Serendipity:  the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

That is what happened to us.  This was so good.  It was serendipitous.  We were driving home from having breakfast at Smoke wondering what we were going to do for the rest of the day.  Suddenly we saw some floats.  The covered with brightly colored paper – ride in a parade kind of floats.  Big and beautiful!

“What is going on?”

???  (Wondering!)

Then someone said, “Oh!  Today is the opening day of the State Fair of Texas, and this is THE parade.”

“Really?” (o-o-oh, ah, o-o-oh)

“How cool is this!”

“Can we stop?”

And would you believe it?  Right there in front of our eyes was a parking lot with empty parking spaces.  We turned into the lot, parked trusty old Cadillac (I am trying to be nice to it because it is starting to make noises on ignition), and we were good to go.  We were directly across the street from the Old Red Courthouse Museum. (Another blog)   One short block to Main Street, and we found ourselves positioned to see the parade from its beginning.

Leading the parade was the U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle  Corps straight from Washington D.C.  They will preform daily at the fair except on Wednesdays.  There is just something about a man in a uniform!  Not to mention – they sound so good, and their marching is perfection.

Look carefully.  Do you see the garden nymph (I guess that is what she is.)?  She does have on a leotard, but one has to look carefully.

Isn’t this purty.  Under the sea!

Each night at the State Fair of Texas you can see these floats and many more in the Reliant Starlight Parade.  Just imagine how pretty these animated floats will be when they are illuminated.  The parade begins at 7:15 p.m. each evening.  Oh, and those good looking men in the uniforms from the USM Drum and Bugle Corps – they will lead off the parade.

Belly dancers in these gorgeous costumes entertained us.

No parade in Texas would be complete without horses.  Be still my heart.  What a beautiful horse.  Now that is a pony tail!

Then there were the clowns.

Some clown carried shovels to clean up after the horses.  Somebody has to do it, so the next band doesn’t have to march through it! ( That is almost a poem.)

There were several groups of drill teams.  Of course the one carrying the Lone Star boards caught my eye.

Elvis was on the street.  The Elvis impersonators rode scooters, and they were certainly crowd pleasers.  Pretty little girl is enthralled.

It is a centennial year for the Girl Scouts of America.  In the Hall of States there is an exhibit that not only highlights the history of the Girl Scouts, but also features the future of the Girl Scouts.

There was no shortage of queens in the parade.  I kid you not – probably more than seven plus their courts.  I think there was even a Queen of Everything.  These lovelies are working to preserve White Rock Lake.  There were so many charitable groups represented in the parade – Shriners, Lions Club, clowns, Elvis impersonators, skaters, and many, many more.  What these groups do for our community is amazing.  Makes me want to do more.

I loved experiencing this serendipity – What an unexpected pleasurable event.  Now I am certainly in the mood for a day at the fair.  See you there!

Blessings to you and yours,

Click on the State Fair of Texas link at the beginning of the post to read everything you ever wanted to know about the fair.