Before I go into the highlights, I have to tell you what happened pre-parade. My aunt, cousin and I got down there at 7a.m. and stood in front of the Bank of America. There were cops everywhere. Seriously the ratio of cops to people had to be 1:5. Well, maybe not, but there were a lot. Anyway, none of the cops really knew what was going on with the "standing barriers." They kept moving us around. At one point they made everyone totally clear the area and move to a different location. Mind you, the different locations were already taken by others who had also patiently been waiting since 7a.m. Needless to say, this ticked some people off so Thanksgiving morning was filled with a little yelling, screaming and cursing at the cops. My aunt and I had the brilliant idea of sneaking in the Bank of America lobby thing where the ATMs are and waiting it out. The cops found us there too, but we ended up being able to stand right outside the lobby with a great view. My aunt eventually snuck back in to escape the cold, and by that point there was not stopping anyone...the parade was about to start.
I would like to give props to the NYPD for being so organized and on top of things. Despite the yelling, crazy people all the cops were super nice and they tried to accommodate everyone as best they could...they were just doing their jobs. Apparently last year, some crazy lady sued the city because a stop light blew down and hit her on the head. It was really rainy and windy last year. So, this year we had to all stand under a ledge of some sort so that if a stop light fell it would hit the ledge and not our heads. ANYWAY...
Here are some of the highlights of the parade:
Right before the parade came through, they were clearing the streets and this truck came speeding up and came to a screeching halt in front of us. It was kind of weird, like Jack Bauer was going to jump out and tell us all to duck for cover. But then the window opened and it became the NYPD roach coach. It even had coffee dispensers coming out of the side of the truck and tons of doughnuts for the hard-working cops.
These pilgrim people made me laugh so hard I cried! The fact that they are so disproportionate with their fat heads cracks me up to begin with, but Mr. Pilgrim was having a hard time that day. His fat head wouldn't stay straight on top of his shoulders. He looked like he had some sort of condition, or he had been drinking a few too many early morning Thanksgiving cocktails. The funniest part of this story is that when I watched the DVRed version when I got home, he was still walking like this when he entered Herald Square! He had walked the entire length of the parade with his head all caddywompus.The OCD in me loved that all the balloon holders had matching uniforms that coordinated perfectly with their balloon. For example:
Dora's friends wore reddish-orange.
Abby Cadabby's friends wore pink and baby blue.
And of course, Kermit's friends wore...you guessed it!
So, all in all the parade lived up to its expectations. It really wasn't that cold and it made for some great people-watching! People kept asking me if I would ever do it again. I would normally say no to something like that w/ such a huge crowd...your typical once-in-a-lifetime events. But, I would love to take my kids to the parade one day. It was made for kids (and kids at heart, like me). So give me a few years (http://msylestine.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-form-of-contraception.html) and I will head back to the Big Apple on Thanksgiving day. Until then, I will look forward to some southern cornbread dressing and yummy pies. The hotel lunch was okay, but they had purple mashed potatoes and no cornbread dressing! For real....
All that said, I can't wait to head home to Odessa for Christmas. I am homesick right now for my family, hanging out by the fireplace, playing card games, eating Rosa's and no traffic! At this point I welcome the 5.5 hour drive w/ Jeremy and the dogs. YAY for Christmas!
0 comments:
Post a Comment