Ahh, the 4th of July! My all-time favorite holiday of the year! As (almost) always we started the day by attending our city's parade which has been going on with a few interruptions for wars and other disasters since the last economic grand slam to hit this nation: in other words since 1932! Either folks are reading my blog posts about the parade and are deciding to attend to experience it first hand or perhaps the residents are just becoming more aware of the old 'the early bird gets the worm' adage but when we got to our usual favorite in the shade spot we found (a) it taken over by the parade reviewing stand and judges and (b) people who got there before us! We went across the street to sit in the sun and wait for about 2 hours. Did I mention that it was going to be hot enough to melt lead ingots into molten puddles that day? But just before the parade started the judges moved down about 20 feet which opened up an opportunity for the Grouch party to literally scramble across the road just as the Deputies on motor cycles approached with the start of the parade! We don't do things by half measures, no siree!
This was the first parade in decades to have an actual marching band in it! The high schools combined into a pick-up band, distributed the music to the kids before hand, they showed up at 6:30 a.m. the morning of the parade to try it together and off they went! What a talented bunch which included young son! As always the parade is an eclectic group of displays and participants. The theme this year was the anniversary of women achieving the right of vote. Some of the participants made no attempt to conform to the theme but then that is what makes this a lot of fun.
After the parade we stayed in door to beat the 104F heat. Later that evening it was off to see fireworks. A great day for the Grouch family and for our country. Happy birthday America!
Click on the pics for a larger view!
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| Watching the parade with our friends |
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| A group keeping to the theme of the parade |
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| Here come the band! |
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| Young son blowin' that 'bone! |
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| The fifes and drums |
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| Polynesian dancers?! Wow, they could shake those hips! |
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| Summer Santa |
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| Our very own ghostbusters! |
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| My favorite - the motorized L-Z Boy recliner with a space theme! |
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| The end to a great day! |
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Another great parade that would have only been better with a repeat performance of the Miata club and/or a volunteer riding her trusty steed, Boo. That and Bloom or Blossom getting to watch. I wanted to bring Bunny to watch but attended agility instead. Glad you all got the shade at the last minute. The marching band is a very nice touch.
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