The Adventures of Periwinkle and Stinky

Periwinkle paced back and forth in front of the Teleportation Tunnel.  She hoped Stinky would be on time because she had planned a fun adventure that they could only do today.  When she saw the Tunnel start to shake and heard the loud WOOSH she breathed a sigh of relief. 

As soon as Stinky popped out of the Tunnel, she gave him a quick whisker kiss and grabbed his paw to go back into the Tunnel.  Stinky was confused but knew Periwinkle must have had something special planned.

When they arrived at their destination, Stinky smiled.  He remembered being here before.  "Oh wow, it's Fat Tuesday, isn't it," he said.  Periwinkle smiled and remembered how the last time they were here he thought she was calling him fat!  "Yes, today is Mardi Gras so we are back in New Orleans to enjoy the festivities" she replied.

Paw and paw, they walked to Cafe du Monde to have beignets before they started their adventure.  They even sat at the same table they had last time.

While they had their beignets, Periwinkle told Stinky a bit more history of Mardi Gras.  

"Mardi Gras is a French term, which literally translates into “Fat Tuesday”. It’s based on a religious event, and falls on the Tuesday before Lent begins in the Christian Calendar. This date is also known as Shrove Tuesday. The Wednesday is known as Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of fasting in the run up to Easter, 46 days later.

In order to prepare for all those days of fasting, many people would traditionally eat a lot of fatty food in the run up to Lent, and particularly on the last day – hence “Fat Tuesday”  Again they giggled at the name Fat Tuesday!

Periwinkle continued, "

As I mentioned, because Mardi Gras is linked to a religious date, which is in turn linked to cycles of the moon, the date changes every year.

The biggest parades in New Orleans happen on Mardi Gras day, which is the Tuesday before Lent begins, 47 days before Easter. This date can fall anywhere from the 3rd February through to 10th March."

When they finished their snack, they headed out to the street to watch the parade.  Of course, Stinky spotted a float and jumped right up on it to Periwinkle's dismay.

Seeing the look on Periwinkle's face, Stinky quickly came down.  As they continued to walk, they passed The Cat's Meow.  They decided it might be fun to come back someday and go to the Karaoke bar!

They admired the wonderful architecture of the city...

Some of the parade participants recognized them from their previous visit and asked them to join them on their float.

They spotted the cool duck float and as soon as they got on the crowd went wild cheering them on.

They both blushed when they heard the crowd shouting "Welcome Periwinkle and Stinky! and  "Laissez les bons temps rouler."They also decided to take a memory photo at the House of Blues.

"Look at that Woofie" said Stinky, "he's ready to party!" Periwinkle laughed and gave him a whisker kiss.
1. 
   
   Of course, no trip would be complete without bringing something home to their Moms and fursibs.   They picked out t-shirts for their Moms and beads and Mardi Gras nip toys for their fursibs.

Before they headed home, they stopped once again to have some King Cake and a Mardi Gras niptini.

The held paws as they Teleported back to Periwinkle's house.  They visited with her fursibs and Mom and took a quick nap since the niptini made them sleepy.  When they woke up, they spent some time whisker kissing and paw patting.  Soon it was time for Stinky to head home.  He grabbed his gifts for his family, blew one last whisker kiss and headed home.

Still a bit sleepy, Periwinkle found a cozy bed and took a little nap, dreaming of her handsome boyfriend.