After recovering from my ovary rotting weekend with Cup Cate, it was time for JSH and I to turn our attention to Mardi Gras.
For the first time in the history of the DBH-JSH union, we did not have friends in town to entertain nor did we have to move out of our uptown locale to go visit friends downtown. We were the stewards of our own ship---which meant that we would be walking from 931 Harmony Street to the Wedge's house and plant ourselves somewhere near St. Charles and Foucher for the parades.
On Thursday, the first arrivals of Wedge's law school/Mardi Gras crew (or Krewe) (Blackwelder--the lieutenant of said Krewe and Chris) landed in New Orleans to much fanfare as they never stop going and enjoy every second of Mardi Gras.
As part of Blackwelder's duties as self-anointed Lieutenant, he crafts an agenda for the weekend's activities. Each day's agenda usually ended with "Chris and Blackwelder go to F&Ms/Beau and Jessie go home"
We had a great time at Muses and everyone got off to a great start. I even bought Jessie a blunt instrument to poke the riders with in order to get beads (light saber---green). After Muses, we went to Balcony where we continued to party until 1am. Somewhat aggressive but we were smart enough to take a mulligan on F&M's (per the agenda) and head home.
On Friday of Mardi Gras, Blackwelder organizes a lunch at Commander's Palace. Jessie, Wedge, Christian, Chris, Neil, his buddy, and the A team (Blackwelder's friends Allison and Andrea), Megan, and Lizzie were committed to the outing this year. I had to backout early on in the week as I thought I would have work obligations on that Friday. As a mea culpa to Blackwelder, I promised to make at least one F&M's appearance over the course of the weekend. In a nice turn of events, my law firm was able to close early and I made lunch right on time. We had a great time and I think everyone enjoyed each other's company. The food and the atmosphere combined make Commander's lunch a unique event. Even the rendition of "Mustang Sally" (per Wedge's request) by the roving 3 piece band was cool----and hilarious. The 25 cent Martinis were also huge hit---although I am not a big Martini fan and they didn't have Redbull (ask JSH about this) so I had a vodka/tonic instead.
Oh, and the best part of lunch was that my presence extinguished my commitment to F&M's (which Blackwelder, of course, had printed out the email where I made said commitment as proof of my binding obligation----effing lawyers).
We moved on from Commander's to the parade route where, once again, we had a phenomenal time watching the Friday night parades. As per the agenda, we made the walk from Wedge's to Bulldog for post-parade shenanigans. By this point in the weekend, Wedge's friend Megan had made it in from San Francisco and was one of the 5 left standing at Rendezvous at 2:30am. JSH was starting her own revolution to go to Igor's or F&M's. I was trying to make the point that I had seen this movie before and a cab ride to either place would result in a drive by on the way back to 931 Harmony with JSH asleep on my shoulder. She was not having it. So, we all compromised and went back to Bulldog where it was not crowded but the music was bumping. It was surprising for Bulldog and I will touch on that point again in this post.
Our night ended at 4am when one of the other patrons informed us "his boy and his boy's girl" had locked themselves in the kitchen to.............well, you know.
GOO.
On Saturday, the day parades uptown went by fast---as usual. Instead of battling our way out to Endymion, Blackwelder had organized a crawfish boil in Wedge's backyard. Mr. Labourdette (Wedge's father) was nice enough to boil the crawfish and did an amazing job. Everything was fantastic.
At this point, the house party ensued from about 3pm to 8pm where Chelada (see picture below) and Andre 1500 made appearances. Last year, Blackwelder saw another parade-goer use a doll as a prop to facilitate his quest for beads. In preparation for this year, Blackwelder dug out a cabbage patch doll from his parents' attic to bring to Mardi Gras (we aren't sure if it his doll or his sister's...story developing). The cabbage patch doll was named Andre----aka---Andre 1500 for Mardi Gras purposes. Andre joined the dance party, was baptized in tequila, and held down a table outside at Bulldog. The Wedge had Andre sticking out of her coat for most parades while yelling "Something for da baby, something for da baby!" I am not sure if it worked but it was damn funny. As usual, Bulldog turned into a hoppin' place with bumpin' music and lots o' dancing. It was an early night for everyone relatively speaking even though JSH tried to stage a jail break to F&M's when no one would go with her.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat and onto Sunday.
On Sunday, lots of parades, drinking, and beads. After Bacchus, the streets turned into a dance party as the hotel nearby had great music blaring. In addition, my friend Brent brought a Snuggie (yes--really) to the route which was hijacked by Craig for the remainder of the night. Note: Brent or Matt, the Snuggie has been washed and is at the Wedge's house--it will be returned soon. Between the Snuggie and the music, Foucher and St. Charles was its own party for an hour after Bacchus.
The Snuggie was a HUGE hit with parade riders, passersby, girls, guys, and dudes dressed like Germans (see below). If you had the Snuggie, you had its powers. Craig, Blackwelder, and Tim had their pictures taken multiple times with multiple people and it was almost like a red carpet event. At the Bulldog, "SNU--GGIE.........SNU--GGIE...........SNU--GGIE" chants filled the bar. Songs were rewritten to incorporate the Snuggie. My personal favorite was "Bringin' Snuggie Back"
It was crazy............CATS and DOGS living together........mass hysteria! Movie?
We definitely topped Saturday night's house party--which no one thought was possible.
At this point, I need to point out that Bulldog has turned into F&M's East---at least for Mardi Gras. The music, late night crowd, cheese fries, and shenanigans in the kitchen "after hours" brought a certain F&M's quality to Magazine Street.
I know I have left out many stories and people but I promise to do a Mardi Gras in July edition after I have a chance to review Blackwelder's agenda. Blackwelder was marking up his agenda all weekend to document funny quotes or stories, revise the agenda, or make notes for next year. At a moment's notice, he would whip the agenda out of his back pocket to mark something down he thought was funny. It was a "living document" for you constitutional scholars.
It was a fantastic Mardi Gras and I look forward to seeing most of the krewe at 931 Harmony for St. Patty's Day.
Below are some pictures of the weekend courtesy of Lizzie, Blackwelder, and Wedge
Tim "feeding" Andre 1500
Blackwelder and his Bud Light Chelada (V8 and Bud Light--pure goodness)
Snuggies and Dudes dressed like German---gotta love Mardi Gras.
JSH before staging her attempted prison break to F&M's
The Schott Family sans Me---I was down the street saying hello to Charlie Murphy
King of Snuggie
Epilogue:
On Fat Tuesday, Lizzie, Craig, Ms. Kathy, JSH,and I walked to Jackson and St. Charles to watch Zulu and catch Mr. Schott riding in Rex. It was a perfect morning that ended in a Popeye's lunch. One more endearing JSH story: She told a group of Mormon boys that their "costumes" were "a personal fav" of hers for Mardi Gras..........except they weren't in costume. Well played, JSH. Well played.
No comments:
Post a Comment