Trip # 2: Florabama & New Orleans

February: Florabama & New Orleans for Mardi Gras

Location: Orange Beach, AL and New Orleans, LA

Drive time: 11 + 3 + 10 = 24 hours

Miles Traveled Roundtrip: 1,624

Number of nights: 1 in the car, 2 in hotels

States Traveled Through: Illinois, Kentucky, Tennesse, Alabama (Florida),

Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri

Highlights from the trip... 

Florabama: Famous Beach bar entertaining folks for over 50 years. Made even more popular by Kenny Chesney's song Florabama. Great vibes even though it was offseason. Lots of "snowbirds" enjoying the winter escape. Great oysters, drinks, and live music. Would love to go back when its summer and we can hang out on the beach. I tried the famous Bushwacker drink and wasn't a fan. Way to strong for me! 

Bamahenge: A small replica of Stone Henge located in Alabama. You can also search for the hidden Dinosaurs and the Lady of Lake. Fun side excursion before we headed to New Orleans for the day!

New Orleans Super Krewe Parade: Before the parade, we ate at a Greek Restaurant and had the best food of my life!! Before the big parade started we stumbled on another parade and got collecting beads early. We got a spot along the fence early, got a frozen drink and waited in anticipation for the big parade. The floats we huge, some 4 trailers long! The "throws" were awesome: hats, light up sticks, bags, balls, huge beads, all sorts of items! The crowd was full of energy and it was crazy! I felt like a kid again screaming and jumping up to catch throws. And watch out, these throws are heavy and flying non-stop. I can't believe they throw whole bags of beads out..watch your face and be careful not to break any fingers! The parade was awesome, despite the crazy tropical downpour towards the end. We were drenched! Not a dry spot on us. What a fun trip!!