Yesterday I went to the Rose Parade in Pasadena and took lots of pictures. We got up at 5 since we had bought tickets to a grandstand and official parking and we had to be parked by 7. Then we had breakfast at Denny's in Pasadena. The parade started at 8 with a flyby of a stealth bomber and a couple of fighter escorts. We were near the end of the route which meant that the parade didn't actually get to us until about 9.20, so we had plenty of time to get a programme and get comfortable and dry off our seats. Luckily the rain held off for the parade and it was a lovely morning with a great view from the grandstand into the mountains.
Of course there were a lot of people in town for the Rosebowl game and we had a lot of Texas supporters in our stand. There were a few Michigan supporters near us, but not many. We caught the game on TV later – Texas won, but only by a hair. The best float in the parade for me was the JPL float, but there was also a great float late in the parade which featured frogs riding a bike to escape from an irate chef. Unfortunately I'd run out of room on my CF card by that point.
The marching bands were good, some better than others. The university ones were probably the best. The unified schools districts bands were good too – plenty of kids to pull from. “Celebrate” seems to be a popular tune with marching bands. But at least one played “Stars and Stripes Forever” which I consider a proper marching band song. 🙂