Pasadena Was Perfect

When last I blogged we were viewing Rose Parade floats as they were being decorated for the parade. I guess I've got some catching up to do!

But first, we interrupt this blog post to bring you a trip down Memory Lane. While in the area we drove over to Glendora (a few miles east of Pasadena) to see the house Brad grew up in. The neighborhood still looks good!

And the high school baseball field he tended to and played on.

With the mountains in the background, Charter Oak High School looks pretty good!

Ok, back to Rose Bowl stuff! On New Year's Eve afternoon we went to the Stanford pep rally at L.A. Live, which is an outdoor venue next to the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The band played! (As seen on the jumbotron.)

The next morning we were in Pasadena for the Rose Parade. It looks cold but it warmed up quickly.

You saw the beautiful floats on TV so I won't repeat them here. But you know what was our favorite part of the parade.....

The Stanford Tree? Almost our favorite part, but not quite!

Of course it was the band! Mary is on the far side of this photo, third in. They marched the five mile parade route and had a blast.

Bucky Badger! How did he sneak onto my blog post? Such a show off!

The parade was great. More beautiful in person and well worth attending.

A short walk from the parade is the Rose Bowl stadium. After some tailgating we were ready to watch the game!

By game time it was warm and sunny.

After the game (did you hear? Stanford won!) we joined the Stanford band for a joyful post game concert. Can you see Mary down there?

Then we followed the band out of the stadium and caught up with Mary as they were boarding their buses.

These two Stanfordians were especially excited after the Cardinal victory in the Rose Bowl! Talk about a Happy New Year!