It was a warm day threatening rain, and I was still fighting the Quarter crud. After the bad family news from the Ferguson side and Cliff and Carol cancelling their trip, I was in a bit off a funk and walked through the Quarter. I made a reservation for the tenting day at the Chateau Hotel on Chartres, and walked up to Faulkner House books where I bought a biography of Huey Long.

I stopped in at Mollies, a little short on cash from an online banking snafu, and Puge stood me for a couple of Guinness. There were a couple of young women, Amber and Samantha, at the bar near me, fashionably dressed and made up. Amber was a beautiful slim black woman, very talkative with a breathy lisp, wearing a black shorts jumper. Samatha was a larger white woman, athletically built, wearing a designer sleeveless outfit that showed off her good ink. They were theater people, production folks for the visiting musical “Jersey Boys”. They were having an open, if perhaps exaggerated(I hope) conversation about men and sex. I didn’t have a lot to offer.

One of the performers in the show, an unnaturally good looking man with flamboyant mannerisms, came into the bar, and they left together after Amber bought the drinks, lending some credence to the idea that she was a producer or assistant in the production, but I’m not sure how to take the rest of the conversation from theater people. I had forgotten.

I cooked some pasta to go with the red sauce and peppers I had made a couple of weeks ago for a late lunch, and then went out to the Rbar, trying to get ahead of the predicted rain and thunderstorms. After a little bit outside with Heather and the doggie regulars, it started to rain hard, and I went inside to watch the pool league players. Seker was there, not playing, and I talked with a guy named Josh from New York. He was a thirty year old artist and musician working on a project and looking for music recommendations. I steered him to Frenchmen and the Spotted cat, and we had a good conversation about how hard the economy and making progress is for his generation. It is good to hear from people who are struggling despite obvious skills who aren’t in your immediate family.

Jennifer is back for a few days, and is not getting married in the courtyard, opting for a riverboat wedding, so I took advantage and weeded and raked. I promptly broke the big rake, snapping the handle. The southern climate seems to be hard on wood. It was good to be out in the sun doing something relatively productive.

My friend Chris had a stroke at work, and was treated quickly, one of the advantages of living in a city. He was put in ICU for constant monitoring for a day or two. It is scary stuff, but I appreciated being notified by friends—Jill texted me, and later called. Cecile was driving by the Rbar in the early evening, and stopped her car to come and sit with me for a bit. She seemed upbeat, still riding on the adrenaline rush of risk and the good news that immediately followed.

I took a short walk through the Quarter, noticing that the crowd has changed to a mix of cruise shippers and spring breakers, some clearly high school age and some families with children. it is a little change from the Mardi Gras mix. After an hour at the Rbar, I went over to Buffa’s where Boone was wearing an orange Illinois shirt and waned watching Illini basketball. I forgot how orange that is. I had a redfish po-boy, and then found a seat at the bar in the back room for two sets of music from Aurora Nealand and Tom McDermott. They were in a mellow mood playing to a subdued crowd, but it was good to get in to hear Aurora in good voice.

On the way home there was an electric heater or fireplace in the street that was modeled on a wood stove, funky handle and everything. I dragged it home, and plugged it in-the fireplace light show works, but the heater does not. I will play with it a little as a potential substitute for one of the heaters in our place, but won’t put a lot of effort into it. It may be something to look at as an upgrade sometime in the future. I apparently don’t spend enough time in big box home improvement stores to see these kind of cool things.

After determining that the heater was indeed junk, I walked to Mary’s to replace the rake. I am still tickled to walk through the French Quarter to run errands, in the same sense that I am tickled to walk through the Alaska woods or along the beach to exercise the dog. The Irish-American Walking Club had their annual St. Patrick’s Day Practice parade through the quarter from Irish pub to Irish pub. The story, as I understand it, is that all parades were banned from the Quarter proper sometime in the 1980s which bumped the walking Irish from their traditional Quarter route. They moved the official huge parade and party to the Irish Channel, centered on Tracey’s and Parasol’s, but scheduled an unapproved “practice” parade and pub crawl the week before on the original route. The city, rolling with the punches, now issues a permit for the practice parade through the Quarter, and the walking Irish have parades on consecutive weekends. Only in New Orleans.

After a break in the courtyard, I took a walk with my camera along the river and through the Quarter. I listened to Shawn Williams at Cafe Negril for part of a set and fought a large group of spring breakers to get a beer and the LED stage lights to try to get a photo. I’ve got some learning to do with artificial light, but patience serves with crowds of 21 year olds. It was a clear afternoon and evening, with a big bright moon over the rooftops, which was spectacular to look at if hard to photograph. I stopped in a couple of the usual spots, watching the afternoon crowds on Bourbon and Royal Streets, and ending up at the Rbar. I was joined by Team Touro for a little bit.

Seker got released in the early evening and showed up at the bar, apparently none the worse for wear, going directly from the ICU to the bar room. I hope his medical condition holds. I went home to cook some rice and chicken, and went out to see the Rebirth Brass Band late at dba. It was definitely not a local crowd, but not overly obnoxious. I did get to see some things you I don’t see at the early shows, like a man passing out on his feet at the bar and pitching face first into the floor. No knee crumple, just a face plant. The security guy was embarrassed for not seeing him sooner. In any case, it is a treat to see Rebirth in a small venue, and they were quite good, playing a mix of their familiar hits and more improvised stuff. 2AM is late for an old guy.

I made it home on Mardi Gras Day before 9, and was coherent enough to eat a snack and drink some water, but still it was good to sleep in Wednesday. I was not feeling particularly hung over, but out of energy from dealing with all the people and a little sick from the stress on the immune system of multiple long days of partying in the carnival crowds. I dressed to go out, and then just sat in the courtyard most of the day reading about Katrina. The book After the Deluge by Douglas Brinkley is an hour by hour journalistic history of the hurricane and flood, concentrating on the human stories and some of the decision making by local and national leaders. It was heart wrenching to read some of the stories, and engaging to read about the how the emergency planning was put in place, or in most cases, politicized, with a Republican federal system and Democratic state and city system using the bureaucracy to gain political advantage rather than help people. It is interesting to have a trained historian doing a kind of first cut on the historical record, with a clear and angry point of view, and provides a lens to view the current political response to hurricane and pandemic emergencies.

On Thursday I made it out of the courtyard but was still feeling under the weather. I took a nice walk through the Quarter stopping at the Rouses and Walgreens, marveling at the quiet streets. The season ramps up gradually over a month or so, and by the time the true craziness of Mardi Gras Day hits you are used to people in costume acting outrageously in large crowds. The abrupt return to “normal” New Orleans weirdness is jarring.

