April 6, 2026
It has stopped raining and although it is still overcast it is time to go adventuring. We hopped on the ferry to head into the city with our first stop being Madi Gras World. This is where the floats for the Madi Gras parade are created and stored. The large statues that adorn the floats are created out of layers of styrofoam then a coat of brown paper mache is applied to smooth out the foam. Then they are painted. There is a laser cutter that creates mounds of white dust.
Some interesting facts I learned about the Madi Gras parade, first there are 90 parades though out the city not just one.
There can only be 40 floats per parade but they can join several together pulled by the same tractor and it counts as one float. The parades last up to 5 hours so the floats have a bathroom on board that helps support the upper decks. There is no commercial sponsorships allowed so the crew to the float provides the financial support for the float that can be upwards of 10K per person.
After a morning exploring the warehouse we were thirsty! We headed to Lafitte’s Blacksmiths Shop for an adult beverage. It is the oldest bar in the USA and has been serving drinks since 1772.
Feeling a bit buzzed from the incredible Hurricane I drank I decide it was a good idea to create a Voodoo doll. We headed out to Bloody Marys where the have a Voodoo Doll bar where you can create your own doll. Sort of like build a bear for voodoo dolls. I created my doll and a first I was going to create an evil doll with orange skin and blond hair but she evolved differently and is actually a positive spirt. Then you do a ceremony to wake the doll up and give her an intention…now it’s getting serious!!!! Once the ceremony was done the
Voodoo master informed me that I have to feed her every 48 hours….drat!!! What do you feed a voodoo doll???? Red or white wine…who would have guessed??? So Jenifer and I will become drinking buddies.
We spent the afternoon walking around the French Quarter and the joined a ghost tour after dark. It was fun walking around the city hearing the stories of how New Orleans became the most haunted city in the world. There were a few real believers in the group who had equipment with them that would identify the presence of ghost….unfortunately the ghost were taking a night off.
One of the big learnings of the day was that you can repurpose all of those beads from the parades into mini balloon dogs. Wow another new skill to work on.
Second learning is to not wear a black shirt if you are going to indulge in beignets.
After a long day of adventuring we were happy to get back to our house and take our shoes off!!
Another “Best Day Ever…So Far”!!!!\
Hi!
I’ve missed you and your travel updates. I have never been to New Orleans and want to go one day. And I’m having corn bisque and making a VooDoo doll thanks to this post. You look wonderful traveling again…definitely your happy place.
Steph
I need a voodoo doll. Very cool