Lundi Gras re-cap

Lundi Gras- the Monday before Mardi Gras- started out as moving day for my wife and I. We checked out of our hotel and cabbed it back up to my sister's Mid-City apartment in the AM. After unpacking and getting re-organized we headed out for lunch. We had a nice walk along Bayou St. John over to one of our favorite po boy shops in New Orleans- The Parkway Bakery. Unfortunately, a lot of other folks seemed to have the same idea so there was quite a line for lunch. It was well worth the wait-the roast beef po' boy and sweet potato fries were real good. (Funny story- at the Parkway, you wait in line first to place your order, pay and then wait for your order to be called; as I listened to names being called for some of the orders-it appeared folks were using famous names as a joke- I heard Dean Martin, Bill Murray, etc. I thought it would be funny to give a New Orleans related musician name- Dr. John or Professor Longhair seemed to obvious so I thought I would use famous piano player James Booker’s name when it came time to order. When I got to front of line, I placed my order, paid and gave my name. I then went out to the bar to get an Abita Beer to go with lunch and I heard "Order 95 James Booger...Booger..James Booger"...I could hear laughter coming over the microphone as well. Anyway, when I went up to the window, all the staff in the back making the sandwiches were cracking up- they got the biggest kick out of the name. I let the guy know that it was supposed to be Booker not Booger- he said he figured as much but Booger was much funnier!). After lunch, we walked over to Canal St. to catch a streetcar into town. We were heading for WoldenbergPark on the Mississippi River to check out the Lundi Gras Festival put on by the ZuluSocial Aid and Pleasure Club featuring food, music and appearances by some of the main characters in the Zulu Parade which would be tomorrow Mardi Gras morning. The streetcar was almost full when we got on- lots of folks were heading into town most likely for the festival as well as for the parades that were going to be happening later on this afternoon and evening. As we moved down the line another stop, the streetcar got so full that it no longer stopped for folks waiting along the route- we had just made it on. We got off near end of line and walked over to the festival.  The park was pretty crowded- there were 2 or 3 large music stages, food vendors and crafts tents, etc. We walked around and almost immediately came upon a brass band and a secondline featuring members of the Zulu club (this one had “The Governor” in his blue feather suit and headdress-see slideshow below). Anyway, as I have learned to do in New Orleans, if you see a secondline, fall in behind to see where it takes you. In this case, however, it seemed to be leading us from the public area start to a VIP area that was being opened especially for the secondline members. My wife and I decided to stay the course and before we knew it we were marching in the parade behind the barricade along a route that appeared to be heading towards one of the music stages up ahead. We continued to march along until we were able to drop back out and move onto the other side of the barricade before getting to the stage- that was a close call! We walked around a bit more before heading over to St. Charles to catch today’s parades. Today’s plan was to see the Tucks parade only (there were 2 other parades scheduled after but my wife and I were feeling a bit paraded out – plus, I had read that it is a good idea to end Lundi Gras early so you can get up real early on Mardi Gras morning for what is typically a long day). So we met up with our friends Arthur and Ricki and their kids to see the Tucks parade from our sidewalk side spot (see slideshow below for Tucks pix - parade was a kick; apparently it was started some years ago by some Loyola University students and it continues to have a “college” feel with floats and themes that mostly involve bathroom humor, beer and girls). After Tucks, my wife and I walked a couple blocks over to catch a city bus back into town. We met my sister for dinner in the French Quarter- Coop’s Place, really good Cajun food- and then headed over to Frenchmen St to hear some music. Ended up at the Maison where we saw Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses who play traditional New Orleans jazz- nice. Ended up back at my sister’s house around 11pm and was to bed soon after. Mardi Gras morning was gonna start early.