Mardi Gras

14 February 2010
A pretty sunny day - still cold! We went to a non-denominational church service in the Arena. It was nice. We were upset that there are so many historic Catholic Churches in New Orleans but we had no way of getting to any of them. We probably should start towing a car.
We visited the National WWII Museum. They showed a marvelous film by Tom Hanks. We ate gumbo at the museum restaurant. There was not enough time to do the museum justice since we had to be back at the bus by 3 PM.
We went to the Krewe of Bacchus Parade. The had 33 huge floats with 1200 members riding on them in costume, and at least as many marching bands from all the schools. We left after the 24th float at 11:00 PM. Drew Brees from the Saints was their King. In the stands we spoke with several native New Orleans. Everyone is so friendly and nice. The Saint’s victory really united the city and gave new hope after Katrina. After Katrina the news media seemed to depict New Orleans as a city of crooks and lazy bums. Even though, as in any city there is some of that element, the majority seems to be hard working, good people. There is hope that the new mayor will work to solve some of the lingering problems.
As soon as we got back to the RV there was a heavy rain and wind storm. We made it back just in time! I feel sorry for the last float riders if the parade didn’t finish before the rain.