MUMMERS! (part 2, nighttime)

After the parade ended, we took a break and ate some delicious food at Jamaican Jerk Hut.  Ali saw a pair of earrings hanging off their fence:

A lot of the 2 Street night pictures are blurry.  Sorry about that - but to be honest, that's how the whole event feels, anyhow.  It's fitting.

One of the many things I learned from others regarding the Mummers parade:
Mummers = cool.
Mummer = weird.
It's really true.  Collectively, they're awesome but there is something really creepy about an aimless, wandering, solitary Mummer.  This guy seems to have lost his people somewhere:

Silly String : Daytime :: Beer cans : Nighttime:

Salvaged parasol!:

Other moments:

After 2 Street, we went to Franklin Fountain for ice cream and headed home.  2011 has begun, and it is awesome.

Things I learned about Mummers Day from others that turned out to be true:
* you will be offended at least once.
* if a Mummer approaches you in a staggering-type way, just run, because that means they're going to try to make out with you.
* there are good soft pretzels and bad ones, and a way to tell the difference (which I am not sharing with my blog readers! Ha!)
* it is unlike anything else you will ever see.
* "it's like third-world party strategy in a first-world city"
Things I learned on my own:
* unless you are transporting lots of beer cans, you don't need a bag and you will be happier without one.
* don't wear anything you ever want to wear again, because it will probably smell like warm domestic beer forever.

Philadelphia: I love you.