patriotic events

i know that my postings have been somewhat sparse, but judging by the amount of comments i get after each one, i wouldn't be worried... however, sometimes i get verbal comments which make me think that it's possible this blog actually is read... so! even though this post is about a week late, i'm going to post it anyway. and g.b.s. mentioned something about me being famous again if i post about a parade, so that's what i'm going to do!

so, to start off...

last weekend was about...

weddings...

and visiting family...

first, the wedding. at devil's head resort. the bride: french-canadian. the groom... well, his last name is anderson... i think his ethnicity is wisconsin... or minnesota... or something.

but, because it was more than simply a midwest wedding, they conducted it in two languages! how fun! and french is fine by me anyday. it just sounds so nice.

the beeeautiful bride accompanied by her frenchtastic parents...

groom and bride... getting showered with dry food staples...

and because this marriage crosses boundaries, a map was in order....

hey! did you know you can drive your car onto a ferry... for free!... and cross lake wisconsin in less than 5 minutes! and not even feel that you're moving! because it's that smooth...

well you can. and we did.

next up: visiting family.

being the forgetful-fred that i can be, i failed to take many photos of them. this, they are probably all thanking me for right now.

but! i did take a bug picture...

he was crawling around at night and he was at least as big as he is in the photo (after you click on it twice). probably bigger.

but he was still much smaller than the puppy dog who was attending the festivities.

question: why is this motorbike being driven around by a giant hockey player?


answer: because it's the fourth of july, that's why!

specifically, it's time for evanston's fourth of july parade...

now, before you get the idea that i'm about to mock the parade or the holiday. i'm not! just like the painted cows around madison, i love parades! (i know the cows love parades because they've volunteered to be part of one for so long now... and... i love the cows like i love parades). parades and me originate from the cherry festival in t.c. mi. which has about three parades in one week. i think part of my enthusiasm for parades thus comes from nostalgia. and i think the other half comes from my penchant for spectating. i don't know why, but i like watching events. stick me in a big auditorium... be it for a graduation... a play... and i'm happy. of course there are exceptions. the play can't be boring. the graduation shouldn't be toooo long.

anywho, enough talk, let's get this parade started!

first though... some preliminaries before we get to the entertainment...



some of the members of our group who snubbed us by sitting across the street from the rest of us...

and then pretended they couldn't see us every time we waved at them and beckoned them to come over. and we couldn't prove them wrong...
because they were all wearing their sunglasses.

;-p

alright, alright.... we snubbed them. we moved into the shade. they are innocent parties in this blog. sorry.


i had to take this picture from across the street and my zoom button is only so talented, but i thought i'd put it on the blog anyway. it's a picture of a tattoo of a flusey on an individual's leg...

i add it simply because some of us remember it from this very event... last year.

okay! now that the preliminaries are out of the way... let's look at some of the parade's participants!

warning: these pictures are so thrilling that you are going to feel like you're there. so sit back, squint into the sun, and cheer for...

bicycle tricksters...

worldly floats...

headdresses...

tall bicycle wheels...

the politically charged float...

the moral conscience banner...

the flying-over-suv troupe...

more bicycle tricksters...

bands on floats...



old, red firetrucks...

big bumblebees...

tall houses with good messages...

environmentally conscious cars... with a bit of politics thrown in...

racecars...

apparently the tires have no tread... in a good way.


cheerleaders cheering...


oh miniatures! how i love thee...

a drill team drilling...

and finally... the only marching band of the entire parade.

which contained no female members.

i think technically it was a drum and bugle corps. or maybe that was something different. anyway, i like the marching bands (more than painted cows?) and i hope they're not going extinct. probably just so popular that they're spread thin.

well, that's the end of the parade.

how much did we like it?!!

that much!

preview for the next episode: a new mascot for the garden... stay tuned.