Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

So I figured since I was going to be at school for this Thanksgiving (like always), I should take the bus on over to NYC to catch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, something I had always watched on TV at home in California. It's my last year at college on the East coast and I figured, why not? It beats sitting in my apartment by myself on the holiday.  Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

Walking to the parade. 

So since the parade started at like 9:00 I took the earliest bus I could which left at about 6:30 from Philly.  The ride is only about and hour and a half on MegaBus. *If you live in an area where MegaBus services, definitely check it out. Their fares range from only $1.00!!

Anyway, I got to NY at about 8:00 and half of the streets in the city were closed off - even to pedestrians who were looking to get a good spot to see the parade from.  My morning started off pretty chaotic because I was just trying to find a street where I could enter to view the parade route. NYPD had those streets blocked like their lives depended on it and weren't going to let even the cutest little kid in to watch the parade. Boo.

So I ended up finding a spot on a side street that would give me a side view of the balloons and stuff. I managed to get fairly close, yet still had to stand on my tiptoes to see over people's heads to take photos and see the people on the ground, including the floats.  Luckily it wasn't too cold out, 'cause I ended up being outside for like 3 or 4 hours!! Definitely dress warm and grab a cup of coffee from an open McDonalds. Remember, most stuff is closed on Thanksgiving.

Overall, the parade was fun to see in person, but I would definitely recommend going early for a good spot, because even 30 minutes won't guarantee you a good view, and you can forget about being right along the parade route. 

The balloons were cool, yet seem bigger on television, hm. The floats were fun too, especially when you caught a glimpse of a celebrity. Attending this year were Cee Lo Green, Scotty McCreery (American Idol), and I think Mary J. Blige.  There were also billions of clowns, some extra creepy like the graduation and farmer clowns! Seriously, they need to fill the gaps with something, but clowns!? Think twice about bringing your kids if they have an irrational fear of crazy people dressed up in weird costumes with a lot of makeup on. Hm, maybe it's not so irrational after all.

Creepy Clown!! :o

If you're looking to go, I would say do it! I was happy I got to see it in person once in my life, but I think next year I'll be content to watch it from my living room in CA

Stephanie, WWT