rose bowl parade
Since I was a small girl, it's been my family's tradition to watch the Rose Bowl parade on television every January 1st. Mom and I would ooooh and ahhhh over the floats and bands, and get upset when commercials came on, or worse, the camera shifted to the commentators for too long and we missed part of the parade.
I've read books from the 1950s about people spending the night on the street in order to get front-row seats, and entertained the thought in the back of my head as something I'd like to try one day. But c'mon, it's the Rose Bowl parade. It's big. It's on TV. It's on the other side of the United States. I never actually expected my dream to come true ... much the less my very first year in California!
But over the weekend, I was there. Yes, sir'ee! Some friends from church arrived at 8:30 a.m. on the 31st and staked out a prime spot at the corner of Catalina and Colorado. Gerry, Bethany, and I joined them around 10:00 p.m., and at 11:00 p.m. when the police came by and gave the all clear, we rushed into the street with our chairs and bags.
There was such a celebratory feel on the street! Music was playing, people were toasting with sparkling cider, the block police were chatting with the people in their sections, and teenagers were hurling tortillas and marshmallows at passing cars. There was a marijuana dealer, a homeless guy with a ferret, and lots of Jesus tracts. At midnight, confetti, horns, and birthday cake for our neighbor on the street!
Around 1:30 a.m., nine of us decided to go find the floats in their staging area. I don't think anyone realized it would take a full two hours of walking to get there ... but we eventually did find the majestic flowery beasts on a quiet residential street. Quiet, I say, because nobody was talking. There were lots of other people walking up and down and gawking.
On our walk back in the 4:00 hour, we passed through whole different sections of sleeping celebrants. In some areas, people were laid out neatly in their sleeping bags. In others, they sprawled in heaps. A couple of teens had brought TVs and were playing video games, and on every corner there was a vendor grilling onions and sausage on a kludged grill made out of a shopping cart, some fire in a pan, and a large baking tray on top. What an amazing smell there was wafting up and down the boulevard.
Back at our site, I got about 30 minutes of sleep in the street before it got too exciting to stay hidden in my mummy bag. The police shooed away some Indian women who were trying to hijack our neighbor's site, and then when the police left, the women tried again. Gerry stepped in this time and scared them away for good.
The sun came up and people played football in the street. Bikers and joggers sped past. The Guatemalan contingent waved its flags. The lines for the port-a-potties reached around the corner.
And then finally, the parade!
It was amazing. I was right down in the street, on the front line of chairs, and only a couple of feet from the marchers and twirlers and motorcycle escorts who went past. The Marine Corps band made me weep, as well as the organ donor float carrying individuals who had received donations ... along with pictures of their donors.
At one point, the parade halted for 15 minutes, with the best float ever stalled in front of our group. It was a float full of bulldogs who rode surfboards down a "snowy" slide! Cowabunga, dude! We got to go up and talk to the float people, play with the dogs, and take closeup pictures of the flowers.
Later on, Jared from Subway, Michelle Kwan, and Jackie Chan came past us.
The beauty queens on Jackie Chan's float looked royally ticked off that people were screaming and pointing for him ... and not noticing them.
So much to see, so much to see. But if you're my Facebook friend, I know that you can find everything there if you're interested. And if you're not on Facebook, well then, head over to my Flickr for a few more favorites: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bons-aye/sets/72157623126973080
I've read books from the 1950s about people spending the night on the street in order to get front-row seats, and entertained the thought in the back of my head as something I'd like to try one day. But c'mon, it's the Rose Bowl parade. It's big. It's on TV. It's on the other side of the United States. I never actually expected my dream to come true ... much the less my very first year in California!
But over the weekend, I was there. Yes, sir'ee! Some friends from church arrived at 8:30 a.m. on the 31st and staked out a prime spot at the corner of Catalina and Colorado. Gerry, Bethany, and I joined them around 10:00 p.m., and at 11:00 p.m. when the police came by and gave the all clear, we rushed into the street with our chairs and bags.
There was such a celebratory feel on the street! Music was playing, people were toasting with sparkling cider, the block police were chatting with the people in their sections, and teenagers were hurling tortillas and marshmallows at passing cars. There was a marijuana dealer, a homeless guy with a ferret, and lots of Jesus tracts. At midnight, confetti, horns, and birthday cake for our neighbor on the street!
Around 1:30 a.m., nine of us decided to go find the floats in their staging area. I don't think anyone realized it would take a full two hours of walking to get there ... but we eventually did find the majestic flowery beasts on a quiet residential street. Quiet, I say, because nobody was talking. There were lots of other people walking up and down and gawking.
On our walk back in the 4:00 hour, we passed through whole different sections of sleeping celebrants. In some areas, people were laid out neatly in their sleeping bags. In others, they sprawled in heaps. A couple of teens had brought TVs and were playing video games, and on every corner there was a vendor grilling onions and sausage on a kludged grill made out of a shopping cart, some fire in a pan, and a large baking tray on top. What an amazing smell there was wafting up and down the boulevard.
Back at our site, I got about 30 minutes of sleep in the street before it got too exciting to stay hidden in my mummy bag. The police shooed away some Indian women who were trying to hijack our neighbor's site, and then when the police left, the women tried again. Gerry stepped in this time and scared them away for good.
The sun came up and people played football in the street. Bikers and joggers sped past. The Guatemalan contingent waved its flags. The lines for the port-a-potties reached around the corner.
And then finally, the parade!
It was amazing. I was right down in the street, on the front line of chairs, and only a couple of feet from the marchers and twirlers and motorcycle escorts who went past. The Marine Corps band made me weep, as well as the organ donor float carrying individuals who had received donations ... along with pictures of their donors.
At one point, the parade halted for 15 minutes, with the best float ever stalled in front of our group. It was a float full of bulldogs who rode surfboards down a "snowy" slide! Cowabunga, dude! We got to go up and talk to the float people, play with the dogs, and take closeup pictures of the flowers.
Later on, Jared from Subway, Michelle Kwan, and Jackie Chan came past us.
The beauty queens on Jackie Chan's float looked royally ticked off that people were screaming and pointing for him ... and not noticing them.
So much to see, so much to see. But if you're my Facebook friend, I know that you can find everything there if you're interested. And if you're not on Facebook, well then, head over to my Flickr for a few more favorites: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bons-aye/sets/72157623126973080