Wisconsin: Fourth of July Parade

Happy Independence Day!  While we were in Racine, we went to the 4th of July parade downtown.  Our great and oh-so-kind friends the Isaacsons saved us seats in a prime parade location, and on the shady side of the street to boot!  Evan was thrilled to hang out with Ella and Lily, and he quickly adopted their mom Holly as his new best friend.  We had a front row curbside seat to view what I think was Evan's first parade.  All in all, it was a blast.  Since it was the night after a concert, only Grandma and Mommy went with Evan, but Daddy was super helpful and drove us there.  We got dropped off a block from our seats and didn't have to fight for parking!  Yay!      

It was a pretty good parade!  Over 100 groups were entered, though there were very few true floats (I don't think the "bands on semitruck flatbeds" count as floats, do you?).  The Marines and several other military groups did the living-statue thing where a couple guys or gals essentially bathe in bronze paint then stand in the positions of a famous military monument or statue.  Here's the Iwo Jima one: it's really close to the real thing!  They had to be roasting in that paint, and I can't imagine the stiff back they had to have had at the end! 

There also wasn't much in the way of clowns, but there were plenty of doggies (which Evan loved), some people on bikes (also a big hit), and a couple stilt walkers.  There were couple a local college and football team mascots, which went over like a lead balloon on our side of the street.  Mascots continue to instill complete terror in our otherwise courageous little guy (see earlier photo of said terror here) - I hope he grows out of that soon, since Mommy loves mascots! 

The Racine Trolley made a parade appearance. I love that thing... Trolleys are just plain cool, and I have fond memories of riding it to Prom. 

Evan (aka Mr. Social) spent a lot of the parade saying hi to everyone who sat near us, passed by on the sidewalk, and all the parade participants. It was a long and very exciting morning, and we all were definitely ready for a nap when it was over.  Happy 4th of July!