Showing posts with label parade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parade. Show all posts

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Day 178/365 - Cherry Blossom Festival Parade



Today was the parade kicking off the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC. I'd never seen this parade before, so today I forced myself to get out of bed earlier than I wanted to and went to check it out. It was a pretty good parade. It's sort of a smaller scale version of the Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC. There are marching bands and floats and usually there are balloons as well, but the high winds today grounded the balloons.

And at the end of the parade, instead of Santa in a sleigh, we have the Easter Bunny in a carriage. Apart from the wind the weather was perfect -- sunny and warm. It was a great day to be standing on the corner watching a parade go by.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Day 50/365 - I Love a Parade!



And what a parade this was! Today I saw the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live and in-person in New York City. I've watched and loved this parade on tv ever since I was a little kid. Watching it on Thanksgiving morning has always been a part of my Thanksgiving routine. For about five years I've been toying with the idea of going up to NYC to see the parade in-person, and this year I finally did it!

It was awesome! My favorite part of the parade has always been the balloons and they're even cooler up close than they are on tv. The weather really cooperated, too. It was cold, but not freezing cold and the sun was out and it wasn't windy. It was pretty crowded along the parade route, but I found a good viewing spot on Central Park West near 67th Street. I got there about 7:45 and there were already 4-5 rows of people lined up in front of me. The parade started at 9:00 and lasted just under two hours.

After it ended, I walked through Central Park and meandered around town for a bit taking pictures before it was time to head over to Oscar's at the Waldorf-Astoria for Thanksgiving lunch. I had pumpkin bisque, soft breadsticks, artisanal cheeses, sauteed asparagus and carrots in a honey mustard glaze, dressing, candied yams, turkey, bread pudding, pecan pie, and chocolate mousse cake. It was delicious, but I don't think anything beats a home-cooked meal for Thanksgiving, no matter how fancy the restaurant.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)