Rose Parade Line Up in Pasadena 2012

The best way to see the floats in the Rose Parade is to go the evening before (usually on New Year's Eve unless New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, then the parade will be on the Monday because TOR has a "never on Sunday" policy - nice.)  The floats are all lining up on Orange Grove and there are huge floodlights up and down the street and people walking around.  You can get right up to the floats and look at the flowers and see all around on every side.  We went for a short walk around Orange Grove this year (Nathaniel and I weren't quite recovered from illness and didn't have a lot of energy) and this is what we saw:

This was the only picture with Davis in it.  Look how the flood lights light up the palm trees.

OK, this wasn't really a float in the parade line-up, but it was kind of funny.

Sunny Rose Parade!!!

Here is the float made by our town on New Year's Eve before it lined up for the parade. Chris and Davis walked over with our guests to check it out.

Happy New Year! It was a beautiful morning for the Rose Parade. We were over dressed in our sweatshirts. We walked up Orange Grove Blvd. to where the parade starts to watch.

Here is our niece Amanda, nephew Christopher, Nathaniel, and Sister-in-law Debbie in front of the Wrigley Mansion.

We found primo seats for the boys and we stood behind and still had a great view.

Its fun to see the floats close up (but honestly, if anyone tells you it smells like flowers don't believe them. The flowers are cross-bred for appearance and hardiness, not fragrance. You can smell processed flowers though as the horses go by.)

The best parade experience was had by Davis and his cousin Benjamin. They went early with their dads to sell parade programs for a scout fundraiser and were able to sit in the grandstands right where the parade turns the corner from Orange Grove onto Colorado blvd where all the tv stations broadcast. That is where all the bands and floats put on their best shows. Chris' oldest niece (in Utah) actually spotted her dad on the TV while she watched the parade. So, they earned some money for scout camp, sat in $150-per-seat bleachers, and had a great time.

Reservations are available for the Garner Bed and Breakfast and we can hook you up with the program selling/parade watching scheme if you were so inclined (you don't make a lot of money, but it's fun.)

Sneak Peak at a Rose Parade Float

Chris snapped a couple photos of a float being built up at the Rose Bowl. Looks like Flowers.com is using Sesame Street characters.
Here Big Bird looks dead. We see the floats coming up the street behind our house on New Year's Eve as they start to line up and all the tall elements of the floats have to lie flat so they can get under all the stop lights. They remove the stop lights along Orange Grove and Colorado Blvd for the parade so they can get by.

Orange Grove is ready for the Rose Parade

I took some pictures on my jog up Orange Grove Blvd today. Everything is ready for the Rose Parade.

The Wrigley Mansion is the Tournament of Roses headquarters and the parade starts about a block north of it.

The bleachers have gone up on both sides of Orange Grove.

The weather is beautiful. Its so exciting.

Tomorrow I'll take some pictures of the places where the floats are being decorated.