Jim & Lesa's Great Fiesta Bowl Adventure

Jim & I were very lucky to have press passes to a number of the Fiesta Bowl activities for the 38th Fiesta Bowl. It all started Thursday night, Jan. 1 when I took pictures for the finals of the National High School Band Championship. Grove City from Ohio came in second, and looked terrific.

Then, Saturday, Jan. 3 we went to the Fiesta Bowl Parade in Phoenix. We had parking permits that gave us a ride on a shuttle to the site of the parade. When we arrived, we asked the bus driver where we were to get picked up, and he said we don't pick you up, and never gave an answer. So, we thought we'd be picked up at the same spot. We then went to the start of the parade route, and, after asking a Maricopa County deputy where we should stand, he said we never heard it from him, but he pointed to a good spot. It was so good that the deputies over there put up the yellow tape, and allowed us to stand in front of it to take photos.

Spirit was the Fiesta Bowl Mascot.

I was really excited to get a picture of Tony Stewart, the Grand Marshal for the parade.

The Budweiser Clydesdales were in the parade.


But, the highlight of the parade was the Ohio State Cheerleaders and Marching Band.









But, I guess I ought to include a picture or two from the University of Texas' Marching band. I'm just sorry that Bevo, their mascot, was in his wagon, so I couldn't get a good picture.



The parade was fun, and it was so nice to be able to stand in the street to get pictures. The afterward was awful. The parade was over at 1 p.m. We arrived home at 5 p.m. We went back to the corner to pick up the shuttle. No shuttle. A motorcycle cop told us the buses went to the end of the parade route and picked up the units, but they never told us that. And, we weren't the only people with press passes who weren't told that. But, the cop got us a ride with a Fiesta Bowl member on a golf cart, who got us as far as he could, but Jim and I still had to walk a couple miles back to the parking lot. Then when we got there - no car. We were standing in the 3rd Street lot, and checked two lots, and couldn't find it. So, we called the police, and reported it stolen. Then, a friend from work came to pick us up, and told us she found the car all alone in a lot. They had wended us so far in to the 3rd Street lot that we were actually on 7th Street. So, Julie found our car for us, but we had to wait over an hour for the police to come back and report it as not stolen. Disastrous afternoon, just because no one told us where to get a shuttle back to the correct lot.

On game day, we had press passes to "College Football's Greatest Party." I guess I'm just not a party person because I enjoyed the parade more. However, Jim got me a really good story for the Glendale Daily Planet, about a boy from Iowa who was there for the game from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In fact, Jim had the ideas for all the stories I used. But, highlights for me? The Ohio State Band, again. And, Jim getting his face painted with a buckeye leaf.
I think these are terrific pictures of Jim.




And, Jim's favorite picture? The highlight of Jim's Great Fiesta Bowl Adventure.



It was an exhausting, but exhilarating three days. It's too bad Ohio State lost 24-21.