On Friday I ate a bang bang shrimp bahn mi at Em Trai in preparation for the final tattoo appointment of the year. It is quite a sandwich, with the pan seared and well spiced shrimp a break from the usual fried shrimp that go into po-boys. The two year tattooing project is finally done, with about two hours of highlighting and touch up to the red tentacles of the creature. Jamie Ruth also gave me a little fleur d’lis in Saints colors as lagniappe. It has been a good experience, and now we see how well it heals and how the color cures. I had a mellow Friday evening, with a short Rbar stop and a burger at Buffa’s. I ran into Eugenie and her mellow Doberman at the bar, and it was good to see her.

Saturday I walked the river, counterflow to the cruise shippers. There were two boats at the cruise ship docks and it is apparently Spring Break season. The people on the street were cruise ship folks and college kids in gangs. I went into Beckham’s, the used bookstore on Decatur, and browsed for a while, ending up with an urban planning commentary by Andre Codescru with a big section on pre-Katrina New Orleans. I sat for a bit in the Chart Room, and then walked back home for lunch and a nap, still fighting the low energy Lenten blues.

I walked out and had a daiquiri at Manolito’s, figuring lime juice would be good, and swapped Mardi Gras stories with the staff and regulars. I walked back to the Rbar, and sat outside. A skinny older guy with a loud low gravelly voice was there rolling a joint and singing. He introduced himself as Wolfman Will from the 9th Ward, and said he had grown up with Charmaine Neville and the Neville Brothers. He was working on a song, and singing the guitar parts loudly and repetitively as he went. He would increase the volume whenever a pretty woman walked by, and told me that was his secret. Secret to what, I am not quite sure, but he seemed happy with himself. A New Orleans character.

The barista at Envie said they did 20 times the business of a normal shift on Mardi Gras day. No wonder it seemed busy!

I walked over to the Walgreens on a beautiful Sunday morning through Jackson Square. I was waiting to check out, and a street guy, clearly not a tourist, walked in carrying a milk crate. the clerk yelled “no” at him and immediately called the police. He was walking fast towards the back of the store, and then walked out fast carrying a box of cold medicine. He disappeared into the crowd outside the store before the woman could complete the phone call. It was disconcerting to see such a brazen act, but I guess it explains the internal security, with some items being locked in glass cases. I prefer this store because it has more items just on shelves rather than locked up, but I guess that could change.

I packed away the Mardi Gras costume closet, always a depressing reminder of the change of season, and started to come to the realization that I now have weeks rather than months left in the city. I am still fighting a cold and recovering from tattooing, but took a short walk down a quiet Frenchmen Street, and talked with folks at the Rbar for a bit. I ended up at Royal Sushi for udon, pulling out all the stops in an effort to get some energy back.

Another low key day as I tried to keep the crud under control, but did get out of the house to eat some pasta at Buffa’s. At least I am in good company, with a number of my friends reporting the same symptoms of a pretty good cold, and hopefully with rest I’ll be back up for the weekend. Rebirth is at dba Friday, and it will be a show to try to catch, the Krewe du Fool is meeting on Saturday, and Sunday I will be cooking the salmon out of my freezer for the Hank was Here crowd. Then comes termite tenting and a quicky road trip along the Gulf Coast.

Check out more photos at https://bobclaus.myportfolio.com/work

Mardi Gras certainly lived up to my expectations this year, with big crowds, mostly fun people, and a whole lot of creativity. It is fascinating that a whole city and hundreds of thousands of visitors let go of inhibitions and push things to the line every year. There was lots of good music, food, and all kinds of entertainment from huge organized concerts and parades to neighborhood groups marching for fun.

On Saturday I visited Cecile and Chris on my way out with a camera. Cecile rents a room in her house out on Airbnb, as is generally fully booked for the year but always is busy during Mardi Gras. She was expecting a group to check in, and a young woman from Detroit came to check in. They were part way through the process when they figured out that the woman had rented the place through a Craigslist posting that was fraudulent. Apparently the scammer takes details, including photos, from real estate sites and legit short term rental sites, and posts them on Craigslist collecting deposits or rents, and providing BS instructions for getting into the places. The woman had paid her money to the scammer, and was now in New Orleans on Mardi Gras weekend with no place to stay. Cecile was patient with her, giving her access to a computer to chase down the problem and allowed her to stay in the living room most of the day while she solved the problem. It seems like a pretty simple scam to pull off, and I am glad I haven’t been burned by it in the past.

The Quarter was busy, but not impassable, and I walked around Bourbon and Jackson Square taking some photos. The Christian assholes set up a loud and obnoxious PA system right in front of the cathedral, pointing their speakers directly at a brass band that was set up in their usual spot on a busy tourist day, robbing them of an opportunity to make tips. These guys irrationally rub me the wrong way, with their hateful “repent or go to hell” message screamed at top volume and armed security itching for a stand your ground moment. It is part of the fabric of the weekend, but makes me crazy.

The antidote was music, and after a stop at the Rbar to chat with friends, I went to Checkpoint Charlie’s to see Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue. She covers Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, John Prine, and others from the outlaw country genre along with some originals. She is a treat to see in the dive bar venue. Ken Armstrong came out, and we listened to a couple of sets and then moved on to see the Soul Rebels at the Blue Nile. It was late, loud, and funky with the newer style of brass band hitting the right buttons.

I slept in Sunday, and then walked across the Quarter with a camera to catch part of the Uptown parade at Canal via Royal Street and the Chart Room. As a counterpoint to the Christian screamers, I saw a man wearing high top stockings and a loin cloth with high heels playing a saxophone in Exchange Alley for tips, and I had to run over to Chart Room to get change. Perhaps it was not an only in New Orleans moment, but it came close. When I got to Canal Street, the parade had paused to do the celebratory formal toasts between the royal float and the krewe bigwigs at one of the hotel balconies. I took some photos of people in the crowd, and saw a high school band march by. I took a walk down the length of Bourbon, seeing some locals starting to get costumed up and the tourists doing their best(bless their hearts) from the souvenir shops.

