Throw me some beads, Mister!

New thing today: went to the day parade in Ocean Springs! Have a new pile of cheap beads and lots of laughs to remember the day.

Mardi Gras in Mississippi is not quite like the same festivities of nearby New Orleans. The floats are more, shall we say, middle class, and you don’t have to show your ta-tas to get beads! Mainly it’s trailers with painted plywood, canned music, and some big pickup trucks with a marching band or two and — of course — the aforementioned beads. But for some reason we still scream for cheap beads and plastic footballs and have a great time doing it. Ha!

Our group was particularly pleased with the float that was playing ZZ Top melodies immediately followed with Twist and Shout. Yes, I was practicing my twist moves and it seems I worked a kink out in my back while I was doing it so it was a double win!

We’re planning to hit the evening parade in a couple of weeks, another first. Biggest lesson learned from this week is GET THERE EARLY! Ran in a particularly snarky young police woman who was completely unhelpful when I tried to ask for alternate directions. We rode round and round for a while, finally landing at another friend’s house who gave us a lift to our viewing spot. The lovely Ginny has a home near the parade route and she graciously hosted us to hang out and have a porch party afterward. The Gang is below; we’re still trying to come up with a name for ourselves so if you have suggestions, please share. We only ask that you keep it clean. And if you can’t keep it clean, keep it to yourself. Ha!