I have wanted to blog before Lundi Gras but seriously was not physically able to do so. I was really not able to do anything, except sit on a lazy boy out on the parade route this weekend. Tonight, I am taking off so I can get up at 6am for Zulu and to march thereafter in a renegade parade I cannot recall the name of right now. The name really doesn't matter, the point is you have to be in costume marching on Fat Tuesday.
As for the Muses experience, I cannot say it enough that it was simply one of the most amazing experiences in my life! There was a complete surreality to the entire ride, which for float 5, was about 7 hours that we were on the move. Count in the pre-party which was another 3 hours, it made a long evening. The pre-party consisted of only the riding ladies, who primped and dressed in their costumes while sipping nectar of the goddesses and champagne. Every float had a headdress of some sort, usually having to do with the theme of the float you were riding. There was a headdress competition, which apparently our float won 3rd place ( I was in the bathroom primping at the time). Who won first, I still do not know. The odd thing about it all though, was that since there was 768 women riding, and in costume, you wouldn't be able to really recognize anybody save for your co-riders who dressed the same as you. I felt like I was a member of some sort of bird flock that was mingling with other bird species, but yet stuck close to the same tribe throughout. It was fantastic thrill when they brought in the floats one by one for us to load on. Each time one would roll by, hundreds of female hollers were unleashed with a wave of sparkly arms and heads raised to welcome the float's arrival.
Once we got on, the immediate task of bead-organizing began. It took a lot longer than you would think. We had so much stuff that is was hard to move around. I resorted to bead surfing during that time in order to move around. The girls I rode next to we all a blast. We shard finger sandwiches and wine and combed through thousands of beads and trinkets while lining up on Tchoup. The parade suddenly pulled together on the corner of Napoleon and Tcoup when they would weave in the bands one by one in between floats. This was so organized it almost seemed like braiding hair. As soon as the bands came in and started playing, the whole thing just kicked up 10 notches and we were suddenly a real full fledged parade taking off.
The ride itself was a surreal experience. I almost felt like I was on some sort of drug, as all time suddenly ceased and you lost track of where you were. One would think that there would be a lot whooping and music on the float itself, but we were all so silent and focused on throwing, that this too, added to the slow-motion effect. In addition, the only real exchange was when you made eye-contact with a parade viewer and threw them something. To see the complete joy and thrill in their eyes was truly moving, and always followed by a "thank you". I heard from a lot of people this weekend that Muses was by far the best parade they had seen.
When we hit Canal I realized I was almost out of goods to throw (which I can hardly believe), so I had to resort to tricks and teasing to string out what was left. The only thing I did not throw, was my Snake-and-Jake's sunglasses and Cruella Deville plush toy (both I found in the throw-back stash). I hated for it to all be over, but I am so so so glad to have had the chance to do it, I am totally hooked now.
Saturday was a big time as well. I had some friends that set up camp on St. Charles, along with a margarita machine and port-a-potty-tent and loads of additional accoutrements. Sunday, I went down to a friend's house on Magazine St. for Thoth. We pulled out the lazy-boys then, and before long I was a renegade rider on Thoth for a little while when they slowed down, opened the side door and yelled, "Climb on!". I was given a tiara and a mask and rolled with them a little while too!
And let's not forget the Super Bowl, which was on during Bacchus. My friend's bar (the Delachaise) had set up a wide screen t.v. on the patio so we could watch in between floats or in between commercials. How about the Giants y'all!!! That was thrilling in and of itself! Lot's of Manning fans down here...
Time to rest up now, get ready for one last hurrah...
