Sunday Feb. 18th. We all headed down to the quarter...again traffic was a nightmare. We let Lisa, Scott and Jessica off so they could explore out on Esplanade. As we crept along Decatur I realized I had to go to the bathroom. I jumped out of the car at Molly's used the facilities and grabbed a few drinks to go. Of course by then the traffic was moving. I didn't catch up with the car until the other side of Harrahs. Let's put it this way. I made it clear across the quarter in about 10 mins or less. With drinks. We then walked back to the quarter were we met up with everyone at Pat O's. We met up with the Mulveys out on Bourbon then we all walked past the Jolie/Pitt household. We eventually went out to the Treme to visit Leroy and Katja. We didn't catch any of the day parades this day. We headed out to the end of the parade route were we got some spots and watched Bacchus. A great parade for catches. After it was over the fam headed over to hang with some friends who booked a hotel room for a couple of nights. They didn't want to do the driving back and forth from the North Shore.
Monday Feb. 19th. We got parking early, took Jessica to Acme, Harrah's then down to Molly's. We had a hike to get back to the convention center in time for the Orpheus Press Conference. We just made it. Got to say hi to Harry. Lisa, Kristen and I decided that we were going to the beginning of the parade. Good thing we did, we got our pics with Sean Payton, Harry and Patricia Clarkson there. Sean was so much fun!! At one point he was even singing in my ear!! We raced back to the end of the parade route and caught the parade. We all then raced over to Holwin Wolf were I got the merch table set up and Bonerama opened for George Porter Jr and the Runnin Pardners. This was really the only super late night. Pretty soon the only one left from my krewe was Kristen. Everyone else had left to get some shut eye. The band stopped around 4 AM. Bed by 5 AM.
Tuesday Feb. 20th. Up at 8:30 AM and out the door by 9:30 AM. We had the best cab driver who got us down to the Bywater for the start of the St. Anne parade. We made it through the whole thing, Lisa and Scott decided to go and nap while my cousin and I kept going. By the time Kristen caught up with us, we were pretty wiped. I think we got home at 10 that night. It was one of the best Mardi Gras days ever!!
Wed. Feb 21st...everyone headed home. :(
Thursday Feb. 22nd back to work.
I suffered the worst tension headache for about 2 days...it is just now starting to fade. Have stayed home both last night and tonight. Amazing. I am just wiped, however I would not change a moment of it for anything!!
Mardi Gras 2007 is officially over and has been over for several days. I am just now starting to feel "normal" I don't even know where to start. I guess starting way back about 2 weeks ago. Because that is what started it all in full swing.
Friday Feb 9th. I got off work and ran down to the quarter to catch a bit of the Krewe of Cork parade. That looks like a good krewe to be part of! Dancing through the quarter in costume drinking wine. The band consisted of a few people I knew, Leroy, Katja and Mark Braud. Some friends caught up with me as well in the quarter. When the walking parade was done we headed out to Matty's house which isn't that far off the parade route. It became a gathering place. Food and booze were collected then we headed on off to catch the evening parades. We then decided to go to the Maple Leaf for an AMAZING night of music and celebration.
Saturday Feb 10th Kristen and I decided to go downtown to watch the parades so we would be closer to the ferry to Old Point. We caught about 4 floats of the first parade then we had to leave, we wanted to make it across the river before the Orpheus Open House ended. We just barely made it. Appetizers and drinks were consumed at the Dry Dock Bar with our dear B.R. friends. We then all headed back to Matty's to hang out and wait for the evening parades. We ended up missing the parades, and that was just okay. We did make it out to Le Bon Temps to see Big Sam that night. Talk about crazy packed. Le Bon Temps isn't that big to begin with. I thought for awhile it was just me getting old and not liking the crowds, but it was REALLY packed.
Sunday Feb 11th We watched the parades out on St. Charles. This was a special day as my dear friends got engaged this day. There were a TON of people out there to witness the event, Megan had NO clue it was going to happen at all. A ring box was tossed off the float during King Arthur, it was a quick swap with the real ring box with the ring, next thing Megan knew (she was trying to get beads from their friends riding) Andy was on bended knee presenting the ring. Needless to say we didn't see much of the rest of that parade!!
Monday Feb 12th. Recovery day. I was going to do laundry this day and start cleaning as family was arriving soon. I made Kristen do her laundry first.
Tuesday Feb 13th. 3:00 AM tornado rips through the neighborhood. We lost the balcony roof, shattered windows (the one in my room is not repaired yet not that I am complaining) We spent all day cleaning up the mess. I was amazed and shocked at how fast the response was. The city had people out on our street by 7:30 AM done by about 4:00 PM. Nagin (our mayor) stopped by our house to see how we were. Kristen and I decided to stay at the house even without the power.
Wednesday Feb. 14th. By noon we had power, which was a good thing because my sister was coming into town!! Lisa came to my work, hung out for a bit then Kristen came to pick us up. We went back over to Matty and Sherrilynn's for more parade madness and a very yummy dinner. While they all went out to hear music, Lisa and I headed back to the house.
