I had a goal of riding in two parades, back to back: Orpheus on Lundi Gras and Zulu on Fat Tuesday. No one said it would be easy, but everyone said it would be fun.

One parade in, they were right.

The two parades are about as close together as you can get, with just a few early morning hours separating the two. Orpheus runs around 6 p.m. Monday and ends around 12 a.m. Zulu begins at 8 a.m. and ends anywhere between 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Usually about three to four hours before the parade begins, riders sign in and buy any last beads before boarding up onto the float. This shot was taken just before the floats left the convention center in New Orleans.

Once on the float, there’s pretty much no room. It’s jammed with people jostling for spots to put their beads — or throws, as the locals often call them.

After leaving the convention center, there’s an hour-long ride to the beginning of the route. There riders try and get situated, and after nearing Napoleon, they’re all let out into the street, where food and drinks are shared before the long ride.

Here I am on the left with my friend, Will, who was riding along with me on this little experience. As you can see, they let us walk around before the ride truly begins.

Here’s a picture of the man leading the Mandarin Cheesecake float, which is where Will and I rode for the trip. Doesn’t he look peaceful? He was about the only one. All the riders were pumped and ready to go.

…And we’re off. It didn’t take long to see Saints fans. The Ying Yang Twins were blaring from the crowd almost from start to finish.

The last four pictures were taken on the early stretch of the St. Charles route. It’s where many of the locals go during Mardi Gras, and where you’ll see a huge mix of young and old. There will be college kids partying alongside those collecting their pensions and retirement checks. Here parade-goers will stake out a spot hours and hours before the parade even begins, sometimes days. Grilling and tents pop up along this section of the route.

Here are some more shots from St. Charles Avenue up until Lee Circle:

Roughly half way through the route, we come up on Lee Circle.

Lee Circle, the only roundabout in New Orleans, marks the bridge between Uptown (the St. Charles route) and Downtown. From here on out you’ll see a lot less camping and a condensed amount of people. You’ll also see them on rafters and rooftops, since the parade is often going down a more narrow street than before.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten catches a throw from yours truly.

Around 11:45 p.m. we arrived in the Orpheus Ball. It’s like a fancy, indoors Mardi Gras where all the floats come in one-by-one and throngs of formally attired parade-goers greet them. Then krewe then parks, gets out and enjoys the ball.

And that’s that. As of my typing this, it is 1:15 a.m. Smashmouth is playing after coach Sean Payton greeted the crowd. I’m a little tired and a little overstimulated, but it was an experience of a lifetime.

I’m all ready to do it over again in just a few hours when I’ll be riding in Zulu. I’ll keep you posted.