The lady at the Visitor’s Center told me if we wanted to do something truly unique to New Orleans we should Google Second Lines and try to attend one. I had read a little about it, so knowing HOW to find one excited me! I found out there was one scheduled for Sunday, so off we went. We had a loose idea of what might happen, but we still didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know if it would be best to be at the beginning or at a stop along the route. Like everything else so far we do a little lose planning or research and then kind of wing it or go with the flow. Basically we follow the saying “hold your plans loosely.”
Pleasantly, we discovered free parking on Sundays! We parked on one side of Louis Armstrong Park. While at Ace Hardware I asked the clerk where to eat, etc. She had a few suggestions but encouraged us to eat the street food at the beginning of the parade.
We walked thru the park, taking pics along the way. We arrived before the parade, got some food and just soaked in the people. I imagine this as being a little like our Longmont Halloween Parade. The people who were attending knew the people in the parade and on the floats. However, there were only a few floats in this second line. The costumes were amazing and flambouyant. (I assume Mardis Gras is even more spectacular, but this was a perfect little taste for our family!) There was a small list of people who were being remembered during the parade. There was a King and a Queen. The bands Rebirth Brass Band and Da Truth Brass Band were the focus of this parade. It was fun to hear a lady yell “That’s my brother!” and seeing people greeting their friends, hanging out and having a great time.
The food was great. Caden and I tried the Yak Mein since I read that was another local food. Huck, Dacen, and Brielle all tried various smoked sausages. They looked and smelled amazing! The music was fun and the people were fabulous! I felt like I had a true local experience.
The kids tested my wits by playing hide-and-seek in the park. We had fun exploring the fountains and taking pics with the statues!
We finally headed over to the Garden District to check out the old, fancy homes. We found a walking tour online and did our own shortened version. I loved that the kids could appreciate the old homes and they each had different houses they loved for different reasons. We all thought it was so odd how absolutely horrible the sidewalks were (they were literally ankle-breaking-treacherous in some areas) given the fancy gated homes they lined. Oh and of course the kids had to try to catch the lizards.
And even though it’s Valentine’s Day, I could not pass up free laundry. Evidently this gives the kids the mistaken idea that I love and adore laundry and especially challenging laundry. Obviously they are having fun on this trip!
(I don’t have the right cord right now so imagine a pair of white soccer shorts with a LOT and I mean a LOT of mud on them.) 🙂