Saying Good-bye to Mardi Gras 2007

Well, we lived through Mardi Gras! We were busier this past week than we've been in the past month combined!! It was a lot of fun, though. We went to more parades in the last week than I've ever been to in my life, I think. And we've met lots of nice folks, some who may go on to become good friends. That's the best part. Here are some pictures from the campground parade and the final Grand Ball. Enjoy!

Here we are with Dick & Pat at the Grand Ball last night. We do a lot with them. They great folks from Oklahoma. The next picture is Dick, Pat & their little girl, "Sassi." This is the "King & Queen" in a vintage Jaguar. The guys loved this car! And finally, a picture of The Chenilles. I'm not sure if I've told you about this group of women. They perform (if you can call it that!) at different functions in the park, singing popular songs whose lyrics have been rewritten to fit the occasion. I had the luck to join them during the Mardi Gras events. Here we are singing a geriatric version of "My Favorite Things." You can't really see me, but if you look closely, you can see my bow behind the woman in the crazy wig. I had a lot of fun with this group!

Next week is sure to be less eventful than this past one. We are going to the Gulf Shores Zoo and that should be fun. This zoo has the dubious distinction of having to evacuate its animals twice in just two years due to hurricanes, but never lost an animal. They were even featured in a series on the cable channel, Animal Planet. Will share more after the trip.

Well, take care of one another. Keep in touch. Hugs to all. Until the next time . . .

More Mardi Gras Fun

And the fun continues! On Friday Randy & Dick (one of our neighbors) went into Mobile to tour the USS Samuel B. Roberts, a Navy guided-missile frigate. It is 453 feet long and has a crew of 210. Since it is an active ship, the tour was confined to a general tour - no inside scoop and no pictures other than the outside. But, they had fun anyway!

Friday night was the first of the campground's Mardi Gras events. This was the crowning of the King & Queen of Mardi Gras. I was involved in the planning of this event and had a great time. The theme of our Mardi Gras events is Broadway Musicals. We did our best to wreak havoc on several musicals! After we had dinner and our King & Queen were crowned, I had the privilege (?) of starting the program by singing the chorus of "There's No Business Like Show Business" and believe me, Ethel Merman has nothing to worry about!! :) We continued with songs from West Side Story and Oklahoma as well as a short run-on of The Pirates of Penzance. Two of the highlights for me were the men dressed up as women and singing "I Feel Pretty" and The Chenilles. The Chenilles is a group of women (and I was included!) who are dressed in robes, shower caps, towels on their heads, and slippers and "sing." They sing songs that have been reworded to fit the moment. This time the song was "Alabama" sung to the tune of "Oklahoma." That was great. I think the evening was a success.

Yesterday we went to the Foley parade. It was a smaller parade than the one last weekend in Fairhope, but just as fun. Lots of beads and moon pies were thrown and caught. And the weather was very cooperative; a little cool, but very sunny. After the parade, we had a nice lunch at the local Mexican restaurant with Dick & Pat and Darrell & Judy.

As always, more pictures can be found at our Webshots site: http://community.webshots.com/user/guiler85/0.

Today will be a quiet day, church this morning and the weekly ice cream social tonight. We gear up again tomorrow with the campground parade and lunch, then on Tuesday evening we finish up with the Grand Ball. Looking forward to that!

Hope all are doing well and staying warm there in the north. We think of you often and pray for you regularly. Please drop us a note sometime. Take care of each other. Until the next time . . .

A Taste of Mardi Gras

We went to our first Mardi Gras parades yesterday. Now before you start clucking your tongues - Mardi Gras in Alabama is family friendly. At least the events we have seen so far. We were joined by Dick & Pat and Darrell & Judy, new full-timing RV friends we've met here at the park.

The town of Fairhope hosted two parades yesterday; in the afternoon, it was the Mystic Mutts. Folks paid $20 to dress up themselves and their dogs to walk in this parade, with the money going to a local animal shelter. It was a cute idea and people really got into it. The weather was very accommodating, too.

Last night it was the Knights of Ecor Rouge. We braved the cold 'cause once the sun went down, it was chilly. I couldn't believe that I sat out for two hours waiting for a parade! Retirement must have mellowed me or I was that bored! :) Now don't expect a long dissertation on who the Knights of Ecor Rouge (KOER) are, because I'm not sure who they are or what the heck they do. I just know it's one of the mystic societies of Mardi Gras and was founded around 1985. You'd have to read the history of Mardi Gras to know more.

Anyway, I took lots of pictures and although they are dark, you get an idea of the parade. Lots of moon pies and beads were thrown out as well as peanuts, small footballs, cups, and coins. It was fun. We came home loaded with beads and didn't have to flash once! :)

Fairhope, the town where we went saw the parades, is a beautiful small town with a quaint downtown area. It is located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. There are gorgeous flowers everywhere. We had visited Fairhope last year when we drove through it with Dan & Debbie Domer. It was freezing cold and we stopped at their park. There are pictures of that on our Webshots site. We want to go back this year when the weather is good and walk around the town. Hopefully, we have some history to share with you then.

Enjoy the pictures. There are more on Webshots. We'll have more Mardi Gras events to share with you over the next week as the campground has a lot scheduled. Plus there are more area activities we want to go to.

Take care of one another. Please keep in touch - don't forget about us! Until the next time . . .

A Little Sightseeing - Finally!

With a wonderful turn in the weather, we had to get out and do something! Since we had to go into Pensacola, FL to go to the bank (yes, that IS the closest branch of our bank!) I googled Pensacola to see what there was to do in that area. Not a whole lot, I must say. But, I did find a scenic highway drive that goes along Escambia Bay and so that's what we thought we'd do.

I have to say I was a little disappointed in the drive. Of course, as I told Randy, after driving Route 1 along the Maine Coast, it's gonna be hard to top that! It was okay and we were able to stop a take a little walk along a boardwalk the town provided, but it was all treed and you couldn't access the beach from it due to RR tracks that run along the beach. I was only able to get one halfway decent picture. Otherwise the view really consisted of the many big homes that sit along that stretch of highway. Some of them were gorgeous, others not so much. It does amaze me what people will build and where, but of course I don't have the most cultured of tastes, to say the least! The best part of the drive was just being out in the beautiful weather - 70 degrees and sunny. It was wonderful!!!!

We have been keeping busy. Mardi Gras is HUGE in this area - did you know that Mardi Gras did not originate in New Orleans, but in Mobile, AL???? Well, neither did I. But it did, around 1704 and didn't get to New Orleans until around 60 years later. There have already been a few parades in the area and we're going to one tomorrow in Fairhope. It's a dog parade! People dress up their dogs and parade them. That should be interesting. The campground does several events surrounding Mardi Gras, the first of which is the Crowning of the King & Queen of Mardi Gras. That's next Friday night and we are involved in that evening. There'll be a dinner and a comedy program. "Comedy" being used very loosely, but it should be fun. A parade and grand ball are also on the schedule.

Hopefully, our bad weather is behind us and we'll be able to start doing some more sightseeing. The blog has not been very exciting of late - sorry 'bout that! Hope that will change soon. Take care of each other. Until the next time . . .