We didn't have to drive far to get to the Pomona Fairplex where our tour group was parked, we were less than half an hour away. In total, the group had 26 couples and 4 single travellers. Almost everyone was retired or about to retire. Eight of us were Canadians, the rest came from across the States. It was a good and friendly group. Two of the couples were our tour leaders and were well experienced with the Rose Bowl Parade, having led these tours for 8 years. They took very good care of us.
After our first group dinner, we got a sampling from the Pasedena City College Marching Band. The next day was a tour of Hollywood and the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars are held. Then we were taken to Lawry's Prime Rib Restaurant for a great meal.
New Years Eve started with a viewing of some parade floats as they were being decorated. It was amazing to see all the flowers, boxed according to shade of colour, spread out on the floor in preparation of the work involved in attaching them to the floats.
Each float required so much detail as every visible part of the float had to be covered in flowers or petals or vegetable matter of some kind. We got to talk to the decorators, too, and ask questions. They don't seem to be competitive, as we were told that if one float is finished, those decorators will move to help another one until parade time.
We then went to Bandfest to see a few of the marching bands doing their routines on a football field.
We were given barely enough time to get ready for our New Years Eve dinner. They had supplied a musical trio for dinner and dance music. These gentlemen must have been the age of the oldest of our group, but they were good! We had a great time dancing and were supplied with champagne for the New Years Eve toast. I was very pleased that they celebrated on Eastern Standard Time, 9pm where we were, so that I was able to stay up not only for New Years but even a little afterwards!
January 1st is usually the Rose Bowl Parade, but because it was a Sunday, it was moved to January 2nd. To fill in the spare time, our group was taken to a lovely place in Pasedena called the Huntington Library Estate. This is the house and grounds of an old railway baron in Los Angeles. The gardens were massive and included separate Japanese, Chinese, palm and desert gardens, to name a few. The library held many original documents and rare manuscripts, and the house had an art gallery that included the famous "Blue Boy".
Hubby and I spent the afternoon visiting old friends and making new ones. Bedtime was early, as the bus was loading at 4:45am for the main event: The Pasedena Rose Bowl Parade!
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