William and I arrived early due to upcoming road closures, and walked the red carpet to make sure there weren't any hazards or obstacles awaiting us. Other than 3 obvious manhole covers under the carpet, the path looked clear!
Since we had a few hours until the parade was to start, we checked out the star cars.
Gordon arrived shortly thereafter, and we went upstairs to grab an early dinner, and a birds-eye view of the red carpet.
On our way back to the staging area, we swung by the Chinese Theater, where R2 and C-3PO's foot prints were mostly covered with some planters. :/
As the sun set, it was time to unload and get ready! Darren Moser joined us as K-2SO, which he operates as a life-sized puppet.
And then, down onto the carpet! We eventually staged the droids off to the side, at the edge of the carpet, and waited for the Star Wars clubs to arrive. That way the droids don't have to drive so far, and only need to drive the red-carpet portion of the parade.
We visited with the crowd and some of the parade participants while we waited to get going.
The Los Angeles NBC affiliate KNBC got a shot of the droids before the parade as well.
The parade got started, and lots of floats, cars and bands went by as we waited for the Star Wars clubs to arrive.
Finally, the 501st arrived, which meant it was almost time for us to go! Thanks to our wrangler Ellen for shooting the video.
We all survived! After the red carpet ended, we were able to go through a cut in the crowd to head back to the parking structure, while the rest of the clubs continued the 3.1 mile march.
Because almost all the nearby streets are closed for an hour or two after the parade, we decided to walk over to the nearby Scum and Villainy Cantina, a Star Wars cantina-themed place that opened last year. Most of my Star Wars friends had been there before, but it was a first for me.
By the time we had wrapped up, traffic had cleared out and it was a fairly smooth 50+ mile drive home.
We all had a great time, and I hope we do it again next year!
The full photoset is here.
