I turned to see her sitting down and refusing to get back on her feet, even after the lady who owned the chair she appropriated wanted it back.  “I’ll call the cops”, said she.  “Go ahead,” my Bride responded, “Jail sounds rather pleasant right now!”  And so, our bead gathering over, we headed to a nearby eatery for some food and several cold beers.  Ahhhhh, Budweiser never tasted so grand!

Back on board the Celebrity Reflection we cleaned up and headed to the dining room for a late dinner.

This was one of those “have your cake and eat it too” experiences.  We booked a 10-day cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Florida (a mere 10-hour drive from home) to Grand Cayman and Cozumel WITH a 3-day stop in New Orleans for the last 3 days of Mardi Gras!  Now, isn’t that special?!

The best part of this entire event is we get to see the one New Orleans Krewe that we have always missed in previous years:  Zulu.

And that’s a wrap, folks.

Two days later we arrived at Grand Cayman.

Having been to Grand Cayman a time or two before, we stayed on the waterfront instead of revisiting spots we’ve already seen.  Hell, at a mere $13 per rum punch we couldn’t see any reason to leave such a tacky overpriced Nirvana!  We had it made. 

 Next stop…Cozumel.   And what should our wondering eyes behold…

A funny thing happened on the way to Mardi Gras…we didn’t go.  The End.

A number of high school and college bands also march with the Zulu Krewe including Southern University.  All of the participating bands were good but the Human Jukebox of Southern is simply unworldly!!

But, alas, my poor olde Bride threw in the towel after only 8 hours of standing in the blazing sun with neither food, water, nor that all important potty break. 

And shortly after arriving, we made our way to Jimmy’s place.

These guys play Grambling University every fall in the Bayou Classic in New Orleans.  Can you say, “PARTEEEEEE!   ”Now, back to those feathers.  (Zulu, with all their feathers, reminded me of the Mummers Parade which is held New Year’s Day in Philadelphia.)

Adios ‘til next time.  Hugs, CC & me

Okay, you folks know that we NEVER miss a party opportunity, especially the grandest party of them all, Mardi Gras!!  In fact, we had made our plans months ahead of time and had reserved a room at the Battle House Hotel in Mobile back in September 2017.  We reserved one of the last 2 rooms still available for Mardi Gras 2018 for the bargain rate of only $329 per night for 2 nights.  What a steal!! But our plans are generally written in the sand and abruptly change with even the gentlest of breezes.

You may be wondering why we were headed 35 miles from home to Mobile, Alabama, when everyone KNOWS, Mardi Gras is in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Right!?  Nope.  That ain’t exactly so.  It actually began in Mobile in 1703 which is 15 years before New Orleans was founded.  It was suspended during the War of Northern Aggression and revived in 1868 by a fellow named Joe Cain while Mobile was still occupied by the Yankee Horde.


Our plans reversed course, so to speak, when my Bride received what she determined to be a better offer…a boat ride!

Another Jimmys!!!!!  “Two rum punches, bartender”!!!!!!

Mardi Gras Cruise                                                      February 26, 2018