Anyone need some beads?

The Yoda float was great.

I survived my first Mardi Gras here in NOLA. Hold on...more after I go get a cup of coffee.

OK, I'm back. Carnival was so much fun. The parades were great. The floats and costumes were amazing, and I caught a ton of beads. Bourbon Street was crazy as expected. The crowd was huge, but I'm told not as big as in years past since Mardi Gras fell early in Feb. this year. Not surprisingly, alcohol was consumed, and beads were thrown.

Just watching the crowd was fascinating. Don’t worry Mom, I got all my beads at the parades, not on Bourbon Street.

A big highlight for me was during the Bacchus parade on Sunday. Elijah Wood (he starred in The Lord of the Rings movies) made eye contact with me and threw me some beads, which I caught! It was great.

Elijah Wood