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Pasadena Rose Parade 2008 Recap

Hosts: Joe and Jan Tenpenny #276

Co-hosts: Dave and Brenda Neil #26978

Once again, the fantastic Rose Parade HOP was a big success, thanks to the great hosts and all of the wonderful Escapees who attended. Following is a recap from Joe and Jan Tenpenny about all the fun the Escapees had.

California greeted us with a couple of windy days, but settled down nicely so we could all enjoy the beauty of the flowers and the floats of the 119^th Rose Parade in Pasadena. It was a true showcase of talent and beauty for all who attended.

Early arrivals car-pooled, lunch in tow, to the float-building location where they spent several hours doing preparation work on several floats under construction. You can imagine what pride we felt when we saw “our floats” in the parade several days later.

Our buses arrived bright and early to carry us off for two busy days of touring other parade building locations, as well as a delightful equestrian show featuring all the groups who would later march. We were fortunate to have very knowledgeable bus drivers who shared their expertise about the area, downtown Olvera Street, and Hollywood.

The band festival was another not-to-be-missed event; the young high school students showed their pride and musical talents with such energy. It would have taken days to properly see the Getty Museum, and we had only a few hours, but at least we got to get a taste of this treasure.

The New Year’s Eve dinner and party was a real hoot, and we celebrated at Eastern Time so we could be up early for the following day’s parade. Our buses parked only a couple of blocks away from our excellent seats. Watching on television is great, but nothing like being there! Did you see us wave?

The next morning, we said our farewells to all the new friends we had gotten to know the past few days. We hope to see all of you soon at the Escapade in Gillette, a chapter rally, or another HOP!