Celebrating Our 48th Anniversary in New Orleans at Mardi Gras

Prologue…Talking My Bride Into Taking a Little Trip

Looking back at 2021 and January of 2022, it was remarkable that we even  took this little trip to celebrate our 48th wedding anniversary.  Dorothy spent July through December of 2021battling breast cancer (including three partial mastectomies and a month of daily radiation treatments), and by the end of the year she was pretty worn out.  To add insult to injury, we both contracted Covid 19 in early January, 2022.  Although we had mild cases, we both felt very fatigued for several weeks.  As February 2022 rolled around, I began looking ahead to our 48th wedding anniversary on March 2.  I decided it would be nice to go to New Orleans and stay in the Hotel Monteleone, where we had stayed on our honeymoon 48 years ago.  It took some gentle arm twisting but I finally got Dorothy to agree to the trip.  Her main concern was that our wedding anniversary was smack dab in the middle of Mardi Gras, and she was afraid the crowds and the partying would be a big headache.  But we decided to go ahead and risk it, besides, we had never been to Mardi Gras– what better time than now!  We had very little social contact during the pandemic of 2020 and 2021, so I also wanted our little trip to include some visits with family and friends.  We ended up having a delightful trip, and wanted to share some of our trip and the sights and sounds of New Orleans and Mardi Gras, so here we go! 

The Trip Over to New Orleans…

We left the lake a little after noon on Sunday, February 27, 2022.  We drove to Beaumont, where we met my nephew Chris Burleigh and his family for dinner at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen.  We had a pleasant dinner and enjoyed catching up with Chris and his wife Megan, and their three girls– Maddie, Lilly, and Camryn.  It had been quite a while since we had seen the Burleigh family and the girls are growing up fast.  After dinner we drove to Orange and Spent the night at La Quinta on Highway 62.  This little motel is a favorite of mine and where we often stayed when we went to visit my late sister Molly.  

We got up the next morning and headed east to Lafayette, Louisiana to have have lunch with Dorothy’s cousin, Belle McKinney.  Belle too had had some medical problems during the last couple of years, but she was still an energetic and animated socializer.  She had prepared a meal of pork loin and eggplant for us, but we decided it would be poor taste to arrive empty handed so we stopped at Prejean’s and picked up some crab fingers and crab cakes for appetizers.  It was so nice to visit with Belle!  Right before we left, she gifted us some really nice Mardi Gras beads.  In fact the beads she gave Dorothy turned heads and generated positive comments throughout our stay in New Orleans.  Thank you Belle! 

We said our good-byes to Belle and headed toward the French Quarter in New Orleans.  We encountered a little traffic once we got into the Quarter near the Hotel Monteleone, but it wasn’t too bad.  When we checked in, they upgraded us to a Vieux Carre Suite, and up we went to the twelfth floor and our suite.  The suite was roomy as well as beautiful….

I really didn’t remember much about the Hotel Monteleone from our first visit back in 1974.  This time I paid more attention, and, with my brand new Samsung S22 and its great camera, I enjoyed exploring the common spaces of the hotel, as well as the stately main entrance on Royal Street.  To see a complete gallery of the photos I took at the Monteleone, look here.  By the way, we were very impressed with the security at the hotel.  Security staff discreetly watched all who came in and all who left.  To get to the elevator banks, you had to show a wristband– a nice touch!

Off To Our First Mardi Gras Parade…

When we checked in, the front desk personnel gave us information and maps  on the “Super Krewe” Parades of the 2022 Mardi Gras celebration.  We saw that two of the parades would be passing near the hotel, just a block over on Canal Street.  After resting a little, and getting things sorted out in our suite, we decided to head over to Canal Street to catch the parades.  We got to Canal Street about 5:30 p.m. and had to wait about an hour and a half before the first parade finally made it to our location.  During our wait, we struck up a conversation with a lady standing next to us.  She was a native, and very knowledgeable about the history and details of the Parades and Mardi Gras in general.  She also had an App that showed the progress of the parade, so she kept us up to date on its location.  We enjoyed her stories about her involvement with the parades when her two daughters played in bands and marched in the parades.  After we had been talking with her (by the way, her name is Ashley Brown) for quite some time, we learned that she worked for the Monteleone, in the Criollo Restaurant.  It was apparent that she loved the hotel, the people she worked with, and the City of New Orleans. We were surprized and delighted the next morning when Ashley had a happy anniversary card with some chocolates and nuts delivered to our room– what a sweet lady!

