Everybody loves a parade...

Especially if you're in it! One of the main goals of the trip accomplished. After a 3 am return from Perkins which followed the firemans dance. The 630am alarm wakeup to get lined up for the parade came really early. I was the first non dignitary to get there, and ended up with car number 5. Once in line, or should i say, anchoring the line, i decided to get some well deserved rest. It didn't last long. I was parked next to the field of the elementary school....apparently where the helicopters are allowed to land. This was taken from the laying position i had in the front seat....by the no parking sign. If i had the black sharpie marker i was going to modify the sign to say Mopar parking. Needless to say this was my second wake up call of the day.

 

 

And this son of a bitch was my third wake up call. Just as i was about to hit R.E.M. again, the ground started to shake, animals cowered, and small children started to get blown away. Above the tree line this sky monster blocked out the rising sun, and descended on the field as though the town was being invaded like Red Dawn. Every piece of debris, grass, litter, dirt, squirrels, and smaller helicopters blew from the park, through the freshly polished and detailed car. It was apparent that there was to be absolutely no sleep this trip.

The parade organizer told me after the helicopter landed that i should move it, because the copter pilot wanted to hook a set of straps to it and take it home with him. I took it as a compliment. He eventually came over and told me the same thing.

The parade was as fun as it could have been. My wife, who has watched the parade for the past 50 years, was able to actually be apart of it. She threw candy to the adoring crowd and did her best "parade wave". We got plenty of nice car comments, thumbs ups, and strange looks for the yellow and black out of state license plates. During the parade i got a shout of my name from the sidewalk. Phil, who is a moparts member, found me. After the parade i couldnt remember where he was standing, so we tracked him down at his family members house in town. Phil, thanks for the hospitality, and the beer. Glad to meet you and ill get in touch with you next year for Hudson Days.

A note from Regina...i was the one running around with the big duffel bag full of rubber ducks...the Duck Chucker, chucking ducks at little kids, and it was STILL fun. Even though it was work. We had one extra, so it's riding on the dashboard to Chicago and points beyond. It is the one that rode through the parade route on the hood...see photo below.

After the parade we hit the park for more pork, watermelon, then i decided it was about time to get some sleep. I only heard one of the helicopters take off. Last night after the large family dinner (pork sandwhiches!) we had sparklers for the kids. I have parents so i am still a kid. I asked mike to help me with more creatinve photography. Regina and i lit a few sparklers each, and made outlines of the car while mike did a long exposure. Quite fun results...

Ive got to get mike to the airport before 6 am tomorrow, so yet another night with limited sleep. Before he left i grabbed a few shots from his camera to fill in a few blanks from our trip. Mike, thanks for co-piloting, despite that Council bluffs "incident". We can do this again next year in the 46 dodge truck!! Enjoy the pics, tomorrow were off at noon to chicago to say hello to Mitch, john, wade and brian. Im looking forward to it.

The first shot is me correcting the rear window mishap, turned out that the upstop was likely not tightened and flipped itself over. Took longer to get to it than fix it. As my daughter will point out my tongue is out for balance and precision!!

 

 

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