Rose Parade Floats

[rpcrowe]

January 2nd was an exciting day for me. Judy and I visited Pasadena, California to see the Rose Parade floats which are parked along a street in that city on the day after the Rose Parade allowing visitors an up close look at the floats.

The floats are 100% covered with vegetative material. Not only flowers but ground coconut meat for whites, coconut husks for browns, seaweed for blacks along with a large variety of other materials. The floats are really quite intricate as shown by this entry from the City of Big Bear, which is a local winter ski resort area.



Seeing the floats up close was quite enjoyable but what was exciting to me is that I was able the walk the approximate 3-mile (about 5 kilometer) stretch along which the floats were parked.

My neurologist, after several tests, determined that my vertigo and lack of balance was due to a weakness of my left leg, not any problems with my nerves, spine or brain. The weak leg has been sending confusing signals to my brain. I have been undergoing physical therapy for several weeks now and the strength of the leg has increased dramatically and I have experienced a marked decrease of the feelings of vertigo and imbalance.

I can definitely notice the difference in my ability to walk, especially over terrain that is a bit rough. (no mountain climbing yet though). I will continue the therapy for a couple more weeks and then be able to continue exercise on my own.

This sure beats the idea of needing surgery And my improved condition will certainly help me with my photography

[Rufus]

There is a lot of coconut on that mountain! It must have been quite a sight to have so many floats lined up.

It is good to hear that physio has led to such an improvement, keep going with those excercises!

[Shadowman]

Nice shot.

[FootLoose]

It's amazing the amount of work that people put into things like this.

Co-incidentally Richard, I recently read about how important it is for us to keep our legs strong as we get older to prevent falls etc and have been doing the suggested exercises. I too have found my balance in improving and I don't blow around in the breeze so much when I am trying to take a photograph. ;-)

[rpcrowe]

One of the best exercised for me is the use of a balance board - sort of like this one

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Simply-Fit-...cae5%7Ciid%3A1

Before I began conditioning, I could not stand balanced on this board. Now each time I use it, I can balance a longer time. In fact, it helps me so much (combined with other exercises) that I purchased one to use at home.

[FootLoose]

Ah yes, I used to use something similar after my back operations years ago. It was a short piece of flat wood attached to hemispherical piece of wood. One foot on either end the flat piece and try to stay upright.