The Mardi Gras adventure.

It was Mardi Gras in the French quarter of New Orleans.

Marti the mink had never seen such a crowd. She had been around humans before so that didn't bother her too much. She looked at all the fun costumes and masks in bright shades of purple green and gold and had to glance at the calendar again. So much purple and gold she thought it was time for LSU football season.

"Nope," she thought to herself. "It's Mardi Gras."

She scampered out to the balcony of the Omni Royal Orleans hotel where she had taken up residence. Marti loved to roam around the French Quarter and this hotel was smack dab in the center. There were so many things to see and if she played her cards right some sweet human would give her a piece of her favorite human treat; she loved King Cake. She hung around enough that she had quite the set up in a room that people thought was haunted but ghosts didn't bother Marti. She figured it was easier to share than to be living out in the street.

Marti decided to get a closer look at the goings on so she scampered inside and waited for someone to call the elevator she didn't have to wait long at all. A young couple more interested in each other than seeing what was in the hallway pressed the down button and when the doors swooshed open Marti scampered in and hid under the bench so as not to frighten the lady. The elevator got to the lobby and Marti scampered out while the couple wasn't looking and went out the doors and out into the crowd on the street.

She had to dodge people and beads and all kinds of trinkets but got to see the parade and it was so colorful. She felt herself being lifted off the ground and came face to face with the young lady from the elevator. They stared at each other for a long minute.

The lady said, "You are so cute."

Marti blinked but didn't speak; humans don't react well to talking animals.

Marti let the girl pet her.

Marti sniffed the air and got all excited. She smelled King Cake and looked around at the lady's male companion. He brought over a king cake and he looked at Marti and the lady getting along and just shook his head.

"Made a new animal friend I see," he said

The lady sat Marti down and gave her a hunk of King Cake. Marti used her best manners to eat it.

Marti hugged the lady around the ankles and got picked up again which wasn't so bad. Marti had the best view of the end of the Rex parade which is so cool and got carried around which wasn't so bad. There were so many krewes with parades during Mardi Gras that she definitely had a favorite parade. She got to see places that she missed because humans tend to stay away from the buildings and places that were haunted. She could sneak into the cool cemetery St.Louis No.1 all by herself but seeing the buildings took a little more planning and it was usually too much of a pain in the butt to get it done.

Tonight the lady insisted that she come along on the ghost tour with them. Marti wasn't one to argue so she hopped up in the lady's big purse and settled down with her head peeking out of the top to see the places. If she was completely still no one would notice her. Marti was good at being mistaken for a lifelike-looking mink stuffed animal.

They followed the tour from Muriel Jackson Square.

The tour guide gave the usual speech about the location. "After losing this house in a poker game, Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan committed suicide upstairs in 1814. His ghost doesn't appear human, but as a glimmer of sparkly light. There’s even a séance room that guests can visit that honors Jourdan’s spirit."

Then off to Faulkner House books.

The tour guide gave a description of the place. "Faulkner wrote his first novel while staying in this house in the 1920s. People swear they’ve seen his ghost sitting at the writing desk inside and say you can smell his pipe."

Marti jumped out of the bag at the first opportunity she got when the crowd was busy and looked around at the room that held the writing desk where Mr. Faulkner wrote his novel.

"No ghost, not fair," said Marti to no one in particular

Then out of nowhere, a figure appeared

"Looking for someone or something?" the ghost of Mr. Faulkner asked.

Marti took off out of the room like a bat escaping from damnation. She found the lady and jumped back in the bag and stayed there until they left the house.

The tour heard the ghost laughing.

The tour guide said, "someone must have gotten too close to the desk yet again."

They left shortly after that and went to The Hermann-Grima House.

The tour guide went on to describe the location. "Built in 1831 for prosperous Creoles, this house is said to be alive with pleasant, friendly Southern ghosts who scatter scented rose and lavender around the rooms and light the fireplaces to make it cozy."

They looked around the house and Marti peeked out cautiously and breathed a sigh of relief. The house was beautiful and the ghost must have not wanted to show off for this tour Marti had snuck into this place last year and had been treated very well by the ghost lady.

The tour ended back near the hotel at the Marie Laveau House one of the most famous places in all of New Orleans since she was known as the voodoo queen. Marti stayed hidden there was no way in hades she wanted to cross paths with Mrs. Laveau.

After the stop there it was back to the hotel to settle down for the night. She jumped out of the bag and hugged the lady around the ankles and scampered off to her own space and settled down under her blanket.

The Quarter was just settling down to a dull roar of the partygoers.