Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...Been there, done that!

Any event, no matter how big the balloons are, should hand out free cans of Pringles. It's a new standard that we now expect after attending the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. We didn't even have a cute sign written with a Sharpie stating our dire circumstances and need for Pringles potato chips, they just gave 'em away. Brilliant!

It's early getting up to catch a charter bus at 4 AM! What's earlier is a three year-old boy who's so excited about the parade that he wakes up at 1:30 AM instead. There was no going back to sleep, though; it was New York or bust!

After being dropped off around 6:30 AM we loaded the kids into our borrowed kid haulers ( a soft piggy back style carrier for Max and a rather large metal framed pack with storage accessories for Evelyn) and headed for the parade route. Although the parade doesn't begin until 9 AM we had to get there early in order to stake our ground.

We ended up on the corner of 57th and 7th Avenues, just across the street from the Carnegie Hall. Speaking of which, if you can somehow become a virtuoso performer, or perhaps just get a janitorial job cleaning the hall behind the virtuoso, the best seats on the route are hands down on the 2nd story fire escape on the west side of Carnegie Hall! Maybe next year...

Hoping Evelyn would nap in the huge carrier on my back we headed down 7th to get away from the ever growing crowd. We found a quaint cafe whose sign read, "Bathrooms are for customers only." I bought a juice drink and only after making payment in full did I ask to use the restroom (not a bad deal if you think about it, two bathrooms for the price of one). It was a classic NY bathroom. After discussing the feasibility of Evelyn and I fitting into the bathroom with her on my back with a strange lady, we headed in. No problem, we fit in just as snug as a bug. While coming out I opened the door of the tiny toilet room, slightly ducking to keep Evelyn's head from striking the door frame, and the previously empty room was now half full of onlookers whose expression appeared as if they were seeing the first balloon of the parade! We bid them a "Happy Thanksgiving!" and returned to meet Carrie and Max.

Spiderman opened the parade just behind the traditional Macy's star balloons. It was awesome to see just how big they really are. We were at the corner of 57th and 7th Avenues...in good company. This spot came as a last minute recommendation from someone we saw as a reliable source, but again, we recommend the Carnegie Hall fire escape if you can pull it off.

Those are tire eyes, but filled with wonder too. Max loved the balloons that were, "as big as the buildings."

The floats were a lot of fun too. This one was a favorite of Max.

Admittedly, there were a couple of dull moments too...It's nothing like watching it on T.V. The bands don't all stop and perform their act for you and sometimes they hurry past to keep up with the advancing parade. However, what you don't get on T.V. is the feel of being there, of knowing you're one of thousands, perhaps, tens of thousands. You can hear the balloon walkers chant their balloon's name, or give a clown high-five while they wish you a happy Thanksgiving, all while gigantic balloons tower over head. It's so much fun...!

You can see a few kids in the background up above the audience. Their dad had willed a cart into position carrying three or four A-frame ladders that they set up against the Metro Cafe and sat on top of. This practice is not approved by OSHA, but a good alternative to the Carnegie Hall bit, assuming the temp agency can't land you the janitor position.

This was Max's favorite balloon.

Santa seemed so real. The big foam stars behind him, fake. The statue reindeer, fake. The elf driving the sleigh, pretty sure he's fake, but Santa...Santa convinced us we could believe.In the end it was a lot of work, and we were very tired, but we couldn't help but give thanks for a fun-filled day spent together.