At the last minute this morning, Stuart and I decided to take Scooter and Joel to the Rose Parade. We were up and it was only 20 minutes away. It was a clear, warm, and beautiful morning along the foothills in Pasadena.

We had no tickets for bleachers, so we joined the masses linning Colorado Blvd. It was exciting knowing we were among some 1,000,000 people there. Though, we tried to avoid as much of the crowd as possible.

Even so, we mingled with much of "LA". From rich to poor, black to white, we all sat close together and enjoyed one another's company. It is amazing how well people from different backrounds get along together when face to face.

As stealth planes rocketed over our heads, we all cheered and clapped as the parade began. You could feel a sense of pride among all in the crowd to be Americans.

It was a great experience! I can't wait to do it next year with this trial run under my belt. I now know some of the little tricks to negotiating the parade route. Next year we should be able to get a better spot and also be able to bring more friends and family. (That is - those that are up early enough after New Year's Eve!)