Drinking

Houston has many great things to see and do. One of the more unique things to see is the Beer Can House.

John Milkovisch, a retired upholsterer for the Southern Pacific Railroad, started his project now known as the Beer Can House in 1968 when he began inlaying thousands of marbles, rocks, and metal pieces into concrete and redwood to form unique landscaping features.

The house in 1968 before the project began.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not estimates there are 50,000 beer cans used in this endeavor.

From 1968 to 1988, 20 years of drinking… with something to show for it, which is more than most can say.

These are all beers that the owner drank, along with his wife and neighbors. In order to get to 50,000 beers, they had to average drinking 6.5 beers every single day for 20 years straight.

I’m surprised he didn’t die from cirrhosis of the liver, lol.

Then again, that would be dying for your art.

He covered the ground with concrete that he decorated with marbles because he didn’t like to mow the grass.

The fence leading to the driveway was covered.

The fence in front of the house also.

Some even 0n the sidewalk in front of the house.

Even the planter had beer cans on it.

The fence that runs alongside the driveway was covered too.

John considered his work an enjoyable pastime rather than a work of art, but he did enjoy people’s reaction to his creations.

He once said, “It tickles me to watch people screech to a halt. They get embarrassed. Sometimes they drive around the block a couple of times. Later they come back with a car-load of friends…”

I went by today but for some reason they weren’t open when they were supposed to be. There’s more to see, so I’ll show you those additional photos when I get them.

Also, there’s another place that is called a monument. It’s closed until March for renovations. I’ll be sure to share with you when it opens again.

Spider Michaels

https://SpiderMichaels.com

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To begin, people will say NOLA because it stands for New Orleans, Louisiana.

Nawlins is famous for many things. At the top of the list is the French Quarter and Mardi Gras.

I wanted to share my photos and stories with you in case you’ll never get to go or maybe one day you’ll get to see it for yourself.

Myself and two friends drove to Nawlins from Houston. It’s about a 6 hour drive.

Right when we arrived, there was a parade going on.

These people had scored a whole lot of beads.

After the parade, the streets are covered in litter.

The New Orleans Mounted Police just sat on their horses and watched all of the drunks pass by.

Here are some girls that had a lot of beads also.

After the parade, we went to a bar for some live music. It was a great time.

We met this nice girl when we stepped outside the bar for a bit.

You’ll always see people dressed for the occasion.

I got a photo with this nice girl, but I wish we had a better background.

All over the French Quarter, you see trash in the streets from all of the partying that goes on.

Here’s how crowded the streets get.

My friend knew the owner of a Bar/Store called The Rat Hole. We made it our base.

I always take photos of the messy streets when I go to events to show people how wild the revelry is.

The more trash, the more partying.

I ran into this guy who was dressed up for the celebration.

The next day, we got an early start. 10 a.m. is early for a bunch of drunks, lol.

I had a cup of Jambalaya for breakfast/Lunch.

We saw another parade going by so I got some photos.

I love seeing all of the well made floats as they pass.

I got a picture of this cute girl and all of her beads.

People were screaming and reaching for beads as they were tossed from the floats as they went by.

A lot of effort went into decorating these floats and the people riding on them had some great costumes.

Later, we saw another parade. You’ll always see bands walking the parade routes.

I think it would be fun to be on a float, tossing things to the crowds.

The New Orleans Motorcycle Cops came riding by, so I snapped a cool pic of them.

This is one of my favorite photos from Mardi Gras. It has so much color in it.

These guys were enjoying the day.

You’ll see people with carts full of things to wear as you celebrate Mardi Gras.

Here are some more guys having fun.

After the parade, we stopped in to a hotel bar and started drinking Bloody Mary’s. They were really good.

Outside the hotel bar, I got a photo with these nice girls. They had a lot of beads too.

I saw these two motorcycle cops just chillin’ so I ran over and got a photo with them. I like this pic a lot.

Later, another parade came by.

It had some High School organizations marching in it also.

The floats were nice in this parade too.

If I were Britney Spears, I’d come home to Louisiana every Mardi Gras to ride in a parade.

Jared Leto too.

I thought this guy looked very cool and very Nawlins in his outfit and Make Up.

The Cajun Indians & Cowboys Riding Club came by so I jumped in the street and took this photo.

Here we see a girl having a great day at Mardi Gras.

We stopped for more drinks.

At the hotel where we stopped for drinks, I ran into these fine ladies and had to get a photo with them.

These girls too.

Outside, I saw a float that had no one around it, so I jumped on the main seat and got this photo.

I saw Jack at Mardi Gras too. Who knew he was such a partier.

Here’s another guy with beads for sale.

We stopped for pizza and after drinking so much and it was delicious.

I asked this girl for a picture and she struck a very sexy pose for me.

This guy wears his big, black hat to a lot of events. He even has a website devoted to his hat. A girl on a float gave me a feather boa, so I wore it around.

We went to another parade and I saw this. I thought it was funny so I took a picture to share with you.

The floats in this parade were very nice.

Do you think these people were Saints fans? Lol.

I loved the floats that were brightly colored and full of people tossing things to the people.

I didn’t try to get many beads, but they were being tossed out a lot.

Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” in French.

I had to get a few pics with the floats behind me.

“Fat Tuesday” is the last day before Lent begins.

Here we are having fun.

Ash Wednesday is the day after Fat Tuesday and 40 days of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

Lent is when Catholics go back to simple living, prayer and fasting. Many people give up something they really like for Lent. Such as a favorite food or habit.

Nawlins has a history with VooDoo and this vehicle was very cool.

Here is where Lent comes from…

At Jesus’ baptism the sky split open, the Spirit of God, which looked like a dove, descended and landed on Jesus, and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, My Beloved, with whom I am pleased.”

Afterward, as told in Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was sent into the wilderness by the Spirit. Where he fasted and prayed for 40 days.

During his time there he was tempted by Satan and found clarity and strength to resist temptation. Afterwards, he was ready to begin his ministry.

This kid had a great view of everything.

I really wanted a photo of these crazy gals.

This girl wanted to be in a photo with me. She’s the one who wanted to pose like this. That’s why I’m laughing so hard, lol.

Mardi Gras is believed to have arrived in North America on March 3, 1699, when the French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville camped about 60 miles downriver from the future site of New Orleans.

Knowing it was Fat Tuesday back in France, Iberville named the spot Point du Mardi Gras and held a small gala.

A few years later, French soldiers and settlers feasted and wore masks as part of Mardi Gras festivities in the newly founded city of Mobile (present-day Alabama).

To this day, Mobile claims to have the oldest annual Mardi Gras celebration in the United States.

I love it when people dress up for festive events.

Later that night, we were still walking the streets and drinking.

We saw yet another parade come by.

Available only during the Mardi Gras season, king cake is typically made with brioche dough.

Braided and laced with cinnamon, the dough is then glazed with purple, green and gold sugar or covered in icing in those same Mardi Gras colors.

What really sets king cake apart from other desserts, however, is the small plastic baby hidden inside.

Whoever finds the baby in his or her slice must buy the next cake or perhaps host the next party.

More than 500,000 king cakes are sold each year in New Orleans between January 6 and Fat Tuesday, and another 50,000 are shipped out-of-state via overnight courier.

The Nawlins metro area’s 37,000-plus hotel rooms are traditionally 95% filled during Mardi Gras weekend.

An economic impact study released by the University of New Orleans estimates that Mardi Gras generates over $840 million annually.

Here’s the menu from one of the little food stands.

The largest of about one dozen Mardi Gras supply houses in New Orleans sells an estimated one billion pairs of beads for a Mardi Gras season.

The super parades of Endymion and Bacchus, scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday before Fat Tuesday, feature a combined total of 67 floats, 60 marching bands and more than 250 units.

Their 4,200 members toss more than 1.5 million cups, 2.5 million doubloons and millions of beads.

A French Cajun phrase for Mardi Gras is ‘Laissez les bons temps rouler’, which means ‘Let the good times roll’.

Here’s Jennifer and I.

This was a friend of my friend. I thought he looked a little like me. If he were more tanned and I had a goatee. Don’t ya think so?

This girl was decked out in her Army clothes and had scored some beads.

As the last float passed…

It revealed all of the trash in the street again.

I would not want to work for Nawlins Sanitation Department.

This is when you can tell he’s had too much.

Here’s another dude selling Mardi Gras beads.

This couple dressed for the night.

The good thing about the French Quarter is that they have little food stands, so after drinking you can grab a quick bite to eat.

These two ladies were enjoying the Quarter.

Here we see the streets of the Quarter jammed with people again.

In this shot, you can see the people on the balconies tossing down beads to the people. Mostly to girls that show their breasts.

It was good to have a place to go to get out of the madness of the streets.

I forgot the name of these drinks we were having, but they were strong!

Here I am with the owner and the bartender.

You could buy beads at The Rat Hole too.

There was also nice masks.

Back out on the street, the party was still going strong.

We chilled at the Rat Hole and drank a lot more.

After a while, we took a walk down the street.

If you lose the people you’re with, you better have a meeting spot planned or you’re lost the rest of the night.

I ran into this couple on our Walk About. They were having fun.

So were these guys.

You can always find places with lots of T-Shirts for sale.

Some countries celebrate Mardi Gras as ‘Pancake Day’, and indulge in eating pancakes.

Ireland, Australia, England, Canada and New Zealand celebrate Pancake Day.

We got a lot of shots from this waitress at the bar where we were dancing.

Purple, gold and green are the official colors of Mardi Gras.

Purple is meant to signify justice, gold is meant to signify power and green signifies faith.

One of the biggest Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S. is held in Galveston, Texas.

Back at the Rat Hole, I saw a very large selection of Shot Glasses.

There were also a lot of funny T-Shirts.

I guess you’d have to love Ketchup to wear this shirt.

There were quite a few naughty T-Shirts also.

The Rat Hole is a nice store and place to get a drink.

Rio de Janeiro hosts one of the world’s largest Mardi Gras celebrations in the world.

We did a lot of Jello Shots too. They are so good!

It is illegal to ride a Mardi Gras float in New Orleans if you’re not wearing a mask. This law came into effect to allow people to associate with anyone they wanted to, without social barriers.