Long Beach has been doing really well for itself lately. Sure, we have the Queen Mary, a Grand Prix and an aquarium, but it’s the little pieces all adding up to make this town such a great place to live.
We’ve always wanted to be involved in Long Beach Mardi Gras but it wasn’t until this year that they had a parade. It was along the boardwalk between the Aquarium of the Pacific and Shoreline Village so Gooch, Cory and I opted to bring down a push cart. Ice Cream wasn’t going to work out so we bought a ton of mardi gras beads and, thanks to Crash, we had a full bucket of Cry Babys sour gum to toss. Since the parade was informal we slid up a couple spots to be with our friends at The District. This was doubly beneficial because it put us right in front of the Long Beach Roller Derby Girls.
An important fact I’ve forgot to mention so far is…. this was the first time I brought out the Ice Cream Man costume in Long Beach. Yes, it’s a bit weird wearing a costume of yourself but, mascot ICM is even more festive than regular old me. Luckily I remembered to bring music and some headphones and as soon at the parade started I put on The Very Best of The Meters and my party started. Dancing isn’t really tough for me but I don’t always move that much. This wasn’t going to work inside a big costume so I decided to get DOWN and make the most of my arms. I did more of the pointy-fingers-guns-in-the-air dancing than I’d ever done before. After 45 minutes to an hour I was completely drenched inside the suit, what a great workout. Once I got the mask off I peered into the cart and noticed Gooch and Cory did a great job dishing out all the beads and gum. I was happy there were hundreds and hundreds of people in the parade and along the parade route. On the walk back I noticed the Ragga Muffins festival was going on at the Long Beach Arena. Yet another reason to love Long Beach
