So I threw my make up on, a blonde wing and some beads and headed for Shiloh, Il, where we caught the Metro-link commuter train and went into St. Louis where we exited the train onto the "Mardi Gras" bus and were taken to Soulard, the "French Quarter" if you will, of St. Louis. Strange I have been to St. Louis alot, but never ventured to this area. It has cobble-stone streets and old ornate buildings. On any other day, it is a residential area with only a bar or two and a Farmer's market. But today is "Mardi Gras"...and it is a totally different landscape.
We missed the parade...due to hubby not catching on...but we got there about 2:00 pm. It was unseasonably warm, 62 degrees, sunny and no wind. You never know what you're gonna get here, so the day was a blessing, weather-wise.
We found bratwurst and beer right away and started roaming around the many streets, packed, shoulder to shoulder with people. Most of them were in costume or at least had tons of beads around their necks. It wasn't long before the stupid crazies began their activities. Of course, I had to buy a hot pink boa and more beads!
1. A very large guy was already carrying his bleary-eyed drunk buddy over his shoulder, all of his beads were clinking and he was trying to see, it was pitiful and funny. Don't think he will make it until midnight! He will be lucky to make it to 4:00.
2. As we were walking along, there was a pretty young girl, trying to hold herself upright while her friend fed her pizza...don't know what that was all about.
3. Seeing boobies was no problem today. It is against the law, ya know, to show bodily parts in public, but on this one day...it is ok.......who makes the laws around here??? one guess.. MEN!
It seemed like every window had a pretty young thing begging for beads from the crowd below. There was one butt shot from a guy, I just happened to be there, he was young and cute, so it was all good on that account.
4. Soon some fights ensued. Guys running down the street after each other, and smashing each other in the face. One guy had been beaten up and he came walking back with blood running down his face. I guess he came back to get his girlfriend, about that time the guy who had hit him came running up with his camera and flashed a quick picture. I can just here him: "Hey, man remember when I smacked ya"...bragging rights.
5. There was much singing and dancing..and the strangest thing....everyone was on their cellphones....I mean, it was uncanny how many there were. I don't live under a rock, but it ws ridiculous.
Before I go on. Instead of posting lots of pix here, because, you who know me, know that I always have my camera ready and I took lots of pix. So, I made a collage .....you can get the idea!
There was a great Blues band on the street and a beer tent had a fantastic rock band "The Shrinking violets"...they were all pretty manly, so I don' t know where that name came from, maybe they all have a secret life....anyway. Bill and I were in a huge crowd dancing while the white boys sang "Hey Ya"...like I said, they were really good. Later the Channel 11 news guy was on stage filming the crowd and we got on the news dancing to some Stone Temple Pilots We especially enjoyed this part, since we both like to dance. There was some oriental guy who could speak very little english. He was standing on a chair with a trench coat on filming everything that was happening on the stage....especially since there were pretty young things from the audience dancing up there and sometimes they would give a booby shot. I don't think he missed anything....don't understand the trench coat, maybe he was a spy (german accent here).
6. Soon evening came and people were falling down, screaming, getting drunker by the minute.
7. There are signs posted everywhere telling all to use the porta-potties, do not urinate here..this is private property......but, of course, the men didn't listen. They were lined up here and there relieving themselves around trees and behind walls...not far behind them were the police. They slapped the handcuffs on them and hauled them away to jail...guess they couldn't read!...
Soon it was completely dark and the lights of the village came on. It added a whole different atmosphere to the place. I took a couple of time exposures/night settings where you can see the movement of the crowd. I thought they were interesting.
By 9:00 we were ready to leave. The 10 blocks of Soulard were still filled with people. Heliocopters were flying overhead filming the crowds. We boarded our bus with a bunch of younger girls and guys. They were throwing their beads at each other, trying to see if they could get them around their necks. We would cheer them on when they finally made one. I felt sorry for the bus driver, driving through the busy city on a Saturday night!.
It was a fun time, as it alway is with Bill, because even when their is nothing happening, he is always hilarious.
So back home to the chickens and the dog we went.
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