**warning- this post is wordy w/ a TON of photos. don’t say i didn’t warn you. 😉 **
In case you didn’t know, St. Patrick’s day in Savannah is HUGE. Our parade/celebration is the 2nd largest in the US (right behind boston)!! There were over a million people at the parade this year.To give you an idea,here’s a shot of River St.:
EEEEEK!!! I’m glad we didn’t venture that far north!!
photo from here
It was an amazing thing to witness, to say the least. To learn more about the history of Savannah and St. Pat’s, you can read here. To see lots of photos,videos, and news stories about the craziness…you can read here.
In the weeks leading up to the parade, there are all sorts of cool traditions happening in Sav. Our favorite is the greening of the Forsyth Park fountain:
The weeks leading up to the festivities are simply fun. Full of joy and anticipation. I wasn’t able to attend the parade last year (due to itttty bitttty babies!) and I knew I HAD to make it this year, especially since it’s our last one.
We got a sitter for the babies and I took the bigs with me, I knew they were going to want to experience this.
After a special breakfast:
We got dolled up in our greenest green (and had the sitter snap a pic!) and headed to town.
To say Harper and Sadie were excited would be a massive understatement. 🙂
If we were going to try to park on our own and find a spot to watch the parade, we probably would have had to go downtown around 5 or 6 am.
Luckily, we had the option of taking buses with the Rangers. And get this…we had a police escort. I was completely in awe. I felt like a little kid. HA!
After parking south of Forsyth Park, there was LOTS of walking to be done. No big deal unless you happen to have a gaggle of 923480283 children with you, as me and my girlfriends always do! I scooped up my friend’s little girl, we made a human chain, and went on our merry way.
The Ranger wives/families were given bleacher seats right in front of St. John Cathedral.
This is the view from where we were sitting:
We settled in (in the BLAZING sun!!),put on sunscreen, and watched the parade begin. Here are some shots!
Right about this time I got a text from J. He told me they were “stepping off” (leaving Forsyth Park to start marching). I spread the word and we all started to apply our BRIGHT red lipstick.
The girls with all of their friends (and their red lipstick…waiting to kiss their daddies).
MY favorite tradition in the Savannah St. Pat’s parade is that when the Rangers march through, ladies rush them and kiss their cheeks.
Before the boys rounded the corner in front of the stands, we could hear a roar from the spectators. We all jumped up on our feet b/c we knew that could only mean one thing…the guys were coming!
I watched the handsome rangers march by company by company, so excited to see J’s face.
The girls saw him just as I did and we ran for him as fast as we could.
A friend shared this photo with me. This is the moment he first saw Harper,Sadie,and me. I have to tell yout that this one makes me cry.
He scooped the girls right up and we all went in for smooches:
And then ran right back to our seats so we didn’t get mowed down. HA!
It was an awesome AWESOME experience. One I will remember for the rest of my life.
We headed back to the buses and went back to J’s office. We picked him up and here’s how he looked. Sheepish+happy. 🙂 And his face was COVERED with lipstick. 🙂
Home we went where we were greeted by this:
and where this happened almost immediately:
I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything like St. Pat’s in Savannah. I’m so grateful that I got to witness it in person!
Happy Monday!
xxo
s
