My Kind of Parade

I love parades, sort of. I love the floats, the excitement, the music. But parking/waiting/battling crowds and then only seeing half of anything, if you're close enough, doesn't seem like a fair exchange for the miseries that only get worse as I get older. So I was eager to join Shannon and the girls for a tour of the Days of '47 floats on display at the Expo Center for a couple days before the parade. All of them are just sitting there; one can get up close and walk around them, lingering as long as one likes. We took pictures. We enjoyed some of the extras, such as a live mermaid that thrilled the girls by posing with them for a photo. And there were balloon sculptures, face painting, and a motorized turtle kids could ride. All indoors. All free. The float with the historic buildings in model Salt Lake City was my personal favorite. But Wilford Woodruff fishing was pretty cool, as was the ship sailing along with the mermaid out front. The girls loved the color and animation (and the mermaid). So did I. It was just a treat.