Krewe of Pontchartrain

In NOLA, various krewes stage parades during the weeks before Lent, culminating in the big blow-out on Fat Tuesday.   The Krewe of Pontchartrain (the lake at the city's northern border) popped our Mardi Gras cherry.  We followed the majorettes, bead hurlers and brass bands through crowds lining St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District.

Many neighborhood parents construct simple parade viewing platforms for their kids using ladders, wood and wheels.

Some are more decorated than others.

Note the canine skepticism.  They were waiting for their own parade on Sunday.

People's consumption of alcohol grew more evident the closer we got to the French Quarter.

One reveler sobered up with his unicorn in Starbuck's.