The rest of the story from George and Nancy

Hi again,

Time for the rest of the story.  We had time for relaxation on New Year's Eve day.  We went in the pool and hot tub.  Sure was good to see Gary (son) again.  We watched the ball drop on TV on New York time (which of course was only 9 for us.)  But we had to get up at 5 a.m. to get on the bus at 6:30 so we could arrive at the parade by 8 a.m.  There were buses everywhere!!!  We were told that one million people come to the parade, so just imagine what a crowd that makes!!  It was quite a sight to behold the many people along the parade route who had come the night before with their sleeping bags and bbq grills and chairs to reserve their spots.  We were blessed to have bleacher seats.  We were jam packed on them, but that was okay.  It kept us warm early on before the sun warmed us up.  It actually was a perfect day for a parade as the temps warmed up to probably about 70 degrees.

The floats were magnificent, the bands are the best in the country and the horses beautiful.  Everyone was having a great time!!  It lasted two hours but went by far too quickly.  Once in a lifetime, bucket list type event, for us at least.  I know not everyone gets that excited about parades.  Afterwards, we went to view the floats up close and personal.  But that, too, was easier said than done.  Again, imagine the traffic after the parade, and the huge amount of people wandering around looking at the floats.  A disappointment for me was that you couldn't smell the flowers at the parade and maybe just a little at the viewing afterwards.

We were exhausted when we arrived home at the RV park at 4:30, but it was a good tired, as they say.  We gathered at the clubhouse for a finger food potluck supper shortly afterwards and then it was home to our recliners.

Hope some of you got to see it on TV.   It's not the same as being there, though.  Now we are spending the next five days here in the nice RV park catching up on chores and going in the pool and seeing some of the sights in the area.  We leave on Friday morning for our next SOWERS project in Beaumont, CA, about three hours east of here.

love ya,

The Reid's

[Thanks, Nancy and George, for the "rest of the story."  We're so glad that you had a wonderful time at The 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade. << I have linked the website that has video of the entire parade, but like you said, it's not the same as being there.]