CrazySanMan: 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. To be there in the crowd, see all those big balloons and the floats go by, hear the marching bands and see all the celebrities. This year as Thanksgiving neared I thought again about the parade, then I thought about my kids. My daughter is 11. She's maturing quickly and at the age where she thinks she's an adult and wants independence. This may be the last year for a while that she would enjoy the parade; the parade would be too "baby-ish" for her next year. My son is 7, old enough to remember the parade when he is an adult. I made the decision that we would attend the parade this year.

We left Baltimore at about 2am Thanksgiving morning and headed north. We arrived in New York City around 4:45 and were parked and putting on warm clothes in the van at 5:15. By 5:30 we were walking down Central Park West, looking for a good spot to watch the parade from. We found a spot at CPW and 63rd and camped out in the 37 degree morning.

Early Morning Crowd at Central Park West and 63rd

The parade officially started at 9am, and it was about 9:20 when the first color guard of the parade made it to us.