You’re Driving Straight Through? No Thanks…I’ll Stay Home

[jenseib]

Thursday Nov. 23, 2017, Thanksgiving


We got up early and got ready. We grabbed some breakfast so we would make it through the day!

Geoff and Gail were a bit faster and already off to get a spot for the parade, so we texted them and found them easily.


nyc150 by Jenseib, on Flickr


nyc80 by Jenseib, on Flickr


They were early but still not early enough to get right up by the street, but still a good spot.


nyc82 by Jenseib, on Flickr


nyc83 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It quickly started filling up and I was acting as bouncer for our location. We had to save enough space for the rest who would come later. Many tried to go through and stand in front of us and I would let them know they couldn’t. Some complained that it wasn’t fair for us to be saving spots and Gail would chime in that maybe next time you should get up earlier.


parade23 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It was a bit chilly this year. We had hand warmers and feet warmers, though I swear mine didn’t seem to be warming all that much on my toes. 2 years ago when we came to the parade, Claire and I were lucky enough to be invited by my friend Brook to watch the parade from the old Amazon building. Brook was hoping to get this chance again and so were we. As it got closer, Brook decided they were going to go out of town for Thanksgiving since they had no word about it being available. Of course right after they made their plans they were alerted to availability to watch from the building again. Too late, so Claire and I had “slum it” this year with the rest of the family.


As it got closer to the parade time, other family members arrived.


parade22 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Abby had some snacks.


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We talked about how last time we were here Geoff had brought a turkey hat and we just laughed and laughed. We saw some people down the way wearing them and again we just totally laughed.


Just a reminder of Geoff’s hat last trip.


turkeyhead1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Well he was not to be outdone and he told Aunt Mary he needed something out of her bag. So he was digging around and we kind of stopped paying attention to him as he was pretty much inside her bag…head first….and then came out with this!


nyc152 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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As you can see, Claire and Alexis were very embarrassed. hahahaha


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I thought it looked tasty!


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Abby gave it a try.


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Soon the parade was starting! Again, some of my pictures are out of order, so I will try to put them in the best order I can.


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It was neat to see it all from the street level as last time we were above everything.


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I believe this is Patty LaBelle.


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I think this is Angelica Hale.


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PARADE26 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

[jenseib]

Now we may not have gotten to go to the Jimmy Fallon show….but we still got to see him!!!


parade2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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He was running all over that thing.


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Miss America, Cara Mund


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Stop taking my picture!!!


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Sara Evans.


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And of course everyone knows the Teenage Mutant Turtles.


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It’s listed at Kat Graham, but being I have no clue who she is…..not sure if she is on there and who the other 2 are.


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Another Celebrity who has hidden his face….actually I think it is Flo Rida.


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The Goo Goo Dolls


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Smokey Robinson…who was stopped in front of us for a while and did not look to excited to be there.


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I took a bunch of pics and he looked bored….and then finally he gave a wave.


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[jenseib]

And this is some celebrity…but I can’t figure who it is from the list.


parade46 by Jenseib, on Flickr


parade47 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Speaking of the Grinch….did you see there is a new Grinch movie coming out….it looks amazing!


We just laugh at the Elf on the Shelf….or should we say….Squatty Potty Elf.


parade48 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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And 98 degrees! Yes, nick was waving right at ME!!!!!!


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This is 125 of Macy’s employees.


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Bebe Rexha


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I believe this is Cam


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And this I believe is Sabrina Carpenter


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Again some of these are out of order as they appeared in the parade. Sorry.



And then last but not least….Santa…and I got an awful picture.


parade24 by Jenseib, on Flickr


This one was a little better.


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Another great parade! It was a lot of fun, but we were now cold and many had to use the bathroom, so we started making our way back to the Marriott.


