Then one day when this girl was an older woman she mentioned wishing she could see this parade to her eldest child. Bam! It was done and I, Carolyn Robertson, was going to live my girlhood dream.

Leighann, my daughter, made my dream come true. She made the arrangements and said "Mom you are going". So Hefty 8^) me, with bad knees limiting my mobility, was swept up in a dream come true. I would never have made this trip otherwise, too easy to find excuses.

The parade was everything I dreamed it would be. The flowers were beautiful. You could smell the roses in the air. The odor was almost intoxicating. There were the floats, huge and amazing and beautiful. Sitting in my front row seat I was as delighted as any child could be. On television the floats seem wonderful, but in person they were awesome. The horses were spectacular and the bands played grandly. Everything was even grander than I had ever thought it could be.

As I have relived the trip and reconsidered all I saw, I know that the very best part, the most special part was being there with my amazing daughter and her special family. And amazingly after almost 40 years marriage and a certain level of complacency finding a new sense of companionship and shared joy with my husband. My delightful and "experienced and seasoned world travelers" grandchildren Brooke, Kellie, and Case added to my joy with their sunny personalities and excitement.

Thanks forever to my sweet daughter and her husband.

My daughter took me, the real me, and gave me a dream come true. What a trip, what a day. The hot dogs from a street vendor after the parade still excite the tastebuds of memory. Being alive never seemed sweeter than when surrounded by my family partaking of my dream with me.

Thank You Leighann. It is rare to feel so happy and so special.

All the pictures here and on the other website cannot reflect the memories I carry in my heart and my mind.

Let my husband Wayne tell you about the trip from start to finish. He has more experience with this internet thing.