The Teen and Marketman are in New York City for the Thanksgiving holidays. It’s her first time to the Big Apple at this time of year, so of course we just HAD to catch the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. While some 50 million Americans watched the parade on national television, we decided to brave the crowds and see it up close and personal. In this top photo, it looks like Shrek is about to inhale some folks watching the parade from a balcony overlooking Central Park…
We got up fairly early and walked from the east side of Manhattan across Central Park to the 72nd Street exit on Central Park West. Our final vantage point was just facing the Dakota, the fabulous apartment building that was home to John Lennon. Despite the dreary forecast, the day turned out beautifully, and the temperatures rose well into the 50’s and the sun broke through the clouds later in the morning.
Spiderman was impressive…
…Kermit the frog a crowd favorite…
…the Energizer Bunny did a quick spin right in front of us, coming just before a float with…
…Mitchel Musso, a character from that teen program Hannah Montana that the Teen used to watch fairly often.
Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street.
A fireman…
…Ronald McDonald…
…Spongebob Squarepants maneuvering around the trees…
…one of several marching bands!
Katherine McPhee with short blond hair, rather than the dark hair she sported on American Idol (this all from the Teen of course).
Snoopy was looking dapper…
…Buzz Lightyear was appropriately in mid-flight…
Horton hears a Who…
…not a Smurf…
…and the Pillspury Doughboy (which, btw, there were NO NAMES on the balloons like in the old days, with direct advertising apparently a no-no, for some reason).
Andrea Bocelli was standing on a bridge over an ice rink/ice skater float, which seems a bit cruel since he can’t see, so can you imagine what standing there looking out at 2-3 million people must have been like??? And since the float kept starting and stopping, I was surprised he didn’t fall off!
And just a quick side note on how technology does in small ways change our lives, a lady from one of the apartments facing the park, was leaning out of her window with a Mac, pointing it up and down the avenue, so that presumably someone could watch the parade in real time, possibly somewhere halfway around the world, or perhaps just elsewhere in the city!
A peppermint candy cane…
…came shortly before the final float, with reindeer, Santa and his sleigh marking not only the end of the parade, but the beginning of the Christmas Season. We rushed home to watch the rest of the parade and performances on television, all faithfully recorded on TIVO, so we didn’t miss a thing… Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate it, and for everyone else, Christmas is just around the corner… get cracking! :)
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That girl is Abby Cadabby, a Sesame Street character. She came right after the Sesame Street float (I watched the parade on the Today Show replay on 2nd Avenue this morning). Happy Thanksgiving MM and the Teen!
Thanks Chrissy, will update the post! :)
Happy Turkey MM and Family!!!
I do hope to see one of these Parades one day..def on my bucket list..
HI MM…WOW,were all amazed here viewing these parade pics…wish were there with you…lol..we just had a great Zubuchon lunch with Artisan and Claude Tayag…our regards to the Teen!!HAPPY THANKSGIVING…..
This is amazing, even just in pictures :) Thanks for sharing… :)
@theMacwavinglady: AAAAAHHHHH!!! My knees turned to jelly when you described her leaning out of her window with a laptop in her hand.
I knew I should have gone to the parade, but this is my first Thanksgiving with my sis (in Jersey City) so family won over festivity. And I decided not to go to the pre-dawn Black Friday madness. I’m not buying toys or electronics, just winter clothes. And for sure, there’ll be tons in stock.
Ooohhh, are you going to Woodbury Common for Black Friday then?
Happy Thanksgiving MM! I’ll bet you had a spectacular dinner c/o Sister :)
Belated happy thanksgiving MM and all of his readers…..
Teen will surely love NYC this time of the year, if you guys are staying until before Christmas, man Manhattan is just beautiful that time of the year. I actually like it more than San Francisco (just during that time of the year pre-holiday shopping) but I do love SF anytime of the year. We were just hanging out by Rockefeller Center, watching people skate, walk around the city a lot (ate a lot too hehehe), my oldest son loved our time there and still talk about it.
Happy Thanksgiving! or Black Friday now and everyone opens early!!!!
Happy Thanks Giving Shopping MM!!! Sale! Sale! Sale!!! Enjoy!:=>
Great vantage point for photos!
A Belated Thanksgiving to everyone and hope everyone got what they wanted during the black friday shopping rush!
MM, I so love the outfit of the Teen, she looks so New York chic! Dalaga na ang anak mo! hahahaha!
very nice! and that is THE Teen already? wow..cool!
“get cracking…” waaaaahhhh with only half of the list for gifts bought…i am totally cracking here….thanks for sharing the pics again Mr. MM.
I really enjoy Thanksgiving in the U.S. They really celebrate that!! Great shots you have…like we were there!!
Wow, the Teen and i wear exactly the same color and style Uggs.
I foresee some staubs coming back to Manila in your luggage :)
we just watched the parade on tv. i like a lot the pictures
that you took of the parade, beautiful!!!! happy thanksgiving
to you and the teen…
i knew MM and family are in the US! i missed the parade on tv coz i just came from work AND had to work that night again but i did see snippets of it on tv. have seen some of the floats and even the performances of a few (the rocketts being one of them — love them!). missed the black friday sale too! well, merry christmas to all na lang…
Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving (or a nice week-end if you don’t celebrate the holiday). We had a traditional dinner with friends and exceedingly good wines as a highlight.
PS For a hilarious (if just slightly off-colour) take on the holiday, check out David Lebovitz’s blog. I just about fell off my chair laughing.
Andrea Bocelli’s appearance is probably in connection with the release of his first ever Christmas recording, My Christmas (2009). I’ve listened to it already and it is fantastic! Don’t miss it.
i love the photo of Shrek! nicely captured! thanks for sharing the Thanksgiving photos…
Thanks for sharing this MM…btw wala si jollibee? he he he
Reminds me of Raj Koothrapali…
can’t wait for the thanksgiving spread!
this is really amazing.. ^____^