The walk in the costumed crowds inspired me, and I came out for the evening in a fool outfit, the decorated dashiki from last Mardi Gras and a jester cap. I went to the Rbar and visited the folks on Touro, watching Chris cook gumbo and red beans before heading out to dba late to hear John Papa Gros and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, singing Mardi Gras Indian chant and funk. I stood next to a very enthusiastic francophone gentlemen from Quebec, who was bubbling over with excitement at seeing the Big Chief. It was a classic performance, with the full JPG band and an extra percussionist for the chanting. Apparently this was the 15th year of this gig, and I will seek it out next year as well. It was fun to see the crowd, with some locals who clearly knew the songs and the parts to sing mixed in with people who had not heard the music before but were having fun. I stopped by the Rbar on the way home to let my ears stop ringing, and everyone was in costume or dramatic street clothes. The bar changes character by day of the week and time, and apparently Mardi Gras weekend after midnight it is time for costumes.

Lundi Gras, the Monday of Mardi Gras is a big formal parade day, with the Zulu and Rex pre-parade ceremonies along the river in the evening. More importantly, it is the day for the Red Beans marching parade through our neighborhood. The have a sister krewe, the Dead Beans, who have a skeleton theme and march from midtown to the Treme where the krewes meet. Both groups make elaborate costumes of different colored beans, usually trying for a joke or pun.

I dressed as a porch pirate, with black pirate gear and a stack of Amazon box parts hooked to my belt like a set of keys, and joined the large crowd at the Rbar for the parade, migrating over to Touro Street to actually eat some red beans when the crowd got too big. This year I left the camera at home, playing with the crowd rather than documenting, but there were some great costumes out there.

The parade was over in the early evening, and after some party planning with the Touro Street Irregulars, headed to a burlesque show art Checkpoint Charlie’s. The dive bar seems the right venue for circus tricks performed by women in lingerie, with the highlight being the old bed of nails, cantaloupe, and machete trick. The costumed crowd and deliberately odd performances early in the evening perplexed some of the people who stuck their heads in the door. Isn’t Frenchmen Street where you go to hear jazz? Burlesque is funny in New Orleans, because the dancers of all orientations are beautiful and usually good performers, but the rules are such that they are often wearing more clothing than the people on the street or the bartenders.

I continued on to have a drink at Manolito’s and met the dive program director at the Audubon Aquarium. He pitched me on being a volunteer diver in the tank, feeding the fish, playing with the creatures and interacting with the kids on the other side of the glass. Bar talk is what it is, but perhaps next winter that could be fun. I walked into Harry’s, and saw Kristen and Nicolette, and literally knew everyone at the bar and behind it. It was a big parade and party night, so the locals self selected to be at Harry’s, but there are days where I don’t know everyone at the Craig Inn.

Mardi Gras came early, but I decided not get out at dawn to try to find the Indians or Skull and Bones. I will try to catch the Indians St. Joseph’s Day, but it was just too early. Seker gave me a wake up text, and I walked over in my Captain Show Me Your Tats costume, with white pith helmet, white band jacket, white blinged up shorts, and white chucks. I got a lot of positive comments on the costume, simple as it was. The St. Anne’s parade is a marching parade that goes from the Bywater through the Marigny and into the Quarter. The costumes and small floats are handmade and creative. One of the neighbors on Touro runs the Krewe of Confetti, and they set up on the corner and use air guns to shoot confetti over the crowd and parade every few minutes. I fit in with that krewe with the military themed outfit, although my drink kept getting filled up with confetti. The crowd was thick, about twice as many people as the day before, and everyone was costumed. My favorite reaction was a small child, probably a two or three year old girl, being carried by her mother, and looking absolutely perplexed but fascinated by the goings-on, as we all were. The look on her face said that there were many rules being violated, like the one that says adults shouldn’t ride hobby-horse giraffes down the street.

I circulated through the crowd a couple of times to the Rbar and back to the relative calm of the porches on Touro, and then back out to swim in the crowds near the confetti cannons. It was a good and mellow afternoon, with the exception of a little confrontation that Ken, wearing all black with a purple shock wig got into with a man wearing a jockstrap, no shirt, and a anatomically correct vagina balaclava pissing on his lawn, and me yelling at a woman for driving the wrong way down the street through the parade crowd. She was lost, but drunk and partying people in large groups and moving vehicles just don’t go together.

I took the drunk Mardi Gras walk down Bourbon, noticing that the costuming got less creative and the partying got harder the further I walked uptown. I stopped at Johnnie White’s, watching folks out the open doors, and got lots of positive reactions to the costume, including a woman who decided she wanted to rub her nipple glitter off on my chest tattoos. It’s Mardi Gras, baby, do what you wanna. Her boyfriend didn’t appear as enthusiastic about the plan, but there were no fistfights, and it was time to go home.

I missed a couple of the big events and parades, mostly by choice, and missed the Indians and the Blue Parade when the mounted police walk Bourbon at midnight, declaring Mardi Gras over, but all in all it was a great Carnival.

Monday was a house chore day, waiting on the termite inspector most of the afternoon and making groceries. I made it out of the house for red beans at Buffa’s and an hour or two with the Hank was Here group. I was invited to join the party on the Rbar balcony on Mardi Gras Day, a premium spot as half the city, everyone from Marigny and the Bywater, passes by on the way into the Quarter sometime that morning.

I read in the paper that the Brad Pitt and Jude Law rode masked in the Krewe d’Kanaval two floats behind our little marching group on Saturday. Kanaval is the Haitian themed krewe co-founded by Arcade Fire and the Preservation Hall Brass Band. That explains why Tipitina’s was closed to the public that afternoon. A brush with fame, or at least the famous. I looked at applying to that krewe, but it was $1000 to join and there were also fees for every party and event. A 1%er krewe. I formally joined the Krewe du Fool, paying dues and everything, and got invited to an Endymion party at a krewe member’s house on St. Charles. These guys might be better connected than I thought.

After coffee, I walked through the preternaturally quiet Quarter and sat for a late lunch and a set of music at Bamboula’s. A fried oyster po-boy hit the spot and put me in line for a nap, which unfortunately was a longer one than planned. I woke up and tinkered with the Mardi Gras costume, adding a little bling to the pith helmet and washing the white Chucks. Now I have to start wearing the costumes I have put together.

