Parade Season

We can now check an item off the bucket list.  Yesterday we were on the float for the Mardi Gras parade.

 Early Tuesday morning, an hour before the parade even started.

Even though we were all bundled up, it did warm up enough to take the coats and gloves off mid-way through the route.

 Mary and Tammy riding in the back of the truck pulling the float.  All lined up, waiting for the parade to begin.

The beginning of the route.  We couldn't throw beads until we made the turn here onto Hwy. 59. 

People screaming for moon pies and beads.  It was fun throwing all the stuff - especially at unsuspecting people who weren't paying attention.  I must admit, I nailed quite a few people with moon pies.

While it was a blast being on the float, it's harder work than you would ever guess.  We were constantly moving.  We had to remember to throw with both arms, which wasn't easy to do.  

Somehow I happened to be looking up when we passed friends George and Patty.  Not sure parking on the sidewalk in front of the bayou was legal, but he wasn't the only one.

Tom, from Indiana.  He walked along the route keeping people back from the float.  A good guy (who happens to be a retired Indiana Bell guy).  

The only float we got to see.  They pulled over on the beach road at the end of the route and we drove by them.  That's the only drawback from riding - you don't get to see the rest of the parade.

The rains held off until the evening which made it a good day.  Even if we were coming back to this RV park again, we probably wouldn't ride the float - we would probably want to try walking alongside it.

Today we had a tee time over in Pensacola at 8:36 this morning.  Mark told Jim I would play since they were a man short.  Since it was raining, cold, and windy, I opted for my "o, hell no" answer at 6:00 this morning.  Mark left to golf, and I cleaned the trailer and got it "travel ready" in case we decide to bug out early.

Mark had the best round of his life.  I probably would have jinxed it had I been there.

The End Is In Sight

Wow - It's March already.  Where has the time gone?  For us, it's been spent watching way too much television.  We've been watching shows about West Virginians searching for ginseng "seng" in the woods.  We've watched shows about the Klondike in the 1800s, more reruns of Big Bang Theory and Law and Order than anyone should ever watch.  The Olympics are no longer fun to watch, so there were lots of nights when bedtime was 8:30 or 9:00.  

Needless to say, we are ready to go home.  Speaking of home, since we had the car here, we had to make a trip back home to get the truck.  We left Gulf Shores last week Saturday for the 12 hour drive.  We got to see the kids a couple of days, saw the parents, neighbors, friends for dinner, then drove back on Wednesday morning.  The return trip took 13 hours because we don't drive the truck 80-85mph.  

 Matthew enjoying lunch with Grandma and Grandpa.

Henry just happy to hang out with the grandparents who really hadn't got to spend much time with him.

It's parade season again.  

The park had a Mardi Gras dog parade last week.  We did not let Butch participate because he just doesn't get along.

We went one of the Orange Beach parades last weekend.  We ended up hanging out with Tom and Jan who are right by us in the park.  They like to harass us because we are Cardinal fans, and they are Cubs fans.  It turns out that Tom was a 34 year retiree from Michigan Bell.  No matter where we go, we run into "phone company" folks.

The weather turned nice over the weekend (72) so we headed to the golf course on Saturday.  We also have plans to play on Wednesday, but only if the rain stays away.  The weather is going to get cold again.  Not good for the 
the big Fat Tuesday parade in Gulf Shores tomorrow.  We will be riding on the float.  More on that in a different posting.

We got the nicest note last week from several of the couples we had met while visiting my sister in Florida over a month ago.  They are all looking forward to our return next winter, hopefully for three months.  We won't know for a couple of weeks if that all works out.  We know we will love being with these folks!