Rather than trek to New Orleans, a stalwart krewe of ten graduate students and signficant others drove down to Galveston yesterday to partake in their famous version of the Mardi Gras celebration.
We were very interested to see what Galveston looks like, 5 months after Hurricane Ike. The brief answer: Not much. Most businesses appeared run-down or deserted, but it was hard to say whether it looked the same before the storm.
We arrived as the sun was setting.
The Strand was filling up with people begging for beads beneath the balconies.
There were some reminders of Ike. What a water line!
As the evening wore on, the throng of bodies grew denser. Walking through the crowds was a challenge, but some people were motivated by things other than debauchery. (I particularly like the contrast between the yellow sign and the Budweiser sign.)
The night's parade finally made it to the Strand. We enjoyed many a high school marching band, and tons of creative floats. (Sorry, no photos -- it was too dark!) At first I was perplexed and a little bit scared of people's zealous thirst for beads, but then I quickly got swept up in the excitement and was jumping and screaming for beads to be thrown at me. Fun times!
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