So fellow travelers, the journey to NYC and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade continues
For a kid growing up in the Bronx, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is as iconic as the Jolly Ole Elf who arrives in town at the parades end. When the announcement came out two years ago that the Baldwinsville Marching Band would be in the Macy’s Parade it was a thrilling moment. There was no doubt in my mind I would be in the crowd watching those kids march those historic blocks to perform at the star in Herald Square.
So I was not the least bit surprised to find I could not sleep the night before Thanksgiving Day. My husband was sound asleep well before midnight and by all rights I ought to have been just as tired. We had spent a full day in the city, braving wind gusts and steady rains to visit the 911 Memorial Park ( a deeply moving experience which I will write of at a future time)
Times Square
and the American Museum of Natural History.
Hardy Central New Yorkers are not easily deterred by weather, even when the weather on hand is an early winter Nor’easter. Still I kept thinking how much I preferred snow to rain when the temperatures hovered around freezing and sleet pelleted my camera creating a haze an impossible to focus through on my lens. A warm lunch with a good friend, whom I had not seen in over 20 years brightened our spirits enough to steel us for a trek uptown to catch the staging of the famous balloons.
I had not had a chance to visit the Hayden Planetarium since it reopened in the The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space. The Rose Center for Earth and Space as it is more commonly known (Honestly I prefer the full name. Yes, I know the original is long but why wouldn’t one use a title which incorporates the name Phineas? Every time a bonded pair of dogs comes into the rescue think of bringing them home and renaming them Phineas and Ferb) anyways the Rose Center is spectacular. To be greeted by a detailed relief globe of the moon is sheer joy for someone who had a map of the moon on her wall and asked for a telescope the Christmas every other girl wanted the Barbie Townhouse.
Just before the planetarium show ( which I cannot blame my Would Be Perfect husband for sleeping through as he drove the whole trip down ) we ran into some fellow band parents one of whom made a point of telling me not to miss the Christmas Tree in the AMNH main lobby. It had, she said, an origami theme. I would have just enough time after the show to make it through the building to see it before closing. This did mean I would have to race through the Biodiversity exhibit and also bypass the dinosaurs which I felt was an irreproachable breech of etiquette since that very exhibit is the one which awakened my interest in science decades ago on a second grade field trip. I did however get to meet my number one American Hero; he graciously consented to a quick photo.
and his excellent museum staff cheerfully pointed us in the right direction where upon we discovered the tree which this year was a tribute to the movie Night at the Museum, there was even one piece featuring the Teddy Roosevelt character ( portrayed in the movie by Robin Williams, who yes is indeed in the recently released part Three!)
The origami tree has I discovered been an annual tradition for over 30 years. We had time to wander through a few more exhibit, until an announcement sent me racing back through the massive halls to get to the Planetarium gift shop before closing to make some Christmas gift purchases.
Across Theodore Roosevelt Park was the staging area for the massive balloons which are a highlight of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. By now the shifting temps had turned the precipitation into large globs of cold slush. I was certainly glad I had opted to leave my DSLR back at the hotel to dry out for the more important photos of the day to come. Still the balloons were massively impressive, held captive by massive nets weighed down by several tons of sand bags.
The Adventure Time balloon, a cartoon show popular with many of the band kids. ( It features an imaginary universe with quirky characters like Lady Rainicorn a unicorn that speaks Korean. ) a random balloon we could not identify and my favorite shot which I call the Elf on the Shelf face plant or One too many Rum Toddys.
However, it was the moment I saw the Snoopy balloon when it hit me.
My God.
I have a kid who’s in the Parade.
THE Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Performing at Herald Square in a little over twelve hours.
I was suddenly aware I was tired and cold and in desperate need of some kind of warm comfort food.
( to be continued)
Trail Mix 
You must be logged in to post a comment.