Tue., 12 Feb 13

Rain again today! 

Thank goodness – we need the rest. I am stiff and sore from all the jumping and bending for “throws” at the Mardi Gras parade last night in Fairhope, AL.

We slept in until after 9 a.m. which is really like 10 a.m. for us since we have just arrived from the Eastern Time Zone. It will take us a bit to re-adjust for “RV lag”.

Charlotte made the traditional pancakes for Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (French = Fat Tuesday). Thankfully, she made a double batch……mmmmm.

After brunch we sorted our “catches” (Is that what throws are called after they are caught?) into like piles. We had a pile.

We organized them by colour and type in baggies. As well as beads, we had Moon Pies, Cracker Jacks w/prize inside, drink cups (w/Krewe logos), Frisbees, coloured balls, a “smiley” flower, a rabbit, a teddy bear, a noise maker and streamers and a huge Valentine’s Heart.  There were even more elaborate throws that didn’t make it our way including larger stuffed animals and hula hoops.

The beads were of many colours with the majority being the traditional Purple, Green and Gold. We had a few that included Krewe medallions. One of the medallions was dated 1968 which might lend truth to what Charlotte overheard – that local Walmarts buy them back by the pound?

We actually enjoyed the rain. I grew up with a tin roof on the back porch just outside my bedroom window; so, I really enjoy hearing the rain on the RV roof.

The local TV stations spent much of the day covering the Mardi Gras parades that were running continuously throughout the area. One of the many parades was that of the Comic Cowboys. They are one of the oldest parade groups and they specialize in adding humour to the parade. They are also known for having some of the most unique “throws” . On TV I saw a green and gold toilet plunger being tosses to the crowd.  

The TV coverage had to shut down mid-afternoon due to the lightning.  For safety reasons they had to lower their mobile truck transmission antennas that extend several stories into the air. Although rain is common for Mardi Gras in Mobile the TV announcers indicated this may be the rainiest celebration in the past 50 years. They were able to resume after the local thunderstorms had passed. Small hail was falling in some areas and there is a remote possibility of a tornado. Sadly, the final parade of the day in Mobile was cancelled due to the weather.

Charlotte relaxed by crocheting while watching TV. There was no Wi-Fi available today – probably due to the heavy rain – so I could not research area things to do on the internet. I entered travel destinations into the computer from brochures we had picked up in Fairhope.  I did use the computer to at least write the basic blogs for Monday and Tuesday using Microsoft Word. I can copy and paste it into the blog when the Wi-Fi is up and running well enough to use. Pictures will be added at that time as well.

I also planned our “interim” trip home which will have to occur before Feb 25^th. We need to return to Canada (Ontario, specifically) for 24 hours to recycle our “out-of-country” medical insurance.

That was it for our activities today.