New Orleans Part 1: Mardi Gras: Krewes d'Etat et de Morpheus, around New Orleans

After a few days driving west through yet another unexpected cold spell for the south, we made it to New Orleans where we planned to meet up with a friend from New York who had moved down here a few years back. We got stuck in downtown traffic for an hour or two before we gave up trying to find parking and then went near our friend's Neighborhood. Once we got to his house, we met his housemates and immediately went off to our first Mardi Gras Parade. We walked down Decatur, which was filled with great jazz clubs, bars, and coffee houses, until we hit Canal Street and the parade route. The streets were filled with revelers, reveling in the lax open carry (of alcohol) laws and generally enjoying themselves. Our gracious hosts knew half of the people on the street so we stopped often to chat. We had a great time that night, as is evidenced in the following pictures:

Still early on in the night, my neck was still visible under the beads.

A bit later on, I was already starting to be choked by my lavalliere.

I hadn't seen Atillio in 3 or 4 years so we shared a nice re-acquaintance hug.

This was my final tally at the end of the night. I'm not sure quite how I ended up with so many, but I know that I had the most of anyone I saw! It might disappoint some of you to know that I saw exactly no bosoms that night.

The next morning we hung out in the yard with the dogs, Deidre and MacGyver. MacGyver is a 10 year old black lab, who reminds Jim and Me of my grandma's dog Skipper in every way, even age, except that Skipper is Yellow. He almost never plays but the gave in that day to play with a ball we caught during the parade. The other dog is Atillio's sweet Staffordshire Terrier.

During the day, one of the housemates Monkey showed us around town. We met up with his friend Kelly who owned this Art Car. This one used to be more extravagant but he is in the middle of redoing it. He used to have a hearse that was also decorated. Parked on Decatur Street.

One of the houses' chickens. She is currently laying eggs!

When we got back to the house, we all (about 8 of us) sat down to watch a movie (The Producers) in the living room. The dogs piled on as well...
and another picture of Deidre. She is a sweetheart and one of the friendliest dogs I know. She licked Jim's face for 5 minutes straight before he remembered his allergies.

Coming up: Krewe d'Eris, Lower 9, and Texas

A Florida Christmas

Well, it's December 31st and an amazing year is coming to an end. We've been living in our van for 6 months and loving it. I finished my last semester of college with an almost 3.0 cumulative GPA. We left New York for a long-term trip across country and we're so happy to be back on the road and out of the cold. We found a few WWOOFs (http://www.wwoofusa.org/meet)that we want to spend time at, and we can't wait to experience the country and meet some new people. Right now we're at my Grandma's house in Tampa, FL and the days are flying by.
Here are some pictures from Christmas and around Florida.

My Grandma has a tiny yet beautifully decorated Christmas tree.

A beautiful Kurta from my mom's trip to India.

Christmas Night, we made and decorated a Gingerbread House

After a quick photosession...

it was promptly devoured

No one spared the destruction...

even Celeste joined in.

After the Gingerbread Disaster of Christmas '09, Jim and I went to my Aunt Debby's house and discovered that we want to be Pet Photographers.

Paji the African Grey who can duplicate Debby's voice exactly. I thought it was a bit strange when we were talking to her in the living room and heard her say from the bedroom "Wanna take a shower?"

Calypso, AKA Little Man who, of course, thinks he owns the place.

My Grandma's dog Skipper who gives Kuzya a run for his money in the race for World's Sweetest Dog.

The beautiful Husky Cherokee who loves nose kisses. That is, your nose.

And my aunt's newest addition, a Chinchilla named Pacino. He's so soft and sparkly after his dust bath.

Jim hasn't been having too many allergic reactions to these dogs, so he got in on the fun:

Later on, I went to the beach where there was a kite surfer riding the wind.

And finally, I got a new hairstyle for the new year and our new life.

Look out for our: Snowdrift Adventure and Photographin' the moon.