Tournament of Roses Parade

And now, the main reason that we came to California. The Tournament of Roses Parade. Both Gwyn and I have wanted to see it live. My mother wanted to see it, but never made it out.

Up and out of the hotel at 5:15 AM, since we were told roads would start being blocked off between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM. Not a problem, since we also had a paid parking spot. The ride was fine until we got to Pasadena, and then we had to take a few different streets, as they were starting to shut them down. We parked, and then walked started walking to the Starbucks on W. Colorado Blvd. As we passed Flemings, you could feel the heat coming from the heaters that they had on the outside area that faced the street. The people were enjoying their breakfast with a great view of the parade route. We passed by many people who had camped out overnight saving their spot for the parade. They had board games, books, and other things to pass the time while they waited, as well as sleeping bags, propane heaters, and fire pits. Kind of fun!

The line for Starbucks was out the door. We waited an hour total in line and to get our food. Really not bad considering how many people were here for the parade, and it was very orderly. Met some nice people. Of course, there were Wisconsin and Oregon people everywhere since those two teams were playing in the Rose Bowl. At one point, a lady came in, with a long shawl over her, asking people to buy her a coffee. No one did, and she left.

It was only about a 10 minute walk from Starbucks to where our seats were. We showed our tickets, went through the minimal security, and then headed to our seats in the stands. We were right across from the Simon Museum building. The TV cameras were right behind us. You could see the NBC booth at the top of the road where the floats turn right. There was a small sun shield up in the corner of the booth since the sun was rising and pouring right into the booth. The two ladies behind us were wondering if anyone was coming for or seats. We set up our folding stadium chairs, which were a lifesaver for the back. Off in the distance, there was a spec. It was the B-2 bomber that would be flying over the parade route to start the parade. It flew right over us. It was moving so slow. The Goodyear blimp was right above us also. As the parade started, I began thinking about Mom, just knowing how much she would have enjoyed actually sitting here, enjoying the floats, the marching bands, the horses, and the entire spectacle that was the parade. And I started to cry. It was emotional for me, being here for me, and thinking about Mom.

It was really good seeing the floats up close, and being able to hear the entire marching band’s songs. On the TV, the cut to commercials during the marching bands. Some of the floats had fireworks. A guy would run out with the control panel, hook it up, and then set off the fireworks.

Seeing the animated floats, and just watching the whole parade going by was fantastic! The crowd around us was good. Not too many people getting up and leaving during the parade. One guy went in the row in front of us a few times, but then he looked a bit drunk…

Once the parade was over, we decided to start walking to where the floats were parked. The stadium chairs were light, but we did not want to carry them and the program to the floats, so we walked back to the car and left them. We thought about looking for the shuttle bus, but just started walking. Following the parade route, all of the side streets were still closed. The road was littered with garbage from the people who had camped out overnight. There were sheriffs at some of the intersections. They used them instead of police for crowd control. I stopped and asked one of them how long it would take to clean up. She said they were waiting for the orders to open the side streets, but the roads were still pretty messy.

Continuing our walk up Colorado Blvd, we were getting hungry. We walked 2.7 miles to the Cross St. Cafe. They had very good sandwiches. After that, since it was still not 1:00 PM, we walked the remaining 2.6 miles to Pasadena High School. We stopped along the way and asked some sheriffs if we were still heading in the right direction, and we were. Arriving at the main entrance just before 1:00 PM, the gates were still closed. And the line snaked back quite a bit. We probably walked about 10 minutes to get to the end of the line. There was a red headed girl standing there with a sign that said “Line starts here.” She was putting on sunscreen as the sun was out. Gwyn and I almost debated leaving since the line was so long, and it was not moving. However, it started to move, and we started towards the entrance. There was a fence that you could look over and see the floats. It was going to be worth the wait!

As we walked along, we chatted with some of the people. Then a couple appeared behind us, claiming that they had been there the whole time, which was not true. The lady behind us shamed him, and I also put in my two cents. The faded back a bit, and then I did not care. The line to the left was for ticket holders, and the line to the right was for those who needed to purchase tickets. We kept on moving, presented our tickets, and then we were in to see the floats!

They were really magnificent to see up close! You could really see the details. Roses were used when you need to fill open space . Ground up flowers were colored and glued to make bigger flowers. Nut shells, like pistachios were used to make bark. Kidney beans. Grass was used to make hair for the animals. Blueberries were used to make the Rotary sign.

As we walked around, I noticed that one of the ladies was explaining how she worked on part of a float, and was holding a flower from the float. We talked with her, and Gwyn got to hold the flower!

There were three entrances to the grounds where the floats were parked, with a big colored balloon tethered to the ground floating above the entrance.. We entered the blue entrance, and walked along those floats parked. We then headed to the left, towards the green entrance. We did not get to the floats that were parked towards the red entrance, but there were not too many, and we had seen most of the floats anyways. It had been a long day, and it was time to head back to the hotel.

We walked back to the blue entrance, and waited for the shuttle. The shuttles only ran between the three entrances, but if you got off at the green entrance, you could take a shuttle back to Pasadena City College. That we did, and our feet were a bit happy. After departing the shuttle at PCC, it was only about a mile and a half walk back to the car. As we walked, we noticed a Tender Greens across the street. The SweetGreen was not opening yet for a few months here in Pasadena, but this looked like it would be good. Crossing the street, it was not busy. We got our supper of yummy salads to go, and continued on back to the car.

As we left the garage, we had to pay $6.00, since our parking pass was only good until 2:00 PM. Back to the hotel at 6:00 PM, enjoyed our salads, Mrs. Brown’s Boys, a shower, then bed.

The parade was definitely worth the trip, and this was a great day! If you want to see more pictures from the float, they are here