The semi-official start of the weekend is noon on Wednesday and we go straight through until Tuesday at midnight. There are 35 big permitted parades, most on the Uptown route, and countless smaller ones running through the neighborhoods. Apparently if you don’t know to look for them, you just miss them. So far, the hidden marching parades I will be seeking out are the Krewe of Lafcadio on Saturday, chefs from the high end restaurants walking through the Quarter handing out spoons and condiments; the Krewe of Red Beans marching through Marigny, right past Buffa’s, on Lundi Gras with tremendous home sewn costumes made of red beans; and early on Mardi Gras Skull and Bones, the traditional Treme krewe that goes door to door dressed as skeletons waking people up to get on the street for Mardi Gras. 5 AM will come early, but Skull and Bones is the counterpart culturally to the Mardi Gras Indians and second line groups. A good place to have a camera. And of course, the Queen Anne marching parade on Mardi Gras marches through the Bywater, Marigny, and Lower Quarter to the steps on the river before noon.

I haven’t started on the music calendar but the New Orleans royalty are coming out to play at all my favorite clubs. This year I have received a couple of casual invitations to the house parties along the parade routes that may turn into wristbands to the more exclusive places, so I will keep my options open.

Wednesday night was cool and windy, and I took a walk across the quarter with Seker to catch part of Nyx. We made it, barely after a stop at the Chart Room to meet his friend Keith, to Canal in time for Druids and a couple of the dancing groups. The Green Faeries were the highlight of the evening. Nyx was supposed to follow on but there was a delay of over an hour, and it was too cold to hang out. We learned later a woman had slipped between two halves of a big tandem float and was crushed to death by the float, causing the parade to stop. We retreated to the Chart Room and the long walk home. Chris ran into a homeless guy he and Cecile had helped out over time, and sat with him for a bit.

I spent a rainy Thursday with Cecile’s Muses float group of 20 women at her house, shooting a bunch of photos in the low light. They were in purple this year, which made for some fun photos. They left the house in pedicabs, and ten minutes later the city canceled the parade for the evening because of a high wind warning. I think it had as much to do with an accident the previous night. I didn’t fight the weather and spent the evening processing photos.

Friday I went out for the Greasing of the Poles ceremony on Bourbon Street in the morning. The crowd was huge, filling the street in front of the Royal Sonesta. The idea is the poles holding up the balconies are greased so that people can’t climb them on Mardi Gras day. It has evolved into a burlesque dancer show in which dancers get up on ladders and pole dance while liberally smearing Vaseline over the poles and themselves. I couldn’t get close enough to photograph the event, but the crowd was entertaining in itself. I went through the Mask Market on the way home, and selected an elaborate horned mask, similar to ones in the retail stores that sell for $200, for $70. It is a good topper for just about anything. Mollies was fun, with the Iris pre party just up the block so beautifully costumed Uptown women were mixing in with the tourists and punkers in the bar.

I took a break for a home made salad and a rest in the courtyard, and then headed back out to Bourbon. Jill and the Touro Street Irregulars were meeting at Orleans Grapevine, and I joined them after seeing the Prima Donnas throwing decorated bras from the balcony to an enthusiastic crowd. That krewe hand decorates bras and raises money for breast cancer awareness. Perhaps not the most effective PR strategy, but entertaining none the less.

The Grapevine was fun, with flights of wine for tasting and good tapas. They serve a basket of bacon for the table at happy hour which proves to be a surprisingly good palate cleanser. We had a good conversation over a few glasses of wine, and I had a decent boudin. The other dishes I saw were seared scallops, beef medallions, and barbecue shrimp. All of the sauces were on point, and it is a place to go back to. We went from there to Touche on Royal Street, and then back to Touro.

The Rbar was serving crawfish, and I got the last of it with Scott, thoroughly sliming my pants, but you haven’t really done Mardi Gras until you’ve eaten crawfish in costume on the sidewalk in front of your neighborhood bar. Only four more days!

Check out more photos at https://bobclaus.myportfolio.com/work

It was the Friday of the second big weekend of Carnival. I stuck to the routine, swimming and Envie in the morning, and then walked up Frenchmen home. I saw a flyer for the 101 Runners late night show at dba and put it on the menu of carnival delights. I ate leftover mofongo in the sunshine of the courtyard, appreciating the good weather.

I took my camera out to Bourbon Street in the afternoon for the Krewe of Cork parade and the Krewe of Ponchatrain pre-party. Bourbon Street was packed, and the nipple glitter girls were out in force. There was a party at the Four Seasons with a bunch of people throwing beads, and the Ponchatrain party was upstairs at Johnny White’s. I walked as far uptown as the Famous Door, where some of the Touro Street Irregulars were supposed to intercept the Krewe of Cork. Jill and Ellen were marching with the Krewe, but I missed all of them. I walked back to Johnnie White’s, photographing the people on the street. Jill the bartender opened the doors for me, and I shot the crowd through the door.

The Ponchatrain party was preceded by the Chalmette High School marching band, and then the Krewe royalty. Everyone was dressed formally, for Carnival anyway, like fancy dresses with neon colored wigs. They filed upstairs and distributed beads for a couple of hours, attracting a big crowd of bead seekers.

Cork paraded right down the street but the crowds made it hard to see all the costumes. A woman broke ranks to walk through the crowd and give me Krewe of Cork beads complete with corks and a medallion. A mule carriage pushed right through the crowd, with the mule maintaining its calm demeanor but looking for direction and reassurance. It would have been a tough tour to lead.

I downloaded some pictures and cooked some king salmon before heading out. Frenchmen Street was quiet, which I did not expect after the insanity on Bourbon Street in the afternoon, and the band that caught my eye at the Brasserie was breaking down their equipment as I walked up. I talked with the Hank was Here crowd for a few minutes, and then went to Buffa’s to chill out for a couple of hours before the 11 o’clock show at dba. I avoided going home, figuring the couch would trap me.

The 101 Runners have June Yamaguchi, one of the best guitar players in the city, Tom Worrell on the piano and organ, the bass player from the Neville Brothers band, and a four piece percussion section with two Neville cousins and a guy from Africa. There are two vocalists from the Wild Magnolias in full regalia. They played the Mardi Gras classics to a small crowd of mixed tourists and locals. The African drummer led a version of Oye Como Va in an African language that allowed June Yamaguchi to stretch out on the guitar. That was a real highlight. I’m glad I was out late, but it made for a slow morning.

Saturday was the day for an Uptown parade. I had a disappointing breakfast at Buffa’s (they ran out of biscuits and gravy) and then costumed in a King Tut headdress and a gold sequin jacket over black, with the only costuming guidance being “gold is the theme”. I Ubered across town, with the usual 15 minute trip taking 40 minutes and getting dropped off a half mile from the meet up spot. The Krewe du Fool was meeting right at the intersection of Napoleon and Tchoupatoulas, along with thirty or forty NOPD officers and every part of every parade that rolled that day.

