Who doesn't love a good parade?!

Every year, after the end of The Rose Parade, the floats are parked on Sierra Madre and Washington Blvds at the end of the route for viewing for another day or two. This is something we do, every year, if we can (if we're in town). What I love about this is that you can get up close to the floats to see the details –  what flowers the builders selected and all the intricate work involved. You can meander past the floats at a much slower pace as well, compared to the floats driving by you if you were there, live, at the parade. What I always forget about the float viewing is that you can actually smell all the flowers, as well –  –  always a lovely surprise for me.

Here are some photos from this year:




Not a cloud in the sky on January 3rd, sunny and almost 90 degrees F. This is exactly why I love living in Southern California. Tank top, shorts and plenty of sunscreen lotion.


Aren't all the flowers just gorgeous?

 
More detail of the ladybug, below. What care the float-builders took in laying out patterns of seeds, like in the ladybug's spots. Whew!



The pink line = the Rose Parade float driver navigation line.


The drivers hidden deep inside the finished floats can't really look out to navigate their way. This pink line is painted along the parade route (yes, down the middle of the road), as I understand, so the drivers and their floats will stay on course.

This is part of the line at the end of the route, where the floats are parked for public viewing.