Mardi Gras and Beyond

Our previous experience with Mardi Gras was short trips to Galveston Island, south of Houston,TX, to enjoy the daytime parades. Therefore, we looked forward to a different experience since we were near Mobile, AL, where Mardi Gras actually began in 1703.

Instead of Mobile Mardi Gras we found a whole weekend of activities right at our RV park. They selected a king and queen, organized a parade, and scheduled bands for dancing and entertainment. All of these activities were conducted around a meal prepared by the park with help from volunteers.The Mardi Gras committe recruited others to prepare skits that were hilarious.  One skit was a Rainbow Plantation version of a Senior Synchronized Swimming event that left us all in tears. The activities ended with a Mardi Gras Ball on Fat Tuesday with many campers wearing their best Mardi Gras garb.

We shared this wonderful experience with our Canadian friends, Barb and Terry. We were camped close to each other, so we took turns cooking many evening meals. We cooked in our trailer but moved to their 5th wheel to eat because it had more room - kind of a "eat in catering" experienced. After the meals, we talked or played  games with the guys against the gals. Needless to say, we consumed a few bottles of wine during these evenings.

We took a few road trips during our stay at Rainbow Plantation. One night we drove to Fairhope, a small town located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. We joined 1000's who lined the streets for the annual night time Mardi Gras parade. The parade consisted of large floats with people throwing beads, moon pies, plastic cups, small toys and an occasional stuffed teddy bear.

Of course, we could not be this close the the Gulf of Mexico without a trip to the beach to get our feet wet and to collect a sample for our sand collection.

On Friday we set out to drive around Mobile Bay, a 140 mile trip. We rode the ferry from Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island. From there , it was a short drive to Bellingrath Gardens. We spent the afternoon walking around this beautiful place built in 1930's which had its start as a get-away-from-work fishing camp.We contined our drive to Mobile and arrived just in time for rush hour traffic.

Our stay at Rainbow Plantation ended on Saturday night with dinner at Lombard's Restaurant. This restaurant is famous for home cooked meals and "throwed rolls".

'Til next time ....