Shreveport Does The Highland Parade in a Big Way!

And now Mardi Gras 2012 is in the books.  What a beautiful day in Shreveport-land for a parade!

Mr. SIGIS and I almost missed the Highland Parade today due to doggie issues (Steve's white German Shepard had some doggie day surgery Friday and we've been monitoring stitches and trying to keep her in out of the rain).

We were not cleared to go to the parade until about an hour before roll time.  The Teenager volunteered to dog sit and so it was a go for us.  We got to our usual spot about ten minutes before the parade kicked off.  Because of our late arrival we didn't have front line status so we missed out on the cute stuffed toys and trinkets but we did score plenty more cheap plastic beads made in China!

As I say each year, the Highland Parade is just hands down my favorite parade because you meet the coolest, nicest people.   Steve and this guy (pictured) were bartering over chocolate and banana moon pies thrown from the floats and struck a trade deal (which was not influenced in the least by the green plastic sword this fellow is holding in his hand):

And as has been our record each year, Steve scored a hot dog from the Krewe of Bar B Que.  And if that wasn't enough, he also caught a sausage, pepperjack cheese, tortilla wrap!  LUNCH!

One of the fun things about living in the same place your entire life is that sense of community.  My friend Kathy is in the BBQ krewe and she sees to it that we get a hot dog every year! We are both in our 50s now, but we went to elementary school together.  She has aged much  better than I have!  One year when I was with The Teenager (he wasn't a teenager then) at that parade, Kathy leaned over the side of her float and gave him a cool bamboo spear decorated with feathers in Mardi Gras colors.  He was thrilled!

Anyway, when the Highland Parade was done we headed to a local eatery, Marilynn's Place, that was holding an after party.  I took a few pictures but you can't tell by them what a success this party was.

It was totally standing room only.  For you non-locals, Marilynn's is in a converted service station and keeps that service station theme in a lot of ways.  The big bay doors were thrown open and the parking lot was roped off for tables and a stage for the band.  We ate crawfish, beignets, and andouille dogs.

There was face painting and clowns making balloon animals for the kids.

Owner Boz stood on the roof of the place and threw beads out to the crowd....

... and a hot air balloon lifted off from the golf course right behind the restaurant.  The balloon was, of course, Mardi Gras colors.  When it got above the restaurant they dropped a glitter bomb and then dropped trinkets of some kind - I have no idea what they dropped because they all missed the crowd and landed in the drainage ditch across the street.

It was funny because then everyone ran across the street and down into the ditch to pick up whatever it was!  Not me.  I sat at my table with my andouille dog and my Abita.

All in all it was a beautiful, perfect day in SIGIS-land.

I'm off tomorrow for President's Day and plan to catch up on some political blogging then.  Among other things.

On a side note, last night someone reminded Jerry Jeff Walker that this Tuesday is Fat Tuesday and he said, "That's allright, I'll still be fat on Tuesday."  I know what he means!