This was my second Uptown parade experience, and I’ve noticed a pattern. You get lost, spend an half hour or so looking for your group amid horses, floats, dancing girls, marching bands, and all manner of costumed folks, find a bunch of people in roughly the same costume you are in who you don’t really know, mill about drinking for a couple of hours wondering who is in charge of this goat rope, stand in long lines for a bathroom or a beer, and then rush to join the parade when it is your turn. I’m glad that Claiborne had ushered us through the first one a couple of years ago or this might have been overwhelming.

The Krewe du Fool is a marching Krewe based in the Marigny whose main event is the only April Fools Day parade in the city. The Krewe was invited to join the Krewe of Freret music themed parade as a favor to the guest of honor of Freret, Dancingman504, the best known second line dancer in the city who is also the lead dancer for the April Fools parade this year.

The downtown walking krewes are much less formal and organized than the downtown krewes, with a fairly open membership roster(you don’t have to be one of the founding families of New Orleans or pay thousands to ride the big floats). They feature homemade costumes and throws, with some store bought beads and cups, and no specific dances or music. The krewe dresses to a theme, and walks together through the narrow streets of the Marigny, Bywater, and French Quarter accompanied by a band or two, and interacts with people on the street by dancing or handing out throws.

The Krewe du Fool had about two dozen people show up to march. The core group appears to be professional people in their 50s or so, but there was one woman in her 70s who brought a decorated wheelchair and pushed it about half the time and was pushed the other half, and another half a dozen people in their twenties who got to lead the energetic dancing. One guy was dressed as Austin Powers, there was a couple dressed in gold formal wear and monkey hats, a woman in a full length gold gown and gold body paint, me as King Tut with lots of gold glitter, and some assorted Mardi Gras costuming. People brought wagons to carry the throws and beer, and a banner identifying the Krewe.

The Uptown parades feature big marching bands, including the best High School and college bands in the country, big formal two deck parade floats, professionally designed and constructed, pulled by tractors and carrying 50 people each, each person throwing literally thousands of beads or other throws to the crowds lining the streets, military marching groups, hobby groups like horsemen or Jeep customizers, and dancing groups like the Muffalottas or Chorus Girls, all of whom are uniformed and performing a specific set of dance moves to loud recorded music, usually to good effect.

Today there were four of these parades, all following the same route down Napoleon to St. Charles, around Lee Circle, down Canal and into the CBD. We were in the third of the four parades, and got to watch the first two with thirty floats and ten or so marching bands and another dozen dance groups and assorted oddfellows like the Buffalo Soldier horse group. We were the only walking downtown Krewe in any parade all day, and the sight of a couple of dozen people in varied costumes just walking along was perplexing to some. By happenstance, we were slotted in behind the Krewe d’Ritmeaux, a latin dance group also dressed in black and gold, so we got to poach their salsa music to assist in the long march. We danced along for the approximate 8 mile route, wandering into the crowd to hand our throws to people who caught our eye. Most throws are literally thrown, often from the second deck of the big floats, causing a lot of breakage and pleasant chaos, and the smaller kids appreciated having the trinkets put right in their hand. One woman came out of the crowd to say that we were the best group all day because of our interaction with the spectators.

We disbanded near the Casino, and I found four big bags of unused and discarded beads which I picked up and will reuse. I bought and distributed three dozen, along with an equal amount from the Krewe stash over the course of the day, and went home with five dozen for next time. I look forward to joining the Krewe for future events.

I walked across the Quarter in costume, stopping for a break at the Chart Room and a solid bar food burger at Turtle Bay. Turtle Bay is not a gourmet place, but cheap comfort food with friendly staff. The farther I got from the parade route, the more conversations were sparked by the costume, but it was all in a Mardi Gras day.

Sunday was Barkus, the dog parade. It seemed that every dog in the city came out to either parade or spectate at this walking parade through the Quarter. I continue to be impressed by the socialization of the city dogs. They did not seem to flustered by the crowds, people touching them, or, for the most part, other dogs. It is definitely an area of dog training I can improve on. There were a number of brass bands mixed in with the costumed dogs, and a couple of the dancing groups including one of my favorites, the Organ Grinders.

There was a little cognitive dissonance for all parties as the family friendly kid and dog parade crossed Bourbon Street with the nipple glitter girls wearing not a lot of clothing on the street and the hard partiers not understanding why the dogs are dressed up as Star Wars characters. It is an almost psychedelic experience without the need for the chemical assist.

I spent most of this one photographing the people and dogs from the Original Johnny White’s on St. Peter. I saw one perfect border collie along with the more usual New Orleans assortment of mutts, and missed my dogs.

I survived the first weekend of Mardi Gras! The only apparent casualty was being sore from dancing down the street for 20000 steps. Now a breather until the Uptown evening parades start Wednesday and it comes fast and furious until midnight next Tuesday.

Well, she must have been a good witch. After bumping into the scary looking woman at Envie, I had a great New Orleans day. She occupied the bathroom at Envie, so I walked down to Checkpoint Charlies for a beer and bathroom break after coffee and before I continued on my mission for the day. There was a young woman, fashionably dressed in a vertically color blocked jumpsuit, with a shaved head. She was sitting at the bar with perfect, almost feline, posture. She visibly perked up, almost purring, every time someone looked her way, and we talked about Mardi Gras plans. I don’t know what kind of drugs she was on, but they were the happy ones.

I walked through the Marigny by a little different route than usual, up Frenchmen to Chartres, passing the Friendly Bar, Cake, and Cru along the way. I went around the back of the Muses Den and through Architect’s Alley, seeing the woodworkers and artists doing their thing, some making original furniture and others restoring doors and panels. This was the route to one of the first Airbnbs we stayed in as we explored the city, but a little out of my normal routes through the city.

I went into the Muses Costuming Center to get some gold sequined tape. I ordered some white basketball shorts to go along with my white jacket for the Mardi Gras costume, but they will definitively need to be improved with sequins. I avoided the temptation to buy any bigger pieces or more bling than I can put together in a few days, but there were some tempting partial costumes, like multi colored /satin tunics from float riders outfits from years past. The shop was as busy as I have seen it, with three women in there putting material together for costumes, laying out fabric and measuring. It is good time of year to be in New Orleans.

I went into the Mardi Gras Supermarket in the same building, and bought three dozen bead necklaces to give out as I walk on Saturday. I feel like I graduated, buying beads in bulk for the first time. I have not been saving the beads I collected the last few years, but this is a good reason to keep a collection—to reuse them as I become more participatory in the parades.

