Out for coffee, and a parade happened.

So the dogs and I were out roaming last night, because they seem to have some excess energy as of late and because the weather was perfect for it. I also wanted a cup of coffee and didn't feel like making any so I figured we'd walk to this little overpriced coffee shop down on Decatur Street and I could get a cup.

So we walked down towards Frenchmen Street, and since we were passing one of my favorite wine and beer stores, I got a nice dark German beer, because walking a little over a mile to get coffee can make you pretty thirsty. And the dogs are welcome in the store, so why not? We hung out there for a while and watched TV while Belle got petted and played with by a couple of the customers. Murphy, being the watcher, was too busy watching everyone. It's just what he does.

Finally we did a turn of Frenchmen street and Belle got some more love from people. A woman sitting in a chair outside one of the clubs kept trying to coax Murphy over and finally he gave in and waked over to her, but when she started petting him, he stuck his muzzle into her glass and took a drink of her beer. Like I said, it's just what he does. Sigh.

Eventually we got to the coffee shop and I got my coffee. Then as we ambled along Decatur St. going nowhere in particular, We ran into a crowd of people in costumes and a brass band. It was a second line pub crawl--the annual Turkey Tumble, in fact.

I had no idea about this beforehand, but having nothing better to do, we joined in and paraded from bar to bar for a while.

And this really showed me how well the dogs are acclimating to New Orleans. Back in April, they encountered their first sidewalk brass band and both dogs lost it, particularly Belle. Now Belle sits right in front of a snare drummer and watches him as he beats out the tempo and Murphy practically dozes between a pair of trumpets. They are second-line dogs for sure now and they'll walk right along in the middle of any parade like they were born to it.

Indian plays a horn.

Belle made a new friend.

That's what I like about this city. There's always something going on around here, and if you can find it, you're almost always welcome to join right in.