Pasadena & The Tournament of Roses

I have lived here in Southern California permanently since 1973 and this is the first time we have traveled to Pasadena to see the floats.  I said floats because we did not brave the freezing temperatures to observe the parade, but visited afterward to just see the floats.  These floats are truly remarkable as they are covered exclusively with flowers, seeds, grass, spices, and crushed and combed bark.  People travel from around the world to see this spectacle.  This was the 126th annual event and also is associated with the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff games.  I am not an avid fan of football or any other sports for that matter and not particularly crazy about parades either.  How un American!!!  That said, if you don't mind mingling with 10,000 or more tourists, this should be on your bucket list.  Each float represents thousands of hours of labor and no two are the same.  I think we walked 2 miles to see them all.  We parked at the Rose Bowl for free and caught a bus to the area where the floats were parked.  The bus was $3 round trip and $10 entrance fee to walk the floats.  Here is a small sampling of what we feasted our eyes on.