I went from there to Mimi’s with lunch in mind after seeing the tapas come out of the kitchen a couple of times after having eaten. The chef, Heath, does a “chef’s choice” daily, a non-announced special. He just brings out what he has the best ingredients to cook. Last week I saw steamed mussels, and today he made lamb chop lollipops, small portions of lamb chop still on the bone, over tomato water with smoked pecan salt and fresh garden bitter greens to garnish. They took a while because he was smoking the salt to order. They were a treat, and not what you expect in a dive bar.

I got into a conversation with a guy who lives in a “camp” down by the river and raises exotic animals, like water buffalo and alligators along with more common animals like pigs and horses. He said he has been hunting wild boar from his porch, and had photos of a red tailed hawk that had raided his barn and got injured, so they took care of it and released it. He described himself as a plumber, but showed some pictures of his place which made him look more like a Saudi prince. He talked about his German stein collection and was drinking beer out of a pewter tankard which he said was an old English one. He must be a pretty good plumber. I had to leave when he started expounding on the conspiracy that is holding Donald Trump back, but he was an interesting guy for the most part.

I got a call from the frame shop, and walked into the Quarter. I picked up the framed Cubs “breaking the curse” newspaper article, and stopped at Johnny White’s to get Mardi Gras advice from the bartender there who marches with Nyx and a couple of other krewes. From there, I went to Harry’s and talked with Tom Roby, the chef from Tujague’s, for a bit. Apparently they are having to rebuild the electrical system entirely at the new building, so the move has been put off until August. Good news for those of us in the lower Quarter.

I went to the Tayho for mofongo, which I watched Lauren prepare with a mortar and pestle from plantains, and it was topped with ropa vieja, a slow cooked pork specialty. So far, Tayho has an excellent burger, great mofongo when you are in the mood, and they specialize in a shrimp po-boy which I will have to try next time. It is excellent bar food.

I stopped home to drop off and hang the new art, and then went to dba to listen to Jon Cleary play solo piano for a set. He was warming up for Mardi Gras, playing some of the classics and hitting the boogie woogie piano hard.

If this was a cursed day, I’ll take it.

I sat next to some tourists Tuesday morning at Envie, which is not unusual in itself, but one of the women was loud, as only New Jersey or Long islanders can be loud, and had clearly read the guidebook. She laid out the day’s activities to her friends, explaining why the sites to see were important using some very arguable facts(like Bourbon Street was named after the whiskey sold there), and as she walked out she exclaimed: “What the hell is this king cake they all talk about? I haven’t seen one anywhere.” It is always good to run into an expert.

It was another warm day, and I walked to the framing shop in the Quarter, enjoying the heat of the day. Town is definitely taking a pause before the weekend that includes the Krewe of Cork, the first mechanized parades Uptown, and Barkus, the pet parade through the Quarter. I spent an hour in Mollie’s, and was asked by Boog to review a piece of comedy routine he was writing. I was a little out of my depth, but it was fun to see the writing process. I can barely remember jokes and hadn’t really considered the effort that goes into a comedy routine.

After a simple dinner in the courtyard, I headed out towards Frenchmen Street and ran into the Roots of Music kids marching on Pauger at Burgundy. They were headed into the Treme, and I peeled off. As I approached the R bar it started to sprinkle,and I ducked under the awning in time for it to pour. It was raining so hard that it bounced head high off the pavement. I felt bad for the marching band far from shelter. I’ll bet those kids got soaked. It rained hard for an hour or so, and I stayed at the R bar until the storm was well past. A woman named Heidi pulled up with a taco truck and cooked some excellent street tacos. I split an order of shredded beef tacos with Michael Wilder. They were excellent, letting the meat flavor carry without overspicing, and the tortillas were fresh and handmade. The chicken ones looked and smelled good as well. These were better than the much more expensive ones I had at Three Muses earlier in the week. I missed the music on Frenchmen, but it was not a bad place to wait out the rain.

I walked across to the Rouse’s after coffee the next morning, buying some greens and a baguette. I walked back down Royal Street, and a man in his 20s with a heavy French accent ran after me and grabbed my arm, asking where he could get bread. My directions were going over his head, so I walked back a block with him to show him the little bread cubbie in the grocery store. That was one happy man. I should have asked for a tip.

After a good lunch of salad and smoked fish in the courtyard in the sun, I walked into the Quarter again to pick up a package at the mail drop and had a Happy Hour Floridita daiquiri at Manolito as I dodged rain showers. Heather was throwing a 17th birthday party for her dog Radar, and had cooked clam chowder and biscuits for the R bar crowd. I had some of her chowder and called it an early night.

I contacted the Krewe du Fool, and was invited to walk in a big Uptown parade, Freret, with Trombone Shorty as the honored guest, down St. Charles from Napoleon to the CBD. The guy seemed cool on the phone, and their main event is a walking parade through the Marigny on April Fools Day, right before I leave New Orleans. The Krewe is low key and low cost, and based in my neighborhood. It is a little uncomfortable just joining a group of strangers for a day of acting foolish in public, but pushing boundaries may just be why I am here.

https://krewedufool.com

I walked into Envie to find a woman dressed in full fortune teller garb, dirty from head to toe, reading a “psychic journey through science” book, and droning. They were clearly words, perhaps imaginary or perhaps in a language I don’t recognize, and she stared at me as she droned. She had bones and crystals on the table in front of her which she was rearranging, and occasionally jammed a geode fragment into her neck. I’m absolutely sure she is the real deal, either completely crazy or in touch with some other plane of existence. Either way, she would have been burned at the stake a couple of hundred years ago. I’m not particularly superstitious, but did sneak as I took her photograph. I don’t need a curse.

The National Geographic article I was interviewed for in August was published on line this weekend. They used one of the photographs of me as their lead photo, and quoted me as much as anyone else in the article. They made me look good in both the photo and the quotes, as when you are on the record for six or eight hours you are bound to say something stupid. I’m not sure if it is just an online thing or if the article will be in the print magazine. I think of Sam Gray being featured in his youth in National Geographic for his epic raft trip, and reflect that it is fun to be one of the interesting people. And I didn’t even have to show them my tribal markings.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/02/new-way-to-profit-from-ancient-alaskan-forests-leave-them-standing/

It was the first multi-parade weekend of the season, with walking parades through the Marigny and lower Quarter kicking it off. Friday it was Krewe Boheme rolling down Royal from the Bywater into the Quarter. Krewe Boheme is a new Krewe, in its second year, and is themed around absinthe and the 1920s decadence. Tank of Tank and the Bangas was in the lead float. I stopped by the R bar early, dressed in green with a green fedora in honor of the absinthe theme, and received a couple of generous pours which set the rather out of control tone for the evening. Michael Imperioli, a TV actor, was on the street at the R bar attracting fans. Jill was hosting an open house, so I busted over to the Touro Street side. There were fabulous dancers and gymnasts on some of the floats, and good music.

