After the balloon inflation debacle last night - should have gotten there early before the crowd! - I devised a plan to wake up at 6 AM and get to the bleachers by 7 AM, surely - surely! - I'll get a good view of the parade. I know what you're saying as you read this, "We know you Rebecca. You? Up at 6 AM? Not gonna happen."
Unfortunately, I carelessly combined my love of just a few more minutes of rest in the morning with too much sugar before bedtime, which left me snoozing long past my planned 6 AM wake up. In a related story, Cameron helped me make an Oreo balls dessert to take to the Harts for Thanksgiving. Using a recipe from Elizabeth that sounded so easy - crushing, mixing and melting (no cooking involved!) - I managed to skip a crucial refrigeration step that almost destroyed the whole effort. We ended up with more sticky Oreo filling on our fingers than actually rolled into balls, and who can resist a little taste here and there...and a little dip in the melted white chocolate...and oops! that ball crumbled, we might as well eat it. When the balls were finally properly rolled, chilled and dipped, it was nearing 1 AM, and I knew my morning plans were looking a bit too ambitious.
I awoke with just enough time to shower, grab on clothes, make sure the precious Oreos were still balled in the refrigerator and hoof it over to Broadway by 9 AM - parade start time. Sigh. The warm temperatures brought even more spectators than normal, so I was 9 people deep on the sidewalk at the thinnest area of the crowd I could find. Forget the bleachers - I knew I just needed to pick a place and hold my ground.
The parade reached my viewing spot at 9:23 AM, and just as I congratulated myself on picking a spot that didn't have pesky little kids on their parents' shoulders - pop, pop, pop, up came the kids.
Darn kids!!
As much as I was disgusted at the balloons from the struggle of the night before, thank goodness they were in the parade! I wouldn't have been able to see much else...
The classic Macy's star.
These lucky ducks have the best balconies in Manhattan!
Left: Dolly Parton at the gazebo and about to disappear behind a kid-on-the-shoulders head!! Right: The Thanksgiving turkey and pilgrims - love them!
Left: Abby Cadabby - a new balloon this year - she was HUGE! Right: Scooby!
Left: "Super Cute Hello Kitty" - another new one this year. Right: Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's wife and daughter Bindi - second to Dolly, they were the celebrities I was most surprised to see!
Left: Ronald McDonald. Right: M&M's dressed up as characters from Broadway shows - really cute float.
Snoopy.
Left: The girl from the Hairspray movie. Right: The big clown's arms and legs were floppy as the handlers guided him down the street.
Left: Menudo on a retro, 80's-looking Big Apple. Right: I didn't realize the Energizer Bunny was motorized on the ground and not attached to strings until he was right in front of us and spun toward us then all the way around! Got a big "Whoa!" out of the crowd!
Left: Another new balloon this year - Shrek. Right: Ashley Tisdale from High School Musical - who?
Left: Dora Explorer. Right: My favorite float of cuties - the Care Bears!
Left: Wynonna Judd. Right: Kermit - he was a long one!
All I truly cared about seeing was Santa and his reindeer. The parade stopped in front of us for about five minutes while Santa was one block away. As the parade stalled, most of the people around me didn't know Santa was within reach - I could see him by peeking over heads on my tip toes. I got my camera and cell phone camera ready and waited - making little bets in my head with Old Saint Nick that he BETTER look in my direction so I can get a good picture - or else! Well, as you can see below, the big guy must have heard me - he waved right on cue!
All the waiting for this one picture!
Immediately after Santa passes, the parade goers spill into the street and follow the parade on down Broadway.
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