There are virtually no places for a truck to park in NYC without risking a huge fine. Except I know of one – on 5th Ave and 75th St by Central Park near the French Consulate. You can park there after 7pm M-F and all day on weekends and holidays.

Because traffic was bad, I camped out overnight at a Travel Center in Darien, CT. Then first of light I headed into Manhattan.

There are plenty of good vantage points around the park to watch the parade. There’s no need to get there hours early to camp out, unless you’re trying to get to the grandstand for the concert, where there are no reserved tickets.

For the first time since 1971, there was concern that the balloons would be grounded. This happens when there is sustained winds over 25 knots. or gusts up to 35. Luckily, NYPD and the parade organizers decided to keep the balloons flying tethered them low to the ground — which was ideal since the winds picked up during the day.

The first balloon was Astronaut Snoopy, made to honor the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.  They were followed by Spongebob & Squarepants, the Great Saiyan, and Green Eggs & Ham among many others.

Unfortunately, one of my favorite balloons, Ronald McDonald suffered a little rip that got progressively worse. Even he had to take a knee and was taken out of the parade.

After the parade, I stopped at the Starbucks in Trump Tower to upload the video to YouTube.  When Trump became president-elect, you would meet many dignitaries here. I thought about visiting Trump Grill for lunch, but after reading the reviews, I decided against it.  I read that Trump likes his taco salad crispy and Don Jr likes his filet mignon medium rare. I felt sorry for the tenants who have to go through massive security everyday just to go work or to go home. Perhaps that’s why there was a fire here last year, where the homeowner died in a unit with no sprinklers and no working smoke alarm.