Mardi Gras is very serious business!!

Wow, Mardi Gras is not what we expected. It is a very Big Deal and every one takes it seriously!! Schools and business close for the day or week much like Christmas, it is a family celebration and it is steeped in tradition. We had always thought Mardi Gras was one day--and New Orleans was where it happened. That is just not true. Mardi Gras happens in many small towns & big cities throughout Louisiana, Mississippi & Alabama, and parades number in the hundreds. There are over 250 parades held throughout this region for weeks prior to Fat Tuesday. Families gather bringing ladders, wearing costumes & hats, cooking food and displaying fun, they rate parades by their "throws" and yell to each float as it passes. We attended several parades and caught way too many "throws", and certainly had more fun than we can describe in this blog--so enjoy the photos! We don't know the count of "throws" we caught but we can say that we are talking about over 200 beaded necklaces, many stuffed animals, small trinkets and oh my gosh too many more things to addressed here.