Fat to Ashes: Back to Routine

The Monday before Fat Tuesday should really be a chance to recover and rest up for Mardi Gras. To that end, many of us had the day off from work. So naturally, a few of us got together for a long ride up on the levee. It was fairly cold and windy as hell, but when Brady innocently looked over at me and asked if we wanted to go all the way out to Ormond, I said, "sure, as long as you're pulling!" Maybe he took me literally, but for whatever reason he motored all the way out there with the rest of us hanging on and being very quiet, hoping we wouldn't see the dreaded "pull through" elbow wiggle. It was pretty much like sitting behind a motorcycle in a headwind. I, for one, would certainly have been going quite a bit slower on my own. So anyway, we had a really nice ride while the rest of you were at work. I like the photo at the top because if shows three versions of club jerseys spanning I guess six or seven years.

That evening we hit yet another couple of parades, Proteus and Orpheus. The latter was excellent - probably some of the nicest floats I saw this year. By the time the last part of the parade was passing the crowds had thinned out quite a bit. Earlier that day there had been a flurry of emails about a Mardi Gras morning ride, with the consensus finally settling on a 7 am start. I figured I could at least make the first part of that ride, but I really needed to be back home by 8:30 if I expected to catch Rex, which was rolling at 10 am.

So Tuesday morning I headed out to see who would show up. It was still pretty cold, but the wind had died down a bit. Even so, I was thinking we'd be lucky to have five or six for this one. Well, we ended up with at least a dozen and on top of that the pace was pretty fast. I dropped off at the parish line with one or two others and we rode back down the river a bit easier. By the time I got home there were already truck floats lining up all along South Claiborne Avenue playing, quite loudly and concurrently, six or seven different types of music. Mardi Gras Day!

We sent the sister-in-law and her daughter off with the neighbors to our meeting spot on St. Charles Avenue, and half an hour later hopped on the bikes to ride down there ourselves. There is no other day of the year on which you will find more bikes on the streets of New Orleans. It's always kind of neat to ride down Prytania with all the other families on bikes. Just as we got to Washington Avenue, the entire Rex caravan of a dozen stretch limousines pulled out in front of us (I think those who aren't riding on the floats always have a big breakfast at Commander's Palace). We rode down the sidewalk alongside them for the next few blocks until we could cut over to Second Street.

As usual, Rex stopped for a long time at the mansion on St. Charles while the police moved barricades and got the rest of the route set up after Zulu. In front of them the Jefferson City Buzzards walking club waited restlessly. I went over and got some good photos of Rex and some of the Captains, and even Rex's grandson. This year's Rex is on Tulane's Board, so it was kind of nice to see the rapidly growing and improving Tulane Marching Band doing such a fine job. After the parade we ran back up to the Bremmerman's condo for some wine and Popeye's fried chicken (I prefer a nice Pinot Noir with my fried chicken, but most people go with a Sauvignon Blanc or even Champagne).

A while later I shouldered my backpack and we started our walk down to the French Quarter. The weather was really great; maybe a bit on the cool side but otherwise just perfect. Just as we crossed Canal Street we ran right into one of the marching clubs on its way into the Quarter. I was very tempted to just join them but, alas, I was unmasked and without a costume. So after a stop at Ralph and Kacoo's for a glass of wine and shrimp remoulade, I spent an hour and a half wandering around Bourbon and Royal Streets soaking up the energy and taking pictures. It was still fairly early in the afternoon, so things weren't really too wild yet. Sadly, we headed back around 4 pm, got home around 5 or 5:30, and promptly invited the neighbors over for some grilled catfish and more wine.

So now it's back to the old routine. I think it will take me yet a few days to get fully switched over from Mardi Gras season to Lent. I know my liver will appreciate the change. You can see more photos on my Kodak Gallery page (they look a lot better if you select the slideshow and click the full-screen icon).