Krewes of Muses and Endymion {Mardi Gras 2015}

The Thursday before Mardi Gras is the Krewe of Muses parade. It’s an all-women krewe who are known for their very special throws: custom shoes decorated in lots and lots and LOTS of glitter. They’re like gold: extremely coveted and wanted by everyone.

I had never been to Muses before, so I made sure to be free this year. The boys stayed with Kenny (thanks, Baby!), and I met up with Lizzie, Doug, and Sarah. Lizzie LOVES Mardi Gras, so we all costumed that night. We were Mardi Gras superheroes! Carnival is all about going over the top, and there’s only one rule: nothing is too much.

We found decent parking and walked up to the route. Lizzie and Doug had befriended a couple who live on St. Charles the weekend before, and they invited them (and their friends!) back for Muses. That meant we had a place to put our stuff, a place to stand, and, most importantly, a bathroom. Score.

Erin and Jeff also met us out there; Erin had never seen Muses before and had always wanted to go, just like me. The fact that she loves shoes was the icing on the cake. She was determined to catch a glittery shoe and was none too pleased when a girl in front of us got one early on in the parade.

Luckily, I happened to know two people riding. One of them threw me not one but TWO shoes. I gave one to Erin, and she was beyond thrilled. Thanks for our fabulous Muses shoes, Candice!

I didn’t take many pictures during the parade because we were too busy rocking out, but we did take a group picture afterwards. It turned out that everyone in our group caught shoes. Even Jeff!

Thanks for letting us tag along with y’all, Lizzie; we had a blast! Hopefully Kenny will agree to stay home with the boys every year, because this was one heck of a fun parade.

Two days later, I found myself out on the parade route once again. Jenn and Margaret McF and Daniel drove down from North Carolina to take Daniel to his first Mardi Gras. They spent Friday in the Quarter but Saturday was Daniel’s first real parade. While Jenn went to a party with some friends and Kenny stayed home with my boys, UJ and I took the two young ones out to see one of the super krewes: Endymion.

I hadn’t been out to Endymion in a really long time, and it was great to see it again. I ended up randomly running into an old friend from my days working at the aquarium, and I even caught a pair of pink beads from Grand Marshall Luke Bryan. So much fun!

Daniel and Margaret scored a spot right up against the barricade, so they got tons of stuff. Daniel was loving every second of it and really enjoyed the experience.

 

The floats were so colorful and pretty. And the mega float (9 sections long!) was so impressive. I was only able to capture some of the sections in a panoramic.

We came home with two bags full of beads, balls, and trinkets. But we weren’t done yet. My favorite parade of the season rolled the very next day.

Riley’s school parade recap coming up next!

HAPPY MARDI GRAS, Y’ALL!