Krewe du Vieux and Krewe de Illusion were on Saturday night with the Touro Street irregulars holding parties at four houses on the street. I brought my camera out for this one, and got some interesting shots in the challenging light. I dressed in tie dye from POW and a jester hat with bells, fulfilling the New Orleans doctrine to be part of the show, and encouraged others the dress up. There were some good looks from the spectators as well as the participants. I love these walking parades because the lines are blurred-everyone is having a good time, many people are in some degree of costume, and it is all about the experience for the evening. Cecile was a featured part of Krewe du Vieux, and was in serious costume as one of the handmaidens to the Queen. I missed her float in the craziness, but saw her later at the after party at her house.

Sunday was one of my favorite parades, ‘tit Rex, which features shoebox size floats towed and escorted by people in formal wear and rolls through the narrow streets of the Marigny, this year with four excellent marching bands. The headline band was Panorama who were playing brass band music with clarinet solos(?) and making it work. There was a mostly female band featuring an accordion as well. The parade moves slowly, and is notable for attracting families with small kids. They are fascinated by the toy-size floats and the music, and unusually for this era of paranoia are encouraged to interact with strangers also fascinated by the floats and music. It also kicks off in the late afternoon, making photography more fun.

I followed the parade to Mimi’s and then took my camera home to download pictures. I went to Three Muses to hear a little music from Raphael et Pascale, just a couple of songs at the end of their set, and the Clementines, playing virtuoso music of the 1920s. I tried perhaps my new favorite drink, the Goth Girlfriend, which is on the menu as dark Basil Hayden rye, stone fruit, and aromatics, served neat with an orange peel. Pretty vague, but I may have to go back when the bartender is not to busy and get a class. Sunday was the Rock and Roll Marathon, so the crowd on Frenchmen was a little different than the usual cruise ship crowd, a little younger and the mean BMI on the street dropped 5 points overnight.

Monday the temperatures were up in the high 70s and it was humid. After a walk to the Rouse’s in the Quarter for ingredients, I stopped at Mollie’s for a Guinness and a chat with Boog, and then home to cook some pasta and red gravy with sausage, squash, and peppers. As I was working on this rather elaborate meal for one guy with the door open because the kitchen was getting warm, I heard brass band music from the street. I went out to the front of the building to see the Roots of Music brass band on the street. They are elementary and middle school kids from the 7th and 9th wards who practice year round after school with professional musicians and teachers and who parade in a couple of the Mardi Gras parades. This was their dress rehearsal, and fun to see and hear.

It stayed hot without a rainstorm overnight, and I walked to the pool past Buffa’s which was being converted into a movie or TV set. Both my neighborhood bars, Buffa’s and the R bar, are used as sets for at least NCIS New Orleans, and probably other feature films. I just like living here.

Lots more photos at https://bobclaus.myportfolio.com/work

After a good morning on a hot(for February) day, I went up to Magazine and Napoleon to look at the costume shops and see a different part of town. I went into Uptown Costume and Dance, shopping there for the first time. It is a little overwhelming, with racks and racks of ready to go costumes and costume pieces. They have a big selection of masks and accessories—if i decide I am in need of a rubber sword to add to the pirate ensemble, this is the place. They carry a full line of the show wear jackets that Roadkill features, at similar pricing. Inspiration failed to strike, but the shop is definitely a good resource.

I went into Peaches, a great record store that has flipped back almost entirely to vinyl. As I don’t have a way to play cds or vinyl anymore, it was mostly a tourist visit to the old Woolworth lunch counter installed in the store. I continued down Magazine, stopping in the costume and thrift stores that are unevenly distributed among the high end boutiques along the way. In one of the smaller ones, I found a white military costume jacket with gold trim that will complement the pith helmet for Pythonesque outfits for one of the upcoming parade party days. Nothing else jumped out as essential in the other junk shops.

I stopped at The Vintage, an upscale coffee/pastry place with a full bar. It has essentially the same menu as Envie, with a little more emphasis on baking(beignets, king cake) and craft cocktails. it probably won’t be my favorite place on the street, but perhaps a place to go if someone is jonesing for a super fancy donut and a place to sit across the street from the Rum House.

I once again walked past Tracey’s to get to Parasol’s. It is a good thing to have two great comfortable bars with excellent food on the same block. Jena’s house was all decorated up with Mardi Gras banners across the street, and they were putting up a roof over the sidewalk at Parasol’s. It will change the whole look of the block, actually making the building look more traditional with a way to get out of the sun. The people at the bar were tourists, pleasant enough, and I had a perfect firecracker shrimp po-boy. Another tough decision—the best roast beef po-boy in the city or the best hot shrimp po-boy? I guess I’ll have to come back.

I walk most mornings through the corner of the Treme to get to the pool, and as I walk down Treme street it seems like a black cat is always on the street in the middle of one of the blocks. I assumed that I was on the same schedule as the cat, and we just ran into each other. This morning, the sun was out warming the fence in the courtyard of the house right there, and there were six black cats, all about the same size sunning themselves, and four more cats of different colors hanging out. Was it the same black cat?

The ebb and flow of the Carnival season continues to amuse. Tuesday was quiet in town, and I spent an hour in Mollie’s talking to Boug and his friend Cassie, another bartender who works the summer season in Maine and the winter in New Orleans. I went to the R bar to find a private crawfish boil going on for an elevator mechanic’s union with a smattering of locals, and was pleasantly surprised to be invited to drink a shot with Jackie the bartender. It is good to have friends in high places, and the bartender at the R bar during Mardi Gras is a position of power.

Wednesday was probably the mellowest day I have spent in New Orleans. I made it to the pool, and just after I got home it turned into a thunderstormy and rainy day. It hailed and did the tropical rain thing, pouring for ten minutes at a time and then slacking off enough to make you think you could go out in it without drowning, and then pouring again like someone put a firehose on the door, while the temperature actually rose to about 75 degrees. I baked some white king salmon and steamed some vegetables rather than going out, and put a dent in my reading pile. I organized the costume closet, discovering that I have a lot of options for the season so long as I mix and match and sacrifice all dignity. I’m probably up to the task.

