I wanted to go to Mardi Gras for three years. Each year there were things coming up that prevented me from going. This year I vowed to make a difference. Originally it was an excuse for a motorbike trip. During long winter anything that promises a ride on my bike is a good idea, no matter how insane it is However this year my bike was not ready despite all my efforts. With two weeks 'til the MG and no reservations of any kind I decided that I'm going no matter what.

Since going on the bike was out of the question, my only other option was to rent a car. Finding a rental with unlimited miles was not a problem. Lodging was harder. Even camping spaces around New Orleans were taken 6-8 months in advance according to KOA people there. The nearest spot I was able to get was in Mississippi, 50 mi from the Big Easy. Since the campground is located near Rt 10, getting to Orleans was a piece of cake. $18/night easily beats ridiculous hotel prices.

After hearing MG stories I decided to document my adventures for the generations to come. As a result, I used-up three rolls of film. For some reason only half dozen of pictures did came out OK. Trying to remember back, there is no way some of those pictures could come out but at that time I guess that I thought differently ... ; ) Some pictures came up up-side-down and some had been taken at an angle that defies any sense.
  Canal St. is the main drag in NO. It's where all parades end and it's right next to the French Quarters. Leading to MG day there are many crewes with really impressive decorations and elaborate designs. In the dark they looked fantastic. Orpheus was most spectacular

In between parades, French Q was the place start and to finish your day. This is not a line, just the usual crowd of people separated by half foot deep pile of trash. Then there were the usual spectacles leading to the same end. I was glad that this pic came out.
During any day it was pretty hard to get beads early. As the day passed on and as I moved closer to the finish lines of crewes, getting beads was much easier. By the end of the day people threw beads at each other and tried to discriminate which beads they wanted to keep since necks are only so wide. The very last parade is the truck parade.

The trucks are barely decorated and loaded with trinkets. Luck of decorations is replaced by insane quantity of stuph that just kept on coming and coming. Every new truck would bring possibility of new things to catch. I wanted to stay til the last truck, but it was truly too much. I just wanted this insanity to end!

  The trip back was fairly uneventful. It was straight 23.5 h drive from NO to Boston with only gas stops and one short nap. At the end of the trip I saw hitchhikers transform into trees on the side of the road. That guy in the red truck who tailgated me for miles was the devil .... or may be he really was? Even 20 min of short nap did not liberate me from dreaming about passing cars and spotting cops. I beat my previous road trip record by logging 3600 miles round trip.

As the result of this trip I had lost my voice twice and added new forgotten memories. They will, no doubt, surface in a future hypnotic transgression sessions.