Finally, the day we came for! Yes, "I love a parade!" We had to be in the hotel lobby at 5 a.m. for the bus to Pasadena and the Rose Bowl parade and game. We thought 5 a.m. was painfully early since Pasadena was less than an hour away, but after experiencing rush-hour traffic a few days before, we figured they knew what they were doing.
Smooth bus trip. I learned that to get good views for the Tournament of Roses Parade, you need to have tickets for reserved seats. (People camp out all night along the parade route for good nonreserved viewing.) We had to walk a few blocks from where the bus parked but it just added to the anticipation. They warned us it would be cold, but not surprisingly the PA contingent wasn't bothered. We had to wait a while for the parade to start (and every time I think of the wait, Kool & the Gang's "Celebration" pops into my head because the float in front of us kept playing it over and over and over).
Finally, it started! Float after float, band after band, celebrity after . . . well, yeah, some of them, too. Grand Marshall Cloris Leachman looked fabulous! The floats were magnificent. When I was a kid, I had the pleasure of marching in many a parade representing my school, so I was particularly interested in the bands. With one exception, they were phenomenal. Manners are clearly not what they used to be--the USC band chanted "Penn State sucks" as they passed our Blue and White contingent. The only black mark on an otherwise wonderful experience.
Back on the bus, went to the game, the pain of a loss exacerbated by the taunting from USC fans and the team. Good-natured teasing is one thing, but that's not what we were hearing. It wasn't just my section of the stadium either. Again, is this considered acceptable? I had been so excited to go to the Rose Bowl, the "Granddaddy of them all..." etc. I would not recommend the experience to anyone.
Bus ride back to the hotel. We weren't that hungry so we went down to the hotel bar for a drink and a snack. Our waiter was excellent--he could see we were exhausted and took very good care of us. It was a good way to end our last evening together in Beverly Hills.
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