Mardi Gras in New Orleans! The Weather Gods were kind to the Big Easy today and we had warm and mostly dry weather for Mardi Gras. First things first, though, and a dozen of us met up at 6:15 a.m. for the Tuesday long ride on the levee. It was foggy as hell, though, and there were a few nervous moments when the lead riders would suddenly see something coming the other way. At one point, Jeff was on the front and he mistook one of the access roads for the bike path and a few riders almost followed him down the levee. Seven of us did the whole ride at a pretty steady 23-24 mph, so it was a good training ride. The road was a little wet from all the fog and so naturally I got a flat, but at least it came right at the end of the ride. I could feel the tap-tap-tap of something in my tire and I tried to brush it off with my glove, but it wasn't coming out, so I had to stop. It was a big piece of sharp rock, and when I pried it out, the air came out with it.
The Wife had planned to run over to Audubon Park for the Royal Run, but she woke up a little bit late and by the time she got there they had just given out the last of the official Rex T-shirts.
By the time I got home, the truck floats were already starting to line up along S. Claiborne Ave., which is basically right outside my window. There are always a few that are playing mardi gras music, so things seem real festive around the house from about 7:30 a.m. on. The riders on the truck floats, of which there are literally hundreds, spend hours waiting in line until they actually get onto the parade route. They were still rolling around 3 p.m.
So I loaded up a backpack with the essentials and we rode bikes down a few miles to Napoleon Avenue where we caught the Rex parade. This area is very family-oriented. Lots of kids and a very relaxed crowd. I was successful in acheiving my primary goal, which was to collect at least one string of official "Rex Beads" and a Rex Dubloon. After the parade passed, we jumped back on the bikes and rode down a mile or so to Washington and St. Charles where we locked the bikes. From there we walked alongside the parade downtown. By the time we got near Jackson Avenue, Rex was at a complete stop. As usual, the Zulu parade was holding things up and Rex had to wait from Zulu to make the turn onto St. Charles before continuing. While we were waiting there, we spotted Boatner Reily, a big Tulane donor and prior king of Rex, all decked out in his tuxedo and top hat, running up to one of the floats trying to get some of the prized little "fatted calf" stuffed animals. There's a photo of him in the photo album. Finally, we made our way through the crowds to the other side of St. Charles and walked downtown via Prytania St.
The French Quarter wasn't too crowded, since it was so early. Things don't get really packed until around 4 p.m., and the interesting stuff doesn't start until around nightfall, but on the plus side, the portable toilets were still nice and clean! We made one trip down Royal and Bourbon, taking a bunch of photos, and then stopped in at Ralph & Kacoos for lunch. After that, I deposited The Wife on the Moonwalk by the river and spent another hour or so taking more pictures. When I got back, we got a little rain shower and headed off to make the long walk back uptown when it eased up.
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