xxx

We're heading over to Pasadena, CA the end of this year. Are there any "must sees" that we shouldn't miss? Has anyone been to the Rose Bowl Parade? We're brining our 1 1/2 year old and don't plan to camp out the night before. What are our chances of being able to see anything? We don't know what to expect. Any tips/advice will be appreciated.

michele

I would place the Norton Simon Musuem, the Gamble House, and the Huntington Musuem in nearby San Marino on the "must see" list.

M.

kam

Agree with above. With a 1 1/2 year old I would get reserved tickets on the bleachers at the west end of the Parade (near the Colorado Street Bridge and the Norton Simon.) Know that anything of value left dangling below the bleachers is tempting to thieves. The parade starts early--about 8 am and while you will get to see a lot at that end, your child will probably not last the entire time. We didn't start taking nieces until about age 5. Dress warm for the beginning but prepare to "peel" as the sun comes up. No, I definitely wouldn't camp out on Colorado with a young child. You'd best look for hotel reservations now.

joe

Plan to catch the parade at the end of the route instead of the beginning. Our trick is to leave Glendale and head for Pasadena about 25 minutes after the parade has begun. This lets us avoid all the traffic, though it can be tough to find parking that is not a 3 or 4 block walk from Colorado Boulevard.

If you catch the parade near the end of the route, (Wilson Street is best), you can get there late and still not miss anything, as the parade is just coming around the corner about an hour after it would have started had you been up near the starting point.

Nearby, (people who haven't visited it always wince, but...) The Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery is a sight to see! Some people even picnic there it is so stunning.

Mustangs81

I realize that your 1 1/2 y-o needs to be considered in this equasion but I will share our experience (w/o 1 1/2 y-o) and maybe some of this could apply.

*We had to get tickets way in advance to get beginning of the parade route tickets.
*We got to a parking lot about 5:30am with pillows and blankets and took a nap in the car until show time.
*Our seats were towards the beginning of the parade. This allowed us to leave when the end of the parade passed us and be back at our hotel to see the parade on TV. We did enjoy this as it gave us a narrative and close up of what we had just seen.
*We came back the next morning to see the floats up close. They are parked and on display for several days for viewing.
*Several days prior to the parade you can get tickets (minimally priced) to the float barns and walk around to watch the floats being put together.

I had the great pleasure of working on a float that year. I had always wanted to experience the working part of the parade more so than seeing the parade so that was truly memorable experience for me. I hope some of this helps.

kam

The one year we saw the parade from near the end of Colorado Blvd was very disappointing. Many of the floats had broken down and the parade moved very slowly. It does allow you to get a later start though. As I recall you can get on the 210 freeway and go to the eastern end of Colorado where the exits are still open. If the above poster was at Wilson, that's pretty much in the middle of the parade route, near Lake Street. I still would prefer to be at the beginning. While you are there, plan to see the Huntington Library and Gardens--actually 9 different gardens and beautiful.