My younger cousin was in his freshman year in high school and his high school band was invited to play in the Thanksgiving Day Parade held in New York. We were all super excited for him, and having grown up across the river from NYC, it had always been a real desire of mine to go and see the Thanksgiving Day Parade in person. Because the band had to be in the city around 4am, we left really early to get there. My father opted to stay home and work on cooking the turkey because there was no way we were going to forgo a turkey on Thanksgiving just because we’d be in the city most of the day! We got in the city very early along with the band, and while they were setting up, we were able to walk around and see the large balloons being inflated and the floats getting ready. It was so incredible! Around 7am, we headed over to grab some breakfast at the Manhattan Diner (super delicious and highly recommended!). Afterward, we made our way about 3 blocks from the starting point (77th Street) of the parade. The sidewalks were already packed at 5am that morning, so finding a spot wasn’t easy and I felt like a sardine during the whole parade. This was probably a good thing considering it had to be about 25 degrees in the city that morning and the body heat was probably the only thing giving me the ability to feel my toes! The parade was awesome and the experience was once in a lifetime. Seeing the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City live and in person is incredible and it has certainly made every other Thanksgiving morning since that much sweeter (and warmer!).
