Bare Naked Brain Fodder

About 45 minutes south of Austin Texas runs a river called Gaudalupe. Locals tell me that the river is flourishing with water right now, which isn’t always the case. Apparently there have been lots of droughts, and not a lot of water to float down the river upon.

Looks like we scored! What’s new?

You know how we do

If you listen at the very end you can see the girl who flipped over in the last scene screaming for help. Craig and I had to rescue her from the water as she was in major shock and badly banged up on the legs from hitting so many rocks. She was bloody, bruised and freaked out.

Of course my dog Webber swam through the rapids like a maniac! Crazy dog. I was really excited to let him run and play along the river the entire day. He’s a champion and truly a best friend.

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So, we left Austin Texas Monday afternoon at about 1 PM. The Garmin GPS said we’d be due to arrive in New Orleans around 10:30 PM or so. We couldn’t wait.

We’re headed to Mardi Gras baby! The excitement was rich in the air and Mary J was stoked with gas, beer and food. And Webber of course. And Couch Surfing Ori too.

While driving East we really had no clue where we’d stay or park our RV’s. The city was in such party mode right now, there was gridlock everywhere. We assumed we’d have to park a few miles out of town and figure out a way in. All the RV parks had been booked solid for weeks at $179 a night or higher. We had one prayer and that was Chad Mac may let us park at his place a few miles away.

Chad to the rescue. He said we could park at his place. However, he had something better up his sleeve. He tapped Rudy the concierge at the Ritz Carlton and let him work his magic. While cruising through Baton Rouge I got a call on my cell… “Hi this is Rudy from the Ritz Carlton. I have 2 RV parking spots right in the French Quarter for you guys.”

OMG! Rudy, you are the man! Thanks so much. And thanks Chad for being on the ball.

The RV spot was literally just blocks from Bourbon Street. We were smack dab in the middle of the madness. We couldn’t have asked for anything better! Of course it comes with a pretty price as well, but it was worth it.

So, was Fat Tuesday all it’s cracked up to be? I’d say Yes and No. Hear me out.

I had two separate experiences at Mardi Gras. The first was the wild partying, boozing, naked boobies, standing around like a herd of cattle on Bourbon and

more debaucherous episodes. I’m sure your mind can fill in the blanks. It was pretty wild.

During the day of Fat Tuesday I took my Macbook and Verizon Mifi card down to Bourbon street and broadcasted the madness for about an hour. People were loving it. (Especially the abundance of titties that were shown live). Oh crap, that doesn’t make me a porn producer does it? I need to go wash my hands.

Speaking of washing, I think I need to go clean my shoes too. The streets of the French Quarter are so disgusting. You always have to be careful where you are walking. One mis-step and you’ll be ankle deep in the nastiest mud puddle in existence. I pray that the streets are much cleaner today. In fact, I’m excited to see the French Quarter without all the craziness. I’ll probably take a nice bike ride around today and shoot some footage.

The second experience I had with Mardi Gras was a lot more family friendly. And to be honest, 10 times more enjoyable.

It involved hanging on the sidelines of the parades and watching the residents have so much fun. The action started early. Music was blaring at 8:00 AM and the city of New Orleans was ready to party.

People here are so excited and thankful because

of the New Orleans Saints and their recent Super Bowl Victory. This city deserved it so much! You could see the joy in their eyes, the beam in their smiles and the giving nature as painted participants heaved beads and Mardi Gras flare from the floats.

In my experience, the day time party and parades were a lot more fun than drinking on Bourbon street. Maybe I’m getting old.

I personally liked seeing the families and parade action more then the drunken booze fest. Of course I was still pounding Red Stripes at 10:00 AM, but it was much more pleasant vibe.

Recently I spoke with a guy named Tom Martin. Tom has a cool website called… My Mardi Gras Experience. You can see his site at… www.mymardigrasexperience.com .

Tom’s mission with this site is to change the perception of Mardi Gras and give people a glimpse into everything that is offered beyond the wild partying and boozing of Bourbon Street. Most people really don’t know this side of Mardi Gras because they usually only hear about the drunken crazyness and naked titties everywhere.

Trust me, it’s way deeper then that. And thanks to Tom for showing that side.

Well, I’m off to do some catch up work, eat a healthy breakfast and peruse the city. If yesterday was Fat Tuesday, I feel like today is Obese Wednesday.

I need a smoothie.

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