nola - endymion parade

after volunteering for samaritan's purse, i reconnected with laura, kim, and rebecca who so graciously welcomed me back to their house and invited me to hang out with their friends and tag along as they did their favorite mardi gras traditions.  i can't thank god enough for the friendliness and godliness i've encountered while being with these people.   i've truly been blessed and praise god for his grace to me through them! : )

new orleans is packed with people and the number of parades throughout the weeks are out of control!  this place knows how to celebrate and party!   random shot from an overpass of a parade...

i spent some time in audubon park in uptown to organize my van a bit.

then i met up with kim and brittany at cooter browns to ride toward the parades.   the endymion parade is one of their favorites, and now stands as my first official mardi gras parade.

the repetition of float, float, marching band, float, marching band, float... seems endless.  with the approach of each float, the crowd is anticipating a fresh catch of beads and other collectibles like doubloons, plastic throw cups, stuffed animals, glow sticks, and other toys which are tossed in abundance.  depending on the parade, there could be particularly special souvenirs anticipated like one-of-a-kind boots or painted coconuts.

with the crowd so thick, people stake out their territory long before the parades begin.  also, there are ladders all over for people to step up on, and people build boxes for their little kids to sit in on top of the ladders.  because they are high up, they are visible from the floats and have plenty of things thrown toward them. while the kids make out well on the collection of beads and toys,  i wouldn't be surprised if they also go home with bruises from the beads and toys slung toward them. : )

i certainly enjoyed the experience.

kim scored a sweet collection.  check out those beads! and the rose that lights up in different colors! : )

i loved hanging out with these new friends.  i don't want to imagine what my first mardi gras would have been like without them.

when we and others got back to the house, we continued the fun by hanging out, playing games, eating ice cream, and just being goofy late into the evening - being 'sleep-drunk' with late-night laughter.