We had a wonderful day at the Grand Floral Parade. The Grand Floral is the main event of the Rose Festival, which runs throughout the first part of June. Typically in Portland it rains on parade day, which is why Drew and I usually don't go. But the weather promised to be warm and sunny and I was determined to go with Rachel, even if it meant skipping ballet and braving the crowds. (The last time we all went together, Rachel wasn't even 3 and was still in her stroller!).
I needn't have worried about logistics -- Jeff, Erica's husband, works downtown at Standard Insurance so we all piled into his car and he parked in his usual parking spot. We walked two blocks with portable chairs, sunscreen, snacks, etc. and found two empty spots on the sidewalk, set the chairs down and waited. And waited...the parade took about 45 minutes to get to where we were at SW 6th and Taylor, so I handed out homemade strawberry bread, read a bit of "Charlotte's Web" to Rachel (she has become obsessed with the book, and after it's done I suppose we'll move on to "Stuart Little" and "The Trumpet of the Swan").
Then came the parade -- float after float, all bedecked with flowers, and marching band after marching band. I guess the Rose Parade in Pasadena is probably more impressive, as is the Macy's Day parade at Thanksgiving, but I've always thought the Grand Floral was pretty special. I love any excuse for a parade, no matter how small, and the Grand Floral is pretty grand. It lasted two hours, long enough to hold all of our attention. Rachel's favorite part was "the princesses" (lots of pretty girls who were Rodeo Queens of this and Miss xx that, including the entire Rose Festival princess court) and the colorfully attired representatives of Oregon's sister cities in Asia. At one point Rachel stood up and pretended to be part of a marching band, marching stiffly with a serious face; she was really quite funny.
Afterward we all went to a place near Jeff and Erica's rental house in Southwest Portland (they're the folks who were displaced by Hurricane Sandy), and Rachel and Sunny horsed around while we waited a looong time for our food. Then it was a race back home so I could get ready for my "date night" with Russ, a colleague from work, and his partner Andy while Rachel was at St. James's monthly Parents Night Out event. I got all dressed up, at Russ's suggestion, but he and Andy dressed down so I looked out of place but I didn't care. Drank cocktails and wine, had a lovely dinner and Ruby Jewel ice cream for dessert (a terrific Portland-based ice cream shop) and picked Rachel up in time to see...the World's Largest Naked Bike Ride, which started from the Portland Art Museum across the street from preschool and had a police escort. The St. James folks insisted they didn't mean to schedule Parents Night Out the same night as the Naked Bike Ride. Let's just say there are some well-hung men out there and lots of women with tiny, droopy breasts. Luckily Rachel didn't notice any of it.
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