The night turned out to be a combination of a "bucket list"/learning experience. We started down Bourbon Street fairly comfortably and fairly early with street side drinks in hand. Certainly the crowds were large but nothing unmanageable. We paused several places to lean on a wall and people watch. Here I was as my real self partying in New Orleans! Life was good then BOOM! We moved another 4 blocks or so up the street and then I found out what life in a "mosh pit" must be like. No one moved, beads were flying from as high as two stories up and of course were under your feet. I found out quickly this part of Mardi Gras was ideal for a 20 something person but girlfriend and I went, experienced and bailed! Remember too that the actual "Fat Tuesday" celebration was the next night.
I'm sure that those of you who visit Cyrsti's Condo and have been to New Orleans will vouch for the fact you need to wear comfortable shoes and clothes be ready for a lot of physical contact and be ever alert for flying beads!
The main lesson though was you can party and enjoy the whole experience more if you chose your battles on the fringes of Bourbon Street. Which we did on Tuesday night which is the actual Mardi Gras.
My girlfriend is a Wicca so she had an active interest in some of the shops in the area one of which was down near the cluster of gay venues and a block or so off the main street. Also, we had a chance to find a place where we could sit in an outdoor back patio area. Order drinks and food, enjoy each other's company and have restroom access. At my age taking the meds I am and drinking Louisiana's own Abita Beer I need to plan for potty breaks. As we all know, not the easiest deal for a transgender person. Where we were sitting though, I could watch the traffic to the women's room and make my break while the going was good (no pun intended). As it turned out, that particular restroom was a story unto itself. It was small and I have no idea of what the woman ahead of me had to eat before she used that restroom...but the place was positively radioactive. Other amenities included the wooden board over the back of the toilet tank and the obligatory water and TP on the floor. Outside of the smell, I found the overall condition of the restroom was about normal for the ones I visited in the Bourbon Street war zone. My biggest problem was not coming out of the room and facing the women waiting to get in (to see if they were going to make a stink about me using the restroom) it was the embarrassment of them thinking I made that stink to start with!The key to the evening was the weather. The intermittent rain stayed away for the most part and the weather stayed around 70 degrees so I could wear my off the shoulder top and feel a little exotic. But the evening was far from over and I will tell you more in an upcoming post!
My disclaimer here is that New Orleans is a positively wonderful and fascinating place and Mardi Gras is just a part of it!
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