The line to get back in is crazy long after the parade. They have security there and you have to queue just to get to the elevator. We decided to head to Starbucks and Gail went in and I waited outside with Claire and Alexis…..who were cold!!!!


nyc193 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Gail finally made it through the line and got what she wanted and then we decided to head back in. The line had gone down and soon we were back at our room where we were warm and could use the bathroom!!!


Time for showers and to get ready for our Thanksgiving meal.


Abby was ready for her feast!


nyc157 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We headed down to the restaurant and soon were seated. Last time, Geoff had gotten a big chocolate turkey as a surprise on our table. It was so good too. I found out he did get one this year as well and we just didn’t tell the kids.


nyc306 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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Somebody had not handled it well though and the back end was all smashed and broken. Now we weren’t upset, because we had one 2 years ago, but if this had been our first, we would have. I believe Geoff did call them to let them know it was broken later though. I sure hope they either gave him a partial refund or a discount for the future as this chocolate was expensive.


nyc212 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Family picture….and I have the sun in my eyes and look crazy.


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Time to eat!


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Mirrored ceiling.


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Thanksgiving meal would not be complete without checking your phone.


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We had a great view too.


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[dolphingirl47]

Many tried to go through and stand in front of us and I would let them know they couldn’t.

I hate when people do this. When I was at Disneyland Paris a couple of weeks ago. I was maybe 3 inches from the kerb and somebody actually pushed in front of me at one of the parades.

Brook was hoping to get this chance again and so were we. As it got closer, Brook decided they were going to go out of town for Thanksgiving since they had no word about it being available. Of course right after they made their plans they were alerted to availability to watch from the building again.

What a shame that this only became available too late.

That hat is quite something.

nyc301 by Jenseib, on Flickr

I love the Olaf float.

Corinna

 

[tammy]

What a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving! Absolutely beautiful pictures and a fun adventure. Is this going to be an annual trip for your guys? Is Claire wearing makeup? She looks beautiful and has grown up so much!

 

[jedijill]

So fun to see the parade! Dinner looked delicious too!

Jill in CO

 

[jenseib]

hate when people do this. When I was at Disneyland Paris a couple of weeks ago. I was maybe 3 inches from the kerb and somebody actually pushed in front of me at one of the parades

Me too! Once at a Disney parade a lady asked if her 2 kids could squeeze in next to Claire and we said yes....then 2 more came and she went up with them and we all got shoved back. I was so annoyed.

What a shame that this only became available too late.

I know. It was nice and warm in there!

That hat is quite something.

He loves to do stuff like this. We need to keep having little kids around so Geoff can play dress up!

I love the Olaf float.

He's so cute!

What a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving! Absolutely beautiful pictures and a fun adventure. Is this going to be an annual trip for your guys? Is Claire wearing makeup? She looks beautiful and has grown up so much!

It really is fun. This was the 2nd time we have done this, but the last being 2 years before. I don't think we could afford to do it yearly, but maybe every couple of years.
Yes, she is wearing make up now. Not daily, but usually when we go away.

So fun to see the parade! Dinner looked delicious too!

Jill in CO

Dinner was good, but of course home made food is better.

 

[jenseib]

After we ate, we did some walking around taking pictures.


marquis6 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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As you can tell…..I loved these light fixtures.


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Then it was time to just chill out for a while and have a turkey coma.


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Believe it or not….we had another fun thing planned for this evening…so we got ready and headed out. I took a picture in the ornament down on the main floor. I thought it was cool.


nyc198 by Jenseib, on Flickr



Off we go!!!!!!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Goodness, you had a really bust day. It looked like great fun though. i love the ornament photo.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

Goodness, you had a really bust day. It looked like great fun though. i love the ornament photo.

Corinna

Yes, we try to do as much as we can...we had a great day!

 

[jenseib]

We arrived at our Destination!!!


Madame Tussauds!


wax102 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We entered and you had the option of going up the steps or taking the elevator. Most of us took the steps.


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Pink was swirling around.


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Though it looks like Pink, I still thought she looked fake. We found some to look more real than others.


wax2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


As we walked up the stairs there was a photo opportunity, so we stopped.


