PBW: Labor Free

Ironic, yet apropos, Labor Day is the one holiday I don't have to work on with any of my bands. In the first week of October, I'll have at least four different Columbus Day related gigs, but this past weekend was a rare quiet one. For years, we were guaranteed a parade on the Sunday prior to Labor Day, but one year there was some kind of accident with a spectator stand collapsing, and future parades were canceled. In the last two or three years it's started up again, with a fraction of the bands and fire departments that once participated. As of yet, none of our groups have been hired, and so I've enjoyed a three-day weekend at the end of each Summer.

I set out on Sunday afternoon with a twofold mission. I intended to find some interesting Photo Blog Wednesday material, and at the very least get out of my room and get some fresh air. I also needed to hit an Auto Barn and get some oil for the oil change I had planned for the next day. Forgetting the holiday weekend, I was nearly at my destination when the police closed the road and diverted traffic. In a rare opportunity, I found myself on the sidelines of a parade with a camera. I don't think I've been to a parade as a spectator since I was in single digits and my mom and I would watch my dad march. Honestly, I found it hard to stay in one spot and ended up walking the parade route in reverse, too impatient to wait for the trucks and musicians to reach me. It's definitely more interesting to be on the street than on the sidewalk, but I still got some good shots: