Working to keep the Gulf Coast’s remaining wild places wild, nature preserves and refuges make for a great escape from more “ordinary” coastal activities. From south Florida to the Texas/Mexico border, the Gulf Coast is teeming with life. Under the ocean, on the beaches, in the salt marshes and...

With room names like The South Pacific Room, The Safari Room, and The Rainforest Room … you just know that you’re going to have a good time at the Avenue O Bed & Breakfast in Galveston, Texas.  Centrally located in the historic Silk Stocking District just blocks from the beach and minutes...

Who knew? Who knew that Mardi Gras, which most people know only as a one day parade on Fat Tuesday, actually is a centuries old tradition that is celebrated for weeks each year, not just one day? Who knew that some cities’ social calendars are shaped by Mardi Gras balls and dances? Who knew entire...

As you would probably guess, almost everyone in Louisiana celebrates Mardi Gras. Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana certainly do. Lake Charles is celebrating its 31st Annual Mardi Gras this year with parades, dances, trail rides, cook-offs and balls. According to Angie Manning-Istre, Communications...

Unlike New Orleans and Mobile, Pensacola was not founded by the French, the original exporters of the Mardi Gras tradition to the U.S. Instead, Pensacola was founded by the Spanish. This led to a delayed adoption of Mardi Gras, which isn’t documented in Pensacola until 1874. After a slow period during...

The towns of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores on the southeast coast of Alabama each have Mardi Gras parades and societies. Gulf Shores’ city parade will start at 10 a.m. on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 16, and Orange Beach will follow with a City parade at 1:30 p.m. Steve Jones, Director of Real Estate Sales at...

So how does a nice girl from small-town Nebraska end up prancing around on a float during a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans? I mean, New Orleans during Mardi Gras and Nebraska are about as completely opposite as two places can get, right? “I had dreamed of riding on a Mardi Gras float since I was...

New Orleans is the center of the Mardi Gras universe. Mardi Gras in the Crescent City is outrageous, outlandish, and outstanding. The society parties start on Twelfth Night, January 6, and continue through Fat Tuesday, which this year is February 16. Parades start around the first of February, and continue...

New Orleans has more than 50 Mardi Gras parades. Each parade has numerous floats. This begs a serious question: Where do all those floats come from? Some people still make their own floats, but the vast majority are made by Kern Studios, the reigning King of Mardi Gras float makers. The Kern family has...

Mardi Gras along the Gulf coast has changed in many ways over the last 300 years. Historians tell us that Mardi Gras celebrations were initially conducted on New Year’s Eve, rather than Fat Tuesday. Secret societies were created, parades were invented and the ever popular “throws” evolved. For...