DC Carnival

Me in mud

June 28th was the Caribbean Carnival in DC on Georgia Avenue. This was my second real year in attendance. I went many years ago but after all the festivities were over. I actually remembered to bring my camera this year. It was hard getting decent pictures of the parade as my friends and I stood on the sidewalk. So most of the pictures you see spectators walking along with the trucks. It was decent weather. At first. They have been calling for rain. Now if you have been there before, you know parking is a nightmare. After maneuvering through many alleys and blocked off streets, we managed to get a good parking spot. Patience is a virtue indeed. I would have given up long ago and parked somewhere far away but my friend T was an optimist. We made good timing also. We didn't miss much at all, if any. Then the rain came. It was cool on your body until the giant sized drops came down making everyone run for cover. Thank goodness D had umbrellas in her truck. Not that it did much when at one point the three of us tried to huddle under an individual sized umbrella. Minutes later, the sun came out and we were ready to resume the show.

After the last truck we walked down to the end of the Avenue to the high school where they have the vendors set up. Oh I forgot to say that once the sun came out, it literally felt like a sauna. It was so freaking hot you just couldn't do a thing about it. I don't care what you wore, it was hot and sweaty. At least for me. I get hot very quick and usually don't do outside activities until the sun goes down. So we walked and got to the field. Knowing we had to pay admission for entrance into the field, it was an unexpected $10. Now that may not sound like a lot but with the recession and gas prices, I could do a lot with it. LOL. We got in and walked around. The lines were so long for the food stands. After a pretty long wait, we reached the beginning of the line to be informed that they only had curry goat and chicken ready. Not that we would have purchased jerk due to the heat, but they didn't have fish either! Which is what I wanted. So I opted for the curry chicken. After being there for hours, we got our food and walked many a blocks back to the truck. It was so many people out there. Finally we get to the truck and I punished my food. That heat drained every ounce of energy and electrolyte from me and when I was done, I felt as though I hadn't eaten a thing.

During the walk down I decided to participate in the mud. I had already had a spot of mud on my white dress from a passerby so that gave me an excuse to go all the way. Well part way. I had on new tennis shoes that I adore and wasn't really trying to get all muddied up. Besides, I didn't want to get in D's car like that. It dried way before we got back but it was still the thought. As I approached the moving truck one of the gentlemen motioned for me to enter the back of the truck where there were just loads of mud. Uh. No thanks. He said to me that I looked like I was precious so he wanted to be gentle with me. Which was nice, LOL. So he used his muddy towel and just wiped it on my face, shoulders, and neck. Cool experience to say that I did it. I was disappointed that we didn't get there early enough to catch the beads they through out to the crowd but there is always next year.

I had a nice time and when I got home I was swamped. Completely and utterly exhausted. If it wasn't for the mud, I would have jumped right into bed but I had to wash it off. So until next year, here are a few pictures of the carnival.