[Mardi Gras was officially March 10, 2022, but the parades began in New Orleans on January 6. As memorable as my time on campus was from 1966-1970, so of the most outstanding times were when we ventured off the campus. SB SM]
It was the ultimate road trip. It was senior year in college. My friend, Fenimore Cady Sartorius, was living off campus in an apartment behind Payne-Whitney Gym in New Haven, CT. It was a Friday night. We were hanging out. No particular place to go, as Chuck Berry would say. So what should we do?
“Well, it’s Mardi Gras Weekend,” said Someone, “We could go to New Orleans.” Ha-ha.
“Mardi Gras isn’t just celebrated in New Orleans,” said Someone Else. “They also celebrate Mardi Gras in Quebec City.”
“They do?” Sound of penny dropping.
“How long a drive is it to Quebec City?”
“Seven … eight hours?”
Within minutes five of us had piled into Fen’s old Volvo and were heading north on I-91. We hadn’t been drinking or smoking anything, so that wasn’t an issue. Fen drove the entire way. Nobody slept until we checked into a B&B overlooking the St. Lawrence at about 6 am.
The entire trip would be a blur, were it not for the Super-8 camera that I purchased the previous summer in Sasebo, Japan. (Another story for another time.) Here it is etched into memory due to the magic of Kodak film and YouTube, featuring Fenimore Sartorius, Brian Heaney, John Newberry, Laura Snyder, and yours truly.
The memories are as fuzzy as the video.