Mardi Gras (fat Tuesday in French) is the last day of Carnival, before Ash Wednesday and Lent starts. I would probably caution my kid not to venture out because people will act crazy. But I thought the trolley line during the day was safe, correct me if I’m wrong. I’ve heard to stay away from Canal Street. That’s all I know.
But Mardi Gras is in February/March depending when Easter is. Not now
Mardi Gras can actually last for weeks and can be found in lots of areas along the Gulf Coast. Parade schedules are posted a year+ in advance. (If you ever get an opportunity to tour a float barn, do it b/c it is pretty amazing.)
I wouldn’t be afraid of the crowds, but I can’t stand crowds, so I would stay away. My ds and his wife have gone to Mardis Gras parades in NO with their kids. 
ETA: I meant to write above that while Mardi Gras is FatTuesday, it is really considered Mardis Gras season for weeks. Sat-Tues, however, is the prime time and everything shuts down for Mardis Gras.
http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/schedule.html
http://www.neworleans.com/mardi-gras/
2017’s Parade Schedule 
@eansesmom, You saw 6 different rooms? Wow, we got to see only one. I don’t remember the name of the dorm building but it was a suite style. The room was a double - one bunkbed with a desk underneath and a regular bed and a desk. It’s nice to know that not all the rooms are dark and depressing like that.
The campus size was just right. It was not intimidatingly big like UW. Very well-kept campus ground with interactive sculptures everywhere. No big sports and no greek life were plus for my DD, too. Aaah, we loved it!!
@HiToWaMom yes. On discovery days they offer self tours. They give you a map with the buildings and room #'s and then you go find them on your own. The students who live in those rooms are there hanging out to answer questions. You name it, we saw it lol. Substance free, gender neutral friendly, honors, fair haven, etc. suite style, doubles, triples, shared bath, hall bath, etc etc etc. It was a great way to see the campus, identify what part he’d want to try and live in, how long it took to get places etc.
He’s in the area he liked best this week for his class (just by dumb luck) so it will be interesting to see what he thought. Really 4 main areas of campus for the dorms and the feel was quite different and huge variety of room types.
He did say the food has been good but I don’t have much detail yet.
Trips w/o kids: We took a trip to Italy w/o kids years ago when we only had two, but it’s harder to get away now with four (esp. since youngest is 4.) My parents are wonderful grandparents and spend weeks with the kids in the summer one at a time, so I feel guilty asking for more! We are, however, going away for a long weekend in the fall to dh’s USNA reunion. Love Annapolis! I have a list of places I’m dying to visit in the future.
We were in the Grand Canyon in March. H got a room at the Thunderbird Lodge. We had a view of the canyon from our room. I loved staying in the park. We hiked a 6 mile RT to and from Skeleton Point. The trail was crazy steep. My calves ached for almost a week after that hike. It was like doing a million flights of stairs.
@mtrosemom – My FitBit kept sending me alerts during the hike back up. Prior to that trip, I had only climbed 100 flights in one day, but the thing kept sending notices @ every 25 more flights. Unfortunately, no notification between 200 & 300, so while I have hit 200 flights again, I may never hit 300.
@HiToWaMom I don’t understand why they do that? UofO shows us the tiny dorms I’ve ever seen, while the guide was telling us these were the smallest on campus and that most are much better. Why are we supposed to believe them. Shouldn’t they be showing us the nicest dorms?
@mommdc That was me. Have to clear up the problem before we can freeze her credit. Will be doing it once this is cleared.
@curiositycat333 I thought the same thing. Out of all the dorm rooms, why this? Do you think it’s a public school thing? If it’s a fancy private school, they might secure one model show room just for the showing!
Agree. You never know what you are going to ** learn ** on this thread.
I never heard about freezing credit and defrosting it. :))
There are free street parking around Columbia. For our tour, since it was a Friday, we couldn’t find any free parking spot ( if I do, I most likely can’t use it since I suck at parallel parking ;
). I used the best parking app to find a close by garage and I think it cost me 20+. For the summer program, since drop off and pick up are all on the weekends, I am able to find free street parking easily.
@whataboutcollege – I am probably still jaded from my days of living in Manhattan when cars were regularly vandalized. I had an ancient car, that I had purchased for $400, parked on the UWS during the summer months. The battery was stolen out of the car one day. Another day, the seat belt, which had been left hanging out of the door b/c it did not retract fully, was slashed. Fortunately for me, there was an auto parts supply place in the upper 80s on Amsterdam. They have plenty of batteries for sale…maybe even my own!
My sister had her car window smashed to attempt to steal the radio, even though she had already removed the radio when she parked. Car was parked on 79th just east of 2nd. Busy, safe area.
Current car worth much more than $400, so I garage it, but generally, I take the train. Manhattan traffic does not bother me as much as the tri-state area traffic. It is SO much busier than it was even fifteen years ago.
I should add that it is a kinder, gentler, more sanitized New York now than it was in the late 80s/early 90s when the crack epidemic fueled much of the petty crimes.
Mardi Gras/Safety – everyone should have seeing a New Orleans Mardi Gras parade on their bucket list! Most parades roll in and out of the French Quarter and prevailing advice is just to stay out of the French Quarter. Last year we attended a night parade on the west side of town on Fat Tuesday on St Charles Street with my MIL and D17–lots of families there and we were able to get in/out of town without any hassle. The most dangerous thing is shielding your face from flying beads–I had a nice shiner after catching a string with my left eye!
@BlueAFMom The first time we went to one of the big parades I was surprised by the things being thrown. Goodness, nothing like a parade where I grew up. Parades are huge affairs. Stuffed animals (everything from beanie babies to 3 feet big guys), candy, cups, footballs, basketballs… It is funny. When you have an adorable little 4-6 yr old waving like crazy, you would be amazed the things they throw to her! 
The beads…Mardi Gras bead art is pretty amazing. http://www.galeriaalegria.com/artworks.html
Love NOLA. We used to go there every year pre-kids. Have never been there for Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest, though. We would just go down to listen to music in clubs. As I recall (it’s been over 16 years now) Snug Harbor was our late night hangout. I have no idea where Tulane is in relation to anything else in NO. Didn’t care back then. Not sure I’d ever heard of it.
We arrived in Pittsburgh this evening after our visit to tOSU earlier (D17 does not like the ‘t’ in tOSU at all). I will do a short write-up on that later, but I don’t think there are a lot of you looking at it. Suffice to say, it remains on the list after doing enough not to knock it off. The main reason we visited was due to the need to ‘show interest’ for a specific UG program they have through their Medical School.
Pittsburgh was like driving into Oz. Coming out of the mountains/hills to the west, with the sun shining brightly…it was a very pretty sight. We are staying at the Wyndham on campus, as mentioned before. Thanks to the tip, we ate dinner at The Porch. Two words: Yum Ee!
Tomorrow, “Ready…Set…Pitt”. Pretty beat, gonna rest my fingers for the night.
@2muchquan, have fun!
@Mom2aphysicsgeek, oh I was basing my Mardi Gras knowledge on the tradition in Germany. There Carnival starts on 11/11 and the last two big days are Rose Monday and Fat Tuesday.
I should have figured that in New Orleans they strech out Mardi Gras for a week. Did not know that. ;
@2muchquan - Looking forward to your write-ups of both tOSU and Pitt. D is deciding whether to include them on her list or not. We won’t be able to visit unless/until acceptance with good merit.
@2muchquan …hope you guys have a great day at Pitt!
Spend some time at the Phipps conservatory if you can!