April 23, 2010. San Antonio, Tx. Battle of Flowers.

It started in 1891 and has been held every year since, organized by the women of San Antonio, celebrating Texas history. Held Friday the first day of Fiesta, the Battle of Flowers Parade is now the longest parade in North America. It is quite an event. Today, the twins were riding in their school float, so of course we wanted to go and see them and watch the parade. We were impressed with the organization. The whole thing was impressive.

The logistics for us were complicated. Allison and Samantha were required to be on the float by ten in the morning, as the judging was being held, then the parade began at 12:45, so Suzanne took the first group, leaving at nine, while David took the later group at 11. Thanks to cell phones, we saw the girls and the float, which was impressive, then wended our way to our reserved seats, on bleacher seats in full sun. Fortunately we took water and sun screen, but man, it was hot.

The whole parade was exciting, with many many school bands. Lots of people, lots of old cars, many drill teams, many horses. We enjoyed it, but we left soon after the twins float passed us, so we missed about a third of the parade. This is the second parade I have attended this year: the Chinese New Year parade in New York and the Battle of the Flowers Parade in San Antonio. I love the bands but hate the crowds. As soon as we arrived home at three, the girls and I got in the swimming pool to cool down. We were happy to be home even though we loved the parade.