-Okay. So here's how it all went down people.-
I guess you could say that I spent my New Years Eve and New Years Day homeless about the streets of Pasadena because that is exactly what i did.
Before I say anything more. I don't regret a single minute of it at all.
I wont be able to shoot out the play by play because that is far to long of a single blog post but i'll try to spit it out as authentic as I can!12/31/09 9:30am. Tomlinson's arrive at the scene. Trailer and all. Colorado Boulevard was just calling our name. After we drove up and down the side streets for awhile we found a great spot for the trailer to house itself for the next 24 hours. It did just that.
12/31/09 11:00am-8:00pm After arguing our way to saving our spot on the street, we finally placed the blanket and chairs down on the street. The crazy New Yorkers to the right of us, and Moses, the young Hispanic man next to us quickly became our friends when we broke out the two heaters and the fire pit. Fire Department came and filmed a quick NBC segment on how NOT to have a fire at the Rose Parade. It was awesome. Courtney, Taylor and I creeped into the frame as much as we could during the segment. After all it was our fire. We roasted hot dogs in our fire later like s'mores.
They helped create really awesome "That's what she said jokes". Some great conversations happened as we people watched and viewed cars pass with silly string, shaving cream covered tortillas and marshmallows completely covering them. It was magnificent. A very drunk/high/who knows man walked by us at one point and spotted Courtney's leopard print snuggie like it was the newest invention since the assembly line. He then proceeded to ask us to play Catch Phrase with us for about 20 minutes (mind you he was cussing and screaming and laughing hysterically while we played this ever so amazing game). Parted ways with the man by him asking if we would be there all night so he could come back. .. .. he didn't.
01/01/10 12:00am HAPPY NEW YEARS!! It was soo funny to experience thousands of people screaming that sporadically because no ones clocks matched. It was great. When the clock struck twelve on our part of the curb, we celebrated.
Courtney and I celebrated by walking on our hands down Colorado blvd. in a street with cars. It was super great! Mother provided everyone with the poppers and the party hats, but those beads you see.. someone threw them at me. I didn't know Mardi Gras was early this year.
01/01/10 1:30am-4:30am Mama Tomlinson, Mama Charters, Bethany Johnson, Bekah Holley, Papa Charters, Taylor Seitz, Courtney Shannon, Tiffany Charters, Bonni Rojas and I
decided it would be fun to go and see the parade floats staged on Orange Grove Blvd before the parade. Let me just say i am glad we got some Starbucks beforehand because we walked for a whopping 5.95 miles. Never again. You see that red line on that map. Yup. That's where we walked, in the depths of downtown Pasadena. Such a great idea! This trek took us a long haul of 3 hours. The sun was about to come out by the time we got back to our campsite. Lets just say when we got back to the curb, I then decided there was no use in sleeping. I snuggled up in my sleeping bag while seated in my lawn chair and talked with Bethany until the parade began at 8:30am.
01/01/10 7:30am-11:30am Late arrivers began crowding behind our space on the curb. Many people who decided to sleep that night woke up to some strangers in their face. It was hilarious to watch them wake up. The sunrise that morning was gorgeous though. Bonni captured an awesome shot of it that morning.
The parade came and went and it was gorgeous as always! It was interesting to see the floats we had need earlier that morning now on the parade route coming to life with people on them. Its amazing what a smile can do to changed the meaning or subject of a float. As for my favorite float.. it was definitely a toss up between the Jack in the box brazilian themed float with really awkward-diverse-belly revealing dancers and the Dog-boarding float that was a large mountain that the float operators sent bull dogs down on skim boards down this large hill aboard the float. I think you can understand why this was such a toss-up!
Well there you have it. A long 2 days. But a super fun 2 days! Remember that was just the smallest of small descriptions of that great evening and day. There was so much more that went down! It was so great to be able to spend it with people I love and enjoy! New Years TEN AMEN!
