The Rose Parade! - Part Two

We woke up at 5 a.m. and got bundled up to go to the parade.  We didn't bring anything but donut holes, orange juice, and the camera.  I'm so glad that T refused to camp out overnight because it was cold!  I know you probably think we have just turned into wimps, and maybe we have, but it was only 39 degress by 7 a.m.!

Traffic was backed up across all the lanes at the exit we wanted.  So we hopped in the car pool lane and took the next exit where there was no line.  Someday, SoCal drivers will learn.  Until then, we will just keep out-maneuvering them.  We found free parking about 1/4 mile away from the parade.  Way better than paying $20! Originally we were planning to find a spot near the last mile of the parade because we heard it wasn't as crowded.  But our parking spot was straight out from mile two (out of five) so that's where we headed.

We got to the parade route about 6:15 and found a pretty great spot right off the bat.  The people in front of us camped out and had chairs out on the street so we were able to stand right behind them on the curb.  It was great because they were mostly sitting and we were up higher and had a mostly unobstructed view.   Then we just waited.  And waited.  And waited.

The parade started at 8 a.m. and we were two miles in (out of five) so we didn't see anything until about 8:40.  Paula Deen was the Grand Marshall.  I don't care about her either way, but I just couldn't figure out how they make the flowers stay on the car.  I also like that her car is under the Rent-A-Car sign. :)

We bought a program so we could know when Cousin J's band was approaching.  It was kinda pricey, but it helpful and it was for the Boy Scouts so we didn't feel bad about it.

The Ferris Wheel on the float was spinning so fast it almost made me sick.

The building in the background of all of these photos is an Office Depot.  I didn't bring my cell phone to the parade, so if we got separated the plan was to meet across the street from the Office Depot.  It was just like living in 1999 - making plans instead of calling each other. :)

At first I thought the hula dancers were barefoot!  How cold!  And unsanitary!  But they had on nude dance shoes.

I wonder if this guy switched arms half way through...

I'm glad we were close to the start because if we had gone to our original spot we wouldn't have seen anything until 9:30!  And we would have been stuck in traffic leaving!

It is crazy the things some people can make with flowers!

I wasn't sure if I would be able to get a good picture of Cousin J, so I practiced taking photos of the middle of the snare line of every band that came by.  Of course we don't really care about the other bands so I deleted them.  But I was getting ready.

These next three are the Beverly Hills float.  Would you expect anything less?

Oh, those Canadians... this one doesn't even know what a horse is supposed to look like! :)

I want a flower car!

Go Burbank!

This float was my absolute favorite.  The flowers were off the hook!

And of course the main reason we went to the parade - to see Cousin J in the Wyoming High School All State Marching Band!  They were marching right into the sun.

I think the picture practicing paid off.   Cousin J is to the right of the tallest guy in the snare line. Look at those perfectly synchronized steps!

It's hard to take a good picture of marching bands because they don't stay still!

I wasn't sure if I had a good enough shot of Cousin J so I ran following the band .  And it was WAY crowded.  Like single file only, get lost very easily, crowded.  It was hard to catch up and even harder to find a good spot to take a picture because now I was at the back of the crowd.  But, I did get two more shots. 

They sounded (and looked) really great.

I didn't think about this until we were driving home, but I should have tried to get some video of the band!  Oh, well.

The drive home was ridiculously easy.  On a normal weekday it would take us 40 minutes to get from Pasadena home.  It only took us 20 minutes after the parade to get home.  Somehow we completely missed all the parade traffic.  Go team!

We had such a wonderful time.  If you can go to the Rose Parade, you should.  If we were going to be in SoCal next year,  we would go see the floats late on New Year's Eve and just watch the parade from home because the floats are impressive at the parade, but even more so when you are only two feet away from them!  It was so worth it to go to the parade and see Cousin J!