Thursday was the first day I missed the pool in a while. I was awakened by close thunderstorms around 6, and it was still storming when it was time to walk to the pool. It had cooled down to about 50 degrees, so just being wet on the walk across was not an appealing option, and the lightning was a little spooky. The rain ended around 9, and it is good to be able to get out for coffee. You know you are in the Carnival spirit when two Orthodox priests walk into the Cafe Envie and you think “great costumes”.

I walked across the Quarter to Crescent City Books, the used bookstore, and stopped at Jumani on Chartres near Canal for lunch. It had been recommended by a guy at the Chart Room who looked like he enjoyed his food. Jumani is a bright small space with lots of televisions and a small galley kitchen visible from the bar. It has a good menu of burgers, Chicago style hot dogs, and po-boys, with an emphasis on barbecue pork ribs and sandwiches. I ordered gumbo in honor of the cold day, and it hit the spot. It was cheap for that part of the Quarter, and a good spot to keep in mind for 24 hour food on that side of town. The menu reminded me of Buffa’s, simple and a little quirky, but comfortable when you aren’t interested in fine dining and have bypassed the fast food joints.

The bookstore was interesting as always, and I passed on a 1950s anthropological text about Haida totems I had not seen before. It was a little expensive, $65, but had good photographs and transcribed stories. It I may go back to get it to donate to one of the tribes or carvers despite the jarring perspective of 1950s academia. I found a history of Katrina that I don’t recall reading, but it seems like something I should have read. I’ll probably get about a third through it before I recognize it.

I wandered back through the Quarter, stopping at Johnnie White’s and Mollie’s, and ending up talking with Jim the tour guide at the R bar. Seker invited me over to help him cook as he prepared meatballs for the Krewe d’Vieux party he is throwing. I sautéed a bunch of vegetables and helped him prep. It was a fun way to end an evening.

The weekend will be a full one, with parades and parties every day. I’m thinking about whether to bring a camera or just enjoy the flow of events. It is fun to be in town for the whole season this year.

Friday was another slow day in the Quarter, and after a stop at Harry’s and a good conversation with Tom Roby I went over to Molly’s. It was a little more crowded, but it was one large group of cruise shippers from New Jersey. I escaped to the Tayho Tavern, a place that had been on my list for a while. It is a divey looking spot on Decatur and Governor Nicholls, and has prominent signage that promotes dog rescue. I think I had avoided it in the past because I thought it was a pet store, or I had it conflated with the dog accessory store just down the block. As I walked in to the almost empty restaurant, I was greeted by Lauren, Cecile’s friend, who works there as a waitress. I recognized most of the people who work there from the R bar which made for a comfortable experience. They were doing a Happy Hour $5 shot and a beer, good for the Quarter. The menu is interesting for New Orleans, with Wagyu beef burgers highlighted, along with some interesting gumbos. The house burger has a fried egg on top, and is served with fries cooked in duck fat. They also had a couple of versions of mofongo, including a vegan one, and several dishes with slow cooked pork. I had a burger with an egg, and it was a good as suggested. The best burger in town? Maybe. It was certainly the best I’ve had in a while. A place to put on the “go back to” list.

Saturday was a whole different story. You could have gone bowling on Bourbon Street on Thursday, and today the streets were packed with people and cars. It was like someone turned on the Carnival faucet. The traffic patterns were disrupted for the evening parade and cars were directed into the Quarter, causing a minor gridlock. It seemed like there were a bunch of people pre-gaming Chewbacchus, but not yet in costume, and perhaps one or two more cruise ships than usual. The streets, out into the Marigny, were full of people. I saw Beverly riding her bike in full Mardi Gras costume on her way to work, and didn’t recognize her until she called me out. I took a walk to enjoy the change of pace, and stopped at the Crescent City Brewpub on Decatur for a lunch of oysters. The place is kind of a Disneyfied version of a brewpub/oyster bar with a jazz quintet playing and no one there had come for the music. It is decorated with Simon signs, and is big, clean and efficient, but missing the grunge that screams New Orleans authenticity. I hope that when Tujague’s moves across the the Quarter soon it does not go this far. That all said, a freshly shucked half dozen oysters and a tall Pilsner while listening to decent music and watching the hordes negotiate the narrow sidewalk makes for a good lunch. Bright and clean may not be a bad thing entirely when eating raw oysters.

I got dressed to go out to Chewbacchus, deciding on a Sith Lord costume. Darth Bob? Head to toe black, with a tuxedo cummerbund and a flowing floor length cape with a hood. No makeup this time, letting the bald head and mustache do the work. I headed out, stopping at the R bar. The bartender Jackie, a beautiful woman who often wears cropped t-shirts and shorts to show off her tattoos at work, was in costume, a body suit that consisted of one inch wide straps, a thong, and black electrical tape over her nipples so nobody would get arrested. Carnival is on!

The parade route was from Dauphine in the Marigny down Frenchmen and up Decatur and points further uptown. Frenchmen was like a funnel, with barricades on both sides, and people packed on the sidewalks. I walked up behind a family with a 12 year old boy, who saw me in full Darth Bob mode, and said “holy fucking shit”, which earned him a quick slap from his mom. It’s good to know when a costume works. I mingled with the crowd, taking lots of photographs, mostly of the spectators, as I worked my way down Frenchmen to Checkpoint Charlie’s and then on to Lower Decatur in front of Mollie’s. I didn’t get close enough to get any throws, but throws are not the focus of the walking parades. It was a good start to the season, and next weekend has three parades through the neighborhood, including Krewe d’vieux. It’s a marathon…

The Sunday crowd was a little lighter and more subdued as people got ready for the Super Bowl. It was a beautiful sunny day, pushing 80 degrees, and a good day for a walk through the Quarter. I was mentally fatigued, almost hung over, from the big crowds, late night,and sensory overload. I made some salmon dip and jerked a piece of coho for the grill and took it over to Ellen’s porch. We watched the game and grilled steak and fish. No one was following the game closely, and I was able to have a good conversation with Jill about Mardi Gras. She is a member of Cork, which has optional monthly meetings with excellent meals at some of the best restaurants in town with lots of wine, several costuming and throw meetings, and an all day party the day of the parade through the Quarter, ending at their ball. I like it because it is a daylight parade which makes photography a little easier. She also has specific spots, friends who host parties at their houses along the routes, to view the most fun uptown parades. I’m hoping she remembers she invited me along.