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They had us do a few poses.


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We then headed up the rest of the stairs.


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We made a stop with Michael Jackson. I used to be a huge fan when I was in highschool…a LONG time ago….back when he was semi normal.


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And Gail’s favorite, Justin Timberlake.


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Claire Kardashian!


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She didn’t look real either.


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We thought Taylor looked pretty real though.


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We walked around the room and there were so many celebrities. I believe this was the A-list floor.


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Geoff’s a big Carrie fan.


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My buddy Johnny


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We love Star Trek…so this picture was a must…and he looked real.


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Jennifer Aniston….looked fake and though it looked like her somewhat…it didn’t totally look like her.


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A little trivia


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I can’t figure out who this is…so it must not be done well.


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[jenseib]

Moving on….again my pictures are out of order so I might not post them all in the order we actually saw everything.


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Some figures looks so real that you expected them to start talking to you at any moment.


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And the kids took turns with ET.


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Then we were running for our lives in Jurassic Park.


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And it was time to meet Indiana Jones!


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Abby is all about the treasure!


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And it was Abby’s turn to fight aliens with the Men in Black.


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I didn’t think this was a good looking Rock.


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We got our Sister Act on!


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I always say that Alexis dresses like she is ready to participate in the Hunger Games…and you can see the resemblance here.


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Claire is good at giving the serious look.


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And Finally! We get to meet Jimmy Fallon!


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He wanted to hold my hand!


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I had no clue what this was from, but Amanda knew it.


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[jedijill]

Those statues are creepy!

I knew Jon Hamm from Mad Men!

Jill in CO

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I think Charlize Theron was the person you couldn't figure out. At least when I saw the picture that's who popped in my mind right away.

 

[Dizzy4DL]

The one you couldn't figure out looks like Scarlett Johansson from the Avengers.

 

[tink1957]

I think she looks like Christina Applegate.

 

[jenseib]

Those statues are creepy!

I knew Jon Hamm from Mad Men!

Jill in CO

Yes..I think that is who Amanda said it was!

I think Charlize Theron was the person you couldn't figure out. At least when I saw the picture that's who popped in my mind right away.

Good guess. I think it's Scarlett Johansson after googling...

The one you couldn't figure out looks like Scarlett Johansson from the Avengers.

Ding ding ding.... I looked it up and she is supposed to have a figure there, so I bet you are right.

I think she looks like Christina Applegate.

Another good guess! But that just shows how bad that figure really is with likeness.

 

[jenseib]

Moving on some more.


Madame Tussauds herself.


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I have a cousin that I swear looks like Amelia.


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Somewhere along the line we stopped for more photos. They did an awful job and cut Aunt Mary out….and Rob was kneeling and he was cut out too.


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We got a peek of Rob here.


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Now we entered the Royal/Presidents rooms…and we had a blast in here.


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3 Catholic girls with their Pope!


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So Rob had to get a picture with the Clintons. We were doing all sorts of funny faces in the background and I don’t think he knew it.


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The girls found out they were doing special pictures with Trump and they were having a blast. The guy wasn’t busy and just kept taking them. We saw them and totally busted up laughing.


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As you can see…Claire was more along for the ride rather than posing.


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Well we could not be outdone by the girls so my sister’s and I took a turn at it too.


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I am actually hiking my pants like Trump is in that previous picture but Gail is blocking me….We took a ton of pictures and then at the end ordered the package to get all of them. We were sad to see when we got home that many were missing…including most of our Trump pictures. The photographer was totally busting up laughing at our portrayal of Trump and had me do several poses…and sadly they are all lost.


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We did have family members taking a few though.


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We had so much fun in that room….it was hard to move on. At times we were laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes.

 

[tammy]

You guys are so funny...looks like another amazing time!

 

[jenseib]

You guys are so funny...looks like another amazing time!

We had so much fun!