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Up, Up and Away! November 26, 2023

Posted by judylobo in Zoo.
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 Thursday was the 97th Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and I was able to get a ticket for a seat in the bleachers. The parade started early this year so the line entered at 6:30AM and then the hardest part began. The waiting in the cold. The City (in all of its wisdom) decided not to have porta potties for the attendees to use. Oy! Lots of complaining was heard throughout the crowd. The kids near me started whining by 7:30AM. Oh my!  As the 90 minute wait goes by the crowd will cheer at anything that we see – drones, pigeons, bomb sniffing dogs, etc. Finally the parade begins and suddenly the cold and wind do not seem to be a bother. It was fun, festive and loud. When Santa finally arrives the crowd goes wild. Not sure if it is because Santa arrived or if that means the parade is over and we can all go home to thaw out. Hope you all had a great holiday with friends and family. Here is a link to some history about the beginning of this fun holiday tradition.

It Didn’t Rain on Our Parade November 27, 2021

Posted by judylobo in Zoo.
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The 95th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade went on without a hitch. The wind was calm, the temperature better than it has been in the past few years and it was live, not virtual as was last year’s parade. I got there early (as usual) and found a perfect seat in the top row of the bleachers. The top row has a back so body aches were kept at a minimum. The toughest part of waiting is the waiting. Over two long hours go by and the crowd will cheer at anything that goes by…flying pigeons, bomb sniffing dogs or whatever crosses our path. I also got to meet and chat with some of the lovely people waiting with me. The week before the parade I read a bunch of articles about the Parade’s early days. This was my favorite . By the time Santa shows up (he is the last float) all of the people around me had gone home. They could not take the cold. One of my mantras is ’there is no bad weather…just bad clothing choices.’ I had lots of layers on, including silk liners, a big ol’ hat, my mask and, hand warmers. I had fun. Hope your Thanksgiving was yummy. Enjoy!

Virtual Thanksgiving Day Parade November 26, 2020

Posted by judylobo in Zoo.
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 Like everything else in this crazy COVID19 year, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is going to be very different. I thought I would re-post my adventures from last year’s parade since this year there will be no spectators. In 2019 I was lucky to be able to get six bleacher tickets for the parade. Prior to the parade the local weather forecasters were predicting dire wind circumstances for the balloons. Would they fly or wouldn’t they fly? Turns out they did fly (sort of). Most of the balloons were horizontal and it was very tricky to try to contain them. Kudos to the balloon handlers for generally keeping them afloat. My family loved the parade despite the cold, the wind and the two hour wait before it began. Whatever you are doing today – please be safe.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade November 26, 2017

Posted by judylobo in Zoo.
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We scored bleacher tickets to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Truth be told, I am not a fan of parades, but my house guests were thrilled – so off we went. The bad news was that we arrived so early so had to endure the frigid temperatures for almost two hours before the parade. The good news is that we got great seats. We totally enjoyed the event. The crowd was upbeat, the kids delightful and my hats off to the many New York City workers who held it all together. We had to leave early in order to get ready for our own turkey dinner so we missed Santa’s arrival. We all thawed out by around three PM. Most likely I will not repeat this activity – but we had a grand time. Thank you Macy’s and NYC.