Checking off another thing on my bucket list.

When I was a little girl our family always watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  We usually went over to my Grandpa and Grandma Niederhauser's house because they had a color TV and we didn't. I always thought it would be the coolest thing to see it live.

 

Finally, at age 55, I can check that off my bucket list.  We got up and took the subway uptown.  Because of all of the terrorist threats there were armed policemen on the subways.  I also saw a woman carrying a pie, which reminded me it was Thanksgiving and nothing rattles New Yorkers.

 

We were among 3 and a half million people that were estimated to be lining the parade route.  Before it started we were at Columbus Circle.  I ready read online somewhere that it was a good viewing spot.  Not.  The photo of the yellow Macy's stars shows how far away we were.

 

So we hoofed it uptown to Central Park West and 65th street.  It was so much better there.

 

 

Mariah Carey was on this float.  But she wasn't singing.

We stayed for the entire thing.  Santa was happy to be at the end.

On our walk uptown to get a better spot for the parade we walked by Lincoln center and Julliard.

 

After the parade ended, we walked across the street to Central Park.  The weather all day was beautiful, in the low 60's.  It was fabulous.

We were hungry but didn't want to eat lunch since we were headed back to Steph and Jared's for Thanksgiving dinner.  So we got a waffle just outside the park.

We hoofed it to a subway station and along the way passed this beauty.

Steph picked us up back in Long Island.

It was wonderful to have Thanksgiving dinner with this crew.  Jared cooked the turkey on his smoker and it was so good.  Steph made delicious rolls, sweet potatoes and other yummy stuff.

We had to continue our after-dinner tradition of gingerbread house decorating.  Shad was a pro his very first time.

 

In the evening, we watched movies and just relaxed.


Shad asked me to play "basketball" with him one last time before he had to go to bed.  He likes me to play the song from the Black Eyed Peas, "I've Got a Feeling" that is on my phone, while he shoots baskets after I pass him the ball.  He cracks me up.

And yes, he has a hard time putting the ball down, even to brush his teeth.  He wanted me to come in the bathroom and get one last picture of him with his ball.  Haha.