My Uncle, Aunt, a few cousins, and in-laws (my Aunt's family) live in the area. They have a float in the Krewe of Thoth parade that my Dad, Uncle, and their friends have been riding on ever since I can remember. This year, I was invited to ride on the float and couldn't pass up the opportunity. Thoth is the 2nd biggest parade in all of Madri Gras and is the largest day parade.
I was a bit nervous heading down because when you think of New Orleans you think of gumbo, craw fish, shrimp, and other kinds of seafood. Sounds good right? Not if you don't like seafood or in my case if you are learning to like seafood. That is right, learning to like seafood. Over the past five years, I have taken it upon myself to try food I haven't liked in the past. I have started to like seafood little by little, but this was my first big test. I was going all in and going to eat seafood as much as I could and try it all. First test came minutes after I stepped off the plane and met my Dad and his friend Keller.
Charbroiled Clams
Good stuff. Next up a few options with crab.
Yummm. Next came the gumbo, followed by the shrimp and fish. All delicious. It's official I am a seafood fan. But enough with the food.
My family there took us around and showed us the local hot spots. Though we avoided Bourbon Street for the most part, they were able to get us on a balcony for a few hours to watch the madness in the street below.
We watched a few parades and prepared for our big day on Sunday. We woke up early in the morning and got gowned up. We were then police escorted to our floats in school buses. This was probably my favorite part. 15-20 motorcycle cops stop traffic for you at every intersection and then the next 4 or 5 cops in motorcycles zoom past you with sirens full blast like you are the president or someone a lot more important then we are. It was awesome.
So the parade came and we threw beads straight for 5 or 6 hours. At times, the crowds were 20 people deep and I always seemed to find my favorite people to throw it to, the red headed kids. Too bad my favorite red head was at home along with her mama.
