Thanksgiving Day Parade!
I’ve lived in New York City all my life. Every Thanksgiving until I was 11 I would get up early, make my breakfast and proceed to watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. Even though the parade was less than a two-hour travel by public transportation I never went to see it in person. It’s probably because I was the only one in my family who was even slightly interested in gigantic balloons flying over the streets of Manhattan.
It was a last minute decision to go tot eh event. I received a call from one of my friends from high school the night before and she asked if I wanted to go to the parade with her. I was hesitant at first because it was pretty sudden. But I figured that it would be a great experience to finally go to the parade. It’s never been something that I had a strong desire to do, but it was an idea I was open to.
It was a pain just getting up so early. We took the train and managed to get a decent spot near Bryant Park at 6th avenue and 40th street. We got on the M train in Middle Village, Queens and got off at the 42nd street stop. However, it was so packed there (probably because it was right next to the train station) that we had to go to 7th avenue and walk back to 6th avenue on 40th street just to get a better spot.
We thought by being there two hours before the parade started (at 7 a.m.) that we would be able to get a great spot. Turns out that we were horribly wrong. People were there from 4 to 5 in the morning. We were clearly delusional for only being there two hours earlier (trying to be sarcastic). What were we thinking?!
Waiting for two hours for the parade to start isn’t a big deal as long as you have a friend to talk to. I hadn’t seen my friend since August so we had a lot to catch up on, making the two hours fly by.
It was very cold in the early hours of the morning, but as the sun came out the weather was warmer and more bearable. The only problem with the weather came from the wind, which was pretty strong at the time.
After the parade started we enjoyed ourselves. The only problem was that we couldn’t see the performers on the street because the people in the front of us were taller—life as a small person really sucks sometimes. My favorite balloons were Spider-man and Sonic the Hedgehog because they were both big parts of my childhood. Seeing those two in the form of a gigantic balloon was a completely exhilarating experience. We were also able to see some of the singers and performers that were on the floats. I’d recommend anyone who has ever wanted to go to the parade to do it at least once in his or her life. It’s one of those things that you will be glad to cross off the ol’ bucket list. However, I think it’s enjoyable in person only for a few years because it can become repetitive.
Posted: December 6th, 2012 under Uncategorized.
