Surviving L.A. - Takes a parade

As if people watching in Los Angeles was not good enough on a daily basis, occasionally they throw a parade to put L.A. life on display. You may yourself have started off the New Year by watching the Annual Tournament of Roses Parade from Pasadena, CA. Pasadena is just east of Los Angeles, and has been home to the Tournament of Roses since 1890, when organizers first decided to rub what they perceived as California's stellar weather into the noses of the rest of the country.

"Oh, you have 8 inches of snow? We have roses blooming in 80-degree weather....just look, we have so many we can have a parade!"

Two years later, they added races in an effort to expand the event. The first race was between an elephant and a camel. In 1902, they decided human entertainment was more interesting and, according to the official tournament of roses website, was added in 1902 to "enhance the days festivities". (http://www.tournamentofroses.com/history/)

Those of us who miss snow may not be so impressed by the 80-degree weather Los Angelian's brag about, but we do enjoy a good parade. (Okay, I should say I, I can't lump Richard in here.) So when our friend Bob asked about attending the parade, we decided we could not pass up one of the best people watching opportunities in Southern California.

If you are willing to spend the money, several hotels line the route offering fabulous packages for their balcony rooms overlooking the flowers going by. (See picture including hotel.)

If you are okay getting out of your PJs to watch the parade, you can spend between $50 and $150 (and perhaps more) to get a a number on a peice of cold steele -- and $10 more for a seat cushion.

If you are adventerous (or out of your mind), you can camp out the night before. Before you dismiss the idea, consider that this is not your parent's camp out on hard ground. Gone are the days of stumbling out of your New Year's Eve party to pass out on the curb, only to wake up when the first school's band goes by.

This is a new family bonding event. (See crowd shots.)

Starting at Noon on New Year's Eve, you and those you can coherce into joining you can stake out your 'section' of the sidewalk, your home for the night. Imagine a massive game of musical chairs ending at the stroke of a clock. Your mission is to have the people in your party spread out blankets and chairs as far as they can get away with until they border the person next to them. This will enable you to set up your TV room, dining room, kitchen and bedroom. Afterall, you need space for the bed rolls, the table to eat on and cooler to keep meals in, the grill or outdoor firepit for cooking and warmth, and the generator and TV. You don't have to miss the ball drop in Times square, plenty of people had flat panel TVs. You don't need to relegate yourself to hotdogs and smores over a hibatchi. Oh no, there were buffets rivaling Super Bowl tailgate spreads. (Appropriate that they tailgate before a parade that preceeds a football game.)

The parade starts at 8 a.m. local time. Depending on your location on the route, the parade may start at 8:55 a.m., as it did for us. (Bands don't march quickly when they've been cueing since 3 a.m.)

This being our first experience, we were not sure what kind of insanity to expect. We left West L.A. for Pasadena at 5:45 with the intent to getting into Pasadena, getting into our parking space, and into our seats before 8. For the record, we left late, we arrived early and we spent a lot of time in the bleachers waiting for a parade. It's almost as if Pasadena has done this before and they know how to handle crowds!

Given the same circumstances in the future, what we would do is leave, late, arrive late, and not miss a beat. There were obviously people in our section who knew this strategy, because their seats were empty until about 10 minutes before the B-2 flew over to open the parade.

Being there early was not all bad....there were plenty of characters providing pre-parade entertainment. Protesters. Running clubs making their inagural run of the year. Christians reminding us to repent. Random people with a wagon throwing candy into the crowd, some of whom were still sleeping in their bed rolls. Cyclists. Kids playing in the street. Vendors with just about any snack food you could want. L.A. truly is the entertainment capital of the world.

As for the parade itself, we highly recommend it as an addition to your life list. Having watched the parade many times on TV, I can say it is a fabulous experience to catch the live show. The floats are amazing, the bands entertaining and the whole experience a very good way to start any new year. You might even be able to talk us into going with you again....so long as Richard doesn't have to use the curb as a pillow.

We did not attend the football game itself, choosing instead to watch that from the comfort of our couch, a much-welcomed cushion after the bleachers. Here is my favorite story about the Rose Bowl - as relayed to be by a former lobbyist for Washington & Jefferson University. In 1922, W&J, located in Pennsylvania, was invited to play California in the Rose Bowl. The school took a barebones team across the country, playing exhibition teams along the way to pay for the trip. The day of the game, the local paper had a long article about the game. The writer extolled the virtues of California's football team without really refering to W&J until the final sentence: "The only thing I know about Washington & Jefferson is that they are both dead."

The games have gotten much more interesting, and the parade is always fabulous whether or not the game is a close contest....and it is helping us survive L.A.