St. Patty's Day 2011!

Look at that smile! He must be part Irish to smile that big on St. Patty's Day! So for those of you who don't know, Savannah has the second largest St. Patty's Day parade in the nation. An extra 700,000 people travel to our city to attend the parade and festivities. Every business in Savannah shuts down and it is considered a major holiday in the eyes of Savannians.

With that being said, below is OUR St. Patty's Day 2011....



The day started out with Mr. Raleigh modeling his St. Patty's Day outfit that Aunt Whitney sent from TN. Thanks Aunt Whitney! Don't I look Irish today?!



What a goofy boy....



Dev and I took the baby to day care for a half day and then jumped on our bicycles to check out the happenings. The first thing we encountered at 9:30am was this HUGE budweiser air balloon. Definitely was not expecting to see this big thing hanging out at the park!



Incredible....

The second thing we encountered during our travels (we were on our way to our friend Joseph and Dave's house for a St. Patty's day breakfast), was the famous Forsyth Park fountain that had been dyed green.

This is a Savannah tradition. I believe they do this the week before St. Patt's.

When we arrived at Joseph and Dave's house on Tatnall and Charlton (which is basically on the parade route) we were welcomed with egg casserole, bagels and creamcheese, shrimp, mac n' cheese, fruit, pastries, and my favorite....strawberries with milk and white chocolate to dip! What a fantastic way to start the day.

Joseph and Dave have a great courtyard where we all hung out. This is my friend Sarah. Sarah and her husband Charlie were headed to the beach (Tybee Island) to avoid the crowds. Probably a smart move....

Me and the hubby. Notice the fig ivy on the fence behind us. We plan on doing this in our courtyard as well. Beautiful.

And the parade....it took us 30 minutes just to work our way to Chippewa Square (the square where Dev and I got married) so that we could meet up with some people I work with. They had a tent set up and they had to arrive at 5:30am just to get a spot!

Tons of people....nice hair lady.

Some floats....

Cool....

This dalmation had a great view from his float....

As did these pugs from their window....

This is Chippewa Square packed with people....

And two of my coworkers....

Looks like they are having a great time!!!!

Always got to have a pic of my handsome....

I believe this is the NYFD.....they come every year for the parade.....

Of course, St. Patty's day wouldn't be complete without running into a random goat in one of the squares. We couldn't figure out who owned the goat however this nice woman was trying to give it some water....very strange....

There you go buddy, drink up!

And the military is huge down