The Rose Parade Part Deux

Continuing our 'up-close-and-personal' look at the Rose Parade from Friday, we start off with these cute little pups.  You'll note there's also a kitty in the background.  There was no feline discrimination!

This was truly one of my favorite floats this year.  It was no only adorable, but encouraged pet adoption.  I will always be grateful to have been rescued by my Jack cat.

Grand Marshall of this year's parade was Dr. Jane Goodall, or Dame Jane Morris Goodall, as she's known in the U.K.

Dr. Goodall is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and a designated United Nations Messenger of Peace.  She's quite a remarkable woman.

Dr. Jane Goodall

She was the 11th female Grand Marshall, Shirley Temple being the most notable female Grand Marshall of all time.  Shirley was Grand Marshall of the parade in 1939, 1989 and 1999.

Shirley Temple

An estimated 700,000 people viewed the parade this year on the streets of Pasadena, however, actual attendance may be much, much higher than the "official" count.

This float doesn't look all that impressive from this angle,
but the entire thing was very imaginative!

Love the mixer, measuring spoon and grater!
You can just make out the rolling pin on the back

I lived in Downey for a while when I first moved to California

My co-worker, Carmen, and her three children have made it a family tradition to get up at 4 a.m. every January 1st to drive to Pasadena and see the parade.

She says they enjoy it so much, that lack of sleep isn't even become a factor.

The 1947 parade was the first one ever televised.

The Indonesian float was very whimsical

A few years ago, my friend Peggy volunteered to decorate one of these floats. She said it was a very rewarding experience. It takes many hundreds of volunteer hours of painstaking work filling chicken wire with flower blossoms to achieve these beautiful visions of floral fantasy.

In 2006, it rained continuously on the parade, ruining a 51 year record of good weather.  That year, some floats had sustained water damage by the time they reached the end of the parade route.

Recent years have been quite pleasant.

Although it poured rain like crazy the Saturday before this year's parade, the parade day was dry, if not completely sunny.

Dude!

I'm sure as soon as one parade is finished, the work begins on next year's parade.

So, this is it until January, 2014!

I just want to start singing, "Under the sea!"

Thanks for letting us share your terrific photos, Ray!