Mardi Gras Parade Day Fun

My son and I went to the local Mardi Gras Parade yesteerday. They have been having Mardi Gras for about 8 years and it gets bigger and better each year. It goes down our famous "Dickson Street" and then circles up around the Square where the floats park and everyone walks around enjoying themselves. We went towards the beginning of the parade hoping to get some beads before they ran out. They were throwing htemlike crazy. We each caught about 25 strands of beads, plus DS got tons of candy and junk. We decided to drive up by the Square and see what was going on after the parade. There we saw the new World's Record for the largest King Cake - 250 feet long. A local bakery had made it and they were selling slices for $1.00 to benefit the Homeless Shelter. Ds and I each bought a slice and walked around watching people climbing trees to retreive beads that were stuck in the branches. The things people will do to get beads! (And this was a family event - I've seen COPS New Orleans!!!!) On our way out we decided to get another piece of King Cake for Daddy who couldn't come. The local DJ was cutting slices then and the crowd was growing thin. He said, "How about a nice big piece for $2.00?" Well, okay, DS would pout if he didn't get some more when Daddy did anyway. So, he cuts off about a 14" long piece of this cake and hands it to me. (Sometimes the deals just find me!) I got a lot of envious stares as I walked to the car with my giant King Cake! ;o) So, we had a really fun day outside enjoying other people. That's my hint of the day - Be sure to go to your local events - they are always a source of good entertainment for little to no money!

We went to Deal after that and spent $44.00. When everything is $1.00 - you just start throwing it in the cart. Then when you check out and it is $44.00 you think, "D@mn! $44.00!" But, if they have it today, they might not ever have it again - so you better buy it. I got a bunch of really nice American Greetings Scrapbooking kits for $1.00 each. I bought about 10 things at $1.00 each, but it was over $100.00 worth of stuff. We also buy their batteries - they have 16 AAA and 16 AA batteries for $1.00. These are cheapo batteries but are just fine for toys and even remotes and things that don't need a lot of power. DS will pick up a $1.00 toy and then need $4.00 woth of batteries for it. NOT!

After that we ordered pizza from our local "Buy One Get Two Free" pizza place. We got three pizzas and cheesesticks for $12.20. Not a bad deal, indeed.

So, if you wanted to know every move I made yesterday - now you do! We had a fun day out and hope to do it again next year too.