Happy New Year - Tournament of Roses Parade 2010

Happy New Year 2010 everyone! Please forgive the late post of the wrap up of the Tournament of Roses Parade and how it all went. It literally wiped me out with all the activities, and I fell asleep right after it was over (even had to stop halfway on the drive home because I literally couldn't stay awake) and stayed asleep the majority of the weekend after getting a bit ill. However, it was such a blast! Let me walk you through the day!

Erika Bogan, Ms. Wheelchair America 2010, and I originally planned on celebrating New Years Eve on East Coast time (meaning 9pm out here in California) and then going to sleep since we had to be up at 3am New Years Day. However, that didn't happen as both of us had gotten sick. You can only imagine having to haul two wheelchairs in one car with both of us paralyzed, in the rain, along with all of our luggage. It was interesting to say the least, and you wouldn't believe how many able-bodied people walked past us and didn't offer to help. Here's a quick look at what it looked like arriving at the hotel. We look more awake than we actually were!

So, Erika and I were up until 1:30am, not by choice. We finally fell asleep after taking care of each other, however that meant we both only had 1.5 hours of sleep, and neither of us had gotten but about 4 hours of sleep the night before. We were exhausted, but so excited about the day!

We woke up at 3am and got ready, put our crowns and sashes on, reloaded the car with our luggage, and packed up both wheelchairs in my car. All of this definitely should have been captured on film somewhere! It was hilarious! We arrived at the meeting location with all the other Kiwanis float riders as well as our "dad" for the entire three days - AKA "Papa Dave". Papa Dave was the best and really made sure all of us were taken care of, felt comfortable, and were safe.

Both Erika and I were honored to receive a beautiful plaque commemorating our time with the Kiwanis on the 2010 Tournament of Roses float as well as the official pin and program. Below I am receiving mine from "Papa Dave."

Alyson Roth thanking Dave Wallach for the wonderful plaque and opportunity to be on the 2010 Tournament of Roses Kiwanis float.

We had a light breakfast (mind you it was 4:30am) and then were escorted to the site where our float was located in the line up. Almost every street remotely close to Colorado Blvd. was closed off (which made getting to the meeting place almost impossible) and had "White Suitors" located at every barricade along with police officers. I was even told that FBI and Secret Service were located throughout the event!

It was very, very cold. Both Erika and I were dressed in short sleeves, but we were snuggled up in blankets, gloves, and jackets that early in the morning. We had some time to go see other floats as well as make one last restroom stop before getting onto the float. While heading to the Tournament House (below) to use the restroom, I had the amazing opportunity to be escorted to meet the Grand Marshall of the parade, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III. He is known for landing the airplane into the Hudson River last January 2009 and safely saving everyone's lives. He is a true hero!

Upon meeting him and his wife, I told him, "On behalf of the state of California and the Ms. Wheelchair California/America program, we thank you for your heroism and generosity to save the lives of so many people. Though I know you were just doing your job, it is people like you who make the world a better place." Media and press were everywhere filming our meeting as well as taking pictures of the greet. It was a true pleasure to meet such humble people.

Alyson Roth, Ms. Wheelchair California 2009, thanking

Captain Chesley Sullenberger for his heroism.

Captain Sully, Alyson Roth, and his wife, Lorrie Sullenberger in front of the Tournament House

Once back at the float, it was time to load up! Erika and I transferred onto our bench while the crew stored our wheelchairs underneath the float. Did you know that the driver of the float can't see where he is going? He relies on a navigator up front to tell him where to go and when to stop. Amazing!

The excitement of turning onto Colorado Blvd. was breathtaking. There were so many people! I couldn't believe how many people show up for this parade on New Years Day each year.

The Kiwanis International float was extremely excited when we were announced as the winner of one of the top three trophies given out, the Isabella Coleman Trophy. You can see Erika Bogan and myself along with Alexis Ostrander to the right behind the Boy Scout.

Here is a better close up of us on the float. The magnitude of each float, the music, the sunshine, the people, the energy - it was all surreal and magical!

This isn't even a quarter of the people. We were located on the non-camera side, but the thousands of people on the right (south) side of Colorado Blvd. were even more enthusiastic as we passed them during the 5.5 mile stretch. It took us almost 2.5 hours to complete the parade!

Alyson Roth, Ms. Wheelchair California 2009, and Erika Bogan, Ms. Wheelchair America 2010 waving to everyone and shouting "Happy New Year" as we passed by.

The picture below was taken towards the end of the parade. You can see that people were even positioned underneath the overpass to watch the parade.

Without a doubt, this has to have been one of the most memorable New Year's ever, and I am so thankful to the Kiwanis and Ms. Wheelchair California/America program for allowing this opportunity to happen. It's important that we show that people with disabilities can do anything and everything that everyone else can, and being a part of this nationally televised event was huge. We even got a big shout out from Stephanie Edwards as our float passed by. For those of you who missed the parade, you can by going to http://www.ktla.com/entertainment/roseparade/video/. We are featured on Part 8 of the video series, though not shown since we were on the non-camera side of the float.

We are so grateful for everything, and thanks again to everyone - from the crew, to the volunteers, to the organizers, to the spectators - thank you for making this an amazing, nostalgic, and memorable start to 2010! Happy New Year!