Well, back to the parade.  It finally showed up and, to be honest, I think we were just a tad disappointed.  The floats all seemed to sort of look the same, and, if you have seen one high school marching band, you have seen them all.  Dorothy was disappointed that very few of the floats were throwing beads– she got a couple of plastic cups and some coins thrown her way but that was about it.  To see a gallery of additional photos we took that night, look here. 

After a couple of hours of watching the parade, we were very tired, and very hungry.  On our way back to the hotel (just a block away!) we stopped at the Instanbul Cafe and picked up a couple of Chicken Gyro Salads to take back to our room.  They were actually pretty good!  So after eating our salads in the parlor of of our suite, we retired to the bedroom to chase some sweet dreams.

An Early Morning Walk and A Search For Coffee…

I woke up early the next morning, and left our hotel a little before 6:00 a.m.  I headed for Woldenberg Park along the bank of the Mississippi River, which is just a few blocks from the Monteleone.   I enjoyed a nice sunrise while sitting near the Monument to The Immigrant.   I then headed to Jackson Square and the French Market in search of a cup of coffee.  I finally found one in a small grocery at the far end of the French Market, but along the way I saw lots of beautiful buildings and public art.  I had hoped to buy a cafe au laut at Cafe Du Monde, but it did not open until 7:30 a.m., so they missed out on my business (although people were lined up to get in well before 7:00 a.m. when I passed by) and forced me to settle for a pedestrian cup of Community Coffee from the little grocery store instead.   I walked about three and a half miles, and thoroughly enjoyed every step of the way!

Unfortunately there were a fair number of people who appeared to be living on the streets of the French Quarter…

Forsaking The Super Krewes For The Second Lines…

Upon my return to the Monteleone after my morning walk, Dorothy and I put our heads together to decide how to spend the rest of our day.  We knew that Zulu and Rex, two of the largest and most powerful krewes, were parading, but we decided to head the other way in search of impromptu parades and second lines. But first we decided to put some gas in our tanks at the Gumbo Shop, near Jackson Square.  

As we sat in the Gumbo Shop and enjoyed our lunch, we were able to observe the colorfully dressed Mardi Gras revelers, both in the restaurant and passing by on the street outside.  We began to feel a little underdressed, so after leaving the Gumbo Shop, we visited a little store nearby and bought some masks. 

After purchasing and donning our masks, we set out to join the party in earnest.  We roamed around for a while, then found a bench near St. Louis Cathedral that gave us a nice view of the festivities constantly taking place around us.  It was a colorful, quirky, and thoroughly enjoyable afternoon!  To see a more complete gallery of photos I took that day, look here. 

This little video shows a typical impromptu parade with a second line following along.  You have the conductor (looks like Dennis Hopper to me!), the band, then the second line volunteers.  What a hoot!

The Trip Home…

We left New Orleans on Wednesday morning, March 2, 2012 and enjoyed a leisurely trip home to the lake.  We first drove to Orange, where we spent the night.  We spent part of the afternoon driving around town.  I showed Dorothy both of the old homes I grew up in, and we also went to the Depwe Cemetery to pay our respects to my parents.  On the way I showed Dorothy the replica of the Bat House that used to be by the cemetery.  We made a stop by First Presbyterian Church, and the Columbarium where we will be laid to rest near our dear friends Jess and Pat Miller.  We had a nice dinner at Judice’s Cajun Cafe with my cousin Steve Howard and his wife Ledena.  And last, but certainly not least, Thursday morning we drove to Kingwood and had a great lunch and a wonderful visit with our good friends Charlie and Lynn Pollard.  

Epilogue…

This was a wonderful trip for us.  We enjoyed a good mix of exploring (New Orleans and Mardi Gras) and socializing with family and good friends.  But most importantly, it was quality time spent with the love of my life.  I am so blessed and grateful to have been married to Dorothy for 48 years!