Fat Tuesday in Dunedin

There were tons and tons of people (haven't heard an estimate yet), lots of good food but not a lot of Cajun style, and a small parade with plenty of beads. The beer was cold and the crowds of people were friendly and fun.

I had taken a zip lock bag of beads of ours from other parades and had the best time handing these out one by one to people as we walked the streets. I looked for older people who were not smiling (and yes they did!), young kids who did not have any beads yet and husbands who looked like they had been unwilling dragged to this event. I must have had 50 or so strands of beads and am pretty sure I'll be doing this again next year as giving pleasure to others comes back in many ways I found.

We went down about 5:30pm., bought our mandatory teeshirts (17th. Annual Mardi Gras Celebration), roamed through the streets and had a bit to eat. We stood next to a very nice home care nurse who told us about a few other fun events in the area like a blues festival we had just missed and the Jazz Festival that was a must see!

Because E is so tall, he caught lots of beads for the gal next to us and me and even a couple for himself. We met up with Rob around 8ish and got to meet several of his friends. We were home by ten...no night owls here.

The masks I took pictures of were beautiful and I got the gal's card. The one of Venice (don't think I have posted a pic of it) was our favorite. These are the half masks and full masks of Carnival and so pretty! The artist was truly inspired.

Because I am cheap and will not pop for typepad, I can only load 5 pics at a time here...scroll down for another 5 of last night's festivities.

Enjoy today!