Thursday Feb. 15th. I worked this day, taking off an hour early and met up with my sister on the bus who had been out exploring Magazine. Once home we got all bundled up in layers of clothes then headed back out to Matty and Sherrilynn's. There we took in the 3 parades, the favorite being of course Muses. That parade pretty much rules.
Friday Feb 16th. I went into work a bit late. I spent most of the day praying to the flight gods that the Mulveys would FINALLY make it to town (they were suppose to be here on the 14th) Lisa and I wandered through the quarter for a bit then met up with our dear B.R. friends and Kristen at the Ugly Dog. At this time I knew the Mulveys were on their flight but I was under strict instruction NOT to say anything to the B.R. krewe. That was some damn hard work. We wandered up to Lee Circle and caught the parades. Right as they were ending I told Hank that I had a few new friends for them to meet, cuz coming down the street were the Mulveys. The look on Hank's face was priceless!! We even convinced Gayle to meet us back down at the Dog, and she was suprised, though I think she figured it out before she walked in. We then ran off to the airport (back roads don't help during MG time, we kept getting trapped behind floats on the move) were we picked up my brother in law.
Saturday Feb 17th. We started off towards the quarter and saw the masses of people all lined up already for the parades. Kristen and I decided to find spots to hold down for the day. We sent my sister and bro-in-law off to the quarter with the Mulvey's while we held down a spot at Lee Circle with Matty and Sherrilynn. The best parade of the day was Tucks. Our next door neighbors were riding and they piled us with loot. In fact Kristen is still sporting the bruise on her forehead from a full on frontal attack. I had words with the cab driver who wouldn't bring my cousin downtown. It is a flat rate from the airport and the cabby would have been stuck in the traffic for awhile. Not my fault she was on the airport run. If we had given the driver a hotel to drop my cousin off in, she would have had no choice. As it was I had to give her directions to my house, which is right off a major intersection. My cousin had to sit on the porch until we got there to pick her up. Kristen knew a round a bout way to get back, and she managed to score the same parking space. Endymion sucked except for my Taylor Hicks beads that some lady caught and gave to me. She had heard me telling people around me that that was the mission, was getting beads from Taylor. (I am guessing she heard or someone told her) the throws sucked from Endymion (when they threw em) and the drunken college students that showed up (squeezing into the space we had been in for 8 hours) really put a damper on the parade. They were even throwing beer bottles at the riders. Jerk offs.
Sunday Feb. 18th. We all headed down to the quarter...again traffic was a nightmare. We let Lisa, Scott and Jessica off so they could explore out on Esplanade. As we crept along Decatur I realized I had to go to the bathroom. I jumped out of the car at Molly's used the facilities and grabbed a few drinks to go. Of course by then the traffic was moving. I didn't catch up with the car until the other side of Harrahs. Let's put it this way. I made it clear across the quarter in about 10 mins or less. With drinks. We then walked back to the quarter were we met up with everyone at Pat O's. We met up with the Mulveys out on Bourbon then we all walked past the Jolie/Pitt household. We eventually went out to the Treme to visit Leroy and Katja. We didn't catch any of the day parades this day. We headed out to the end of the parade route were we got some spots and watched Bacchus. A great parade for catches. After it was over the fam headed over to hang with some friends who booked a hotel room for a couple of nights. They didn't want to do the driving back and forth from the North Shore.
Monday Feb. 19th. We got parking early, took Jessica to Acme, Harrah's then down to Molly's. We had a hike to get back to the convention center in time for the Orpheus Press Conference. We just made it. Got to say hi to Harry. Lisa, Kristen and I decided that we were going to the beginning of the parade. Good thing we did, we got our pics with Sean Payton, Harry and Patricia Clarkson there. Sean was so much fun!! At one point he was even singing in my ear!! We raced back to the end of the parade route and caught the parade. We all then raced over to Holwin Wolf were I got the merch table set up and Bonerama opened for George Porter Jr and the Runnin Pardners. This was really the only super late night. Pretty soon the only one left from my krewe was Kristen. Everyone else had left to get some shut eye. The band stopped around 4 AM. Bed by 5 AM.
Tuesday Feb. 20th. Up at 8:30 AM and out the door by 9:30 AM. We had the best cab driver who got us down to the Bywater for the start of the St. Anne parade. We made it through the whole thing, Lisa and Scott decided to go and nap while my cousin and I kept going. By the time Kristen caught up with us, we were pretty wiped. I think we got home at 10 that night. It was one of the best Mardi Gras days ever!!
Wed. Feb 21st...everyone headed home. :(
Thursday Feb. 22nd back to work.
I suffered the worst tension headache for about 2 days...it is just now starting to fade. Have stayed home both last night and tonight. Amazing. I am just wiped, however I would not change a moment of it for anything!!
3 Comments:
Whew! I'm tired again just reading that! Rest up dear, festival season is just right around the corner! You're going to need all your energy for that!
I was beginning to wonder if those "dear B.R. friends" you kept referring to had names!!!!
here's my question (bc/ i'm dumb and dont' know any better) do you get time off for mardi Gras? like other people who get the day after thanksgiving.
glad you had such a good time!! maybe one day, wishing
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