July the Fifth

For the Fourth of July parade in our neighborhood, I whipped up a "Captain Pugmerica" costume for Pao:

He looked so cute! (BTW that's a benign little growth on his chin; the vet says it will probably go away in a few months.)

Our neighborhood parade is a very home-grown thing. This double-decker bus was waaaay unusual--usually the floats are jeeps and cars decorated with bunting and crepe paper. The teens riding the bus had fun; they threw red, white, and blue necklaces down to the crowd:

Pao put some beads on, to be neighborly:

The parade went on for several blocks. The L.A. police department led the way and stopped traffic so we could safely cross a busy boulevard:

We were a mighty throng, this year:

As usual, the parade ended at the local park, where volunteers handed out red/white/blue cupcakes and watermelon wedges. Pao totally enjoyed his piece of fruit:

We just didn't tell him about the cupcakes.