When we rolled into Mustang at about 9:15 Wednesday night, hungry, exhausted, and loaded down with beads, we couldn’t believe we had actually done it—we drove the 11-hour journey to and from Louisiana all by ourselves without getting lost once. We did, however, participate in our own personal Fear Factor game on the way there.
Laura drove the first few hours, which meant she got the none-too-enviable task of driving through Dallas. As the Big D loomed closer, our hearts pounded and we checked the map and GPS numerous times. But after only a couple minor panic attacks and zero wrong turns, we were out of Dallas and could all breathe a sigh of relief.
Several hours later it was Shawna’s turn to face her fear: driving in general. Shawna is the girl who will drive two hours out of her way to avoid highways and traffic of any sort. But I have to hand it to Shawna, she was remarkably calm when she took over the wheel somewhere in Texas. (I probably should have kept a journal of our trip, because many details have already slipped my mind.) We knew rain was a very real possibility, but we figured we’d cross that bridge when we came to it. And come to it we did, which made us all a little nervous. But Shawna kept her hands at 10 and 2, turned the windshield wipers on full speed, and got us safely through the rain, which lasted at least an hour of her drive time.
And speaking of bridges, I came face to face with my biggest driving fear: going across bridges. I can’t say for sure where my fear of bridges comes from. I don’t know if it’s the height factor or the water factor or a little of both, but bridges terrify me. So I suppose it was only fitting that my leg of the drive just so happened to include driving across a 25-mile bridge in Louisiana. When I noticed I was quickly coming upon the bridge Shawna’s sister had warned us about, I panicked. All I really remember is Shawna cranking up the AC as high as it could go and breathing Lamaze style so I wouldn't black out. Luckily I didn’t, and at about 6:30 p.m., we finally made it to Covington, LA, where we were staying with Shawna’s grandma, aka Bebe.
Our three full days in Louisiana were filled with good food, spending time with Shawna’s super-sweet family, and, of course, parades! We had powdered-sugar-covered beignets at Café du Monde, award-winning cheesecake at Copeland’s, and boudin at Shawna’s family’s barbecue.
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| Yummy beignets |
I also sampled more seafood than I’ve ever eaten in my life because, quite frankly, I’m not a fan of food that comes from the ocean. I choked down some shrimp and catfish, but I was not about to touch the crab claws
We did some souvenir shopping and bought Mardi Gras masks and t-shirts.
And finally it was Fat Tuesday! We got up at 5:00 a.m. to get a good spot for the parades and made it to Metairie for the famous truck parade by 7:00. The first parade didn’t start until 10:00, so Shawna, Laura, Laura (Shawna’s cousin [that never got confusing]), and I walked around looking for a bathroom, a Smoothie King, and wild costumes.
The parade finally began, and we had a blast! Seventy-six 18-wheelers laden with men, women, and children throwing out beads, stuffed animals, and panties cruised by. We danced in the street and screamed at the top of our lungs to get our beads. When we left several hours later, we had bags filled with the booty we had collected
Although a bit short, this vacation is one I will never forget. Not everyone can say they’ve been to Mardi Gras, and now I can actually mark it off my bucket list. It was a wonderful experience. I made new friends in Shawna’s family, conquered my biggest driving fear, and now have a box full of beads in my trunk. So if anyone wants some real-deal Mardi Gras beads, come see me.
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| Before Fear Factor |
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| The lovely Shawna and me |
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| Laura and me with just a few of the beads we collected |
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| All of us waiting for our first Mardi Gras parade! |
LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteYou look hot in that mask... ;)
Hahaha! Awe-some! One minor typo though. There were 76 18-wheelers for the FIRST truck parade and then 76 18-wheelers for the SECOND. That makes for 152 semi-truck floats. That doesn't even include the first parade with marching bands and floats that went by. GOO! No wonder we were so tired! I still need to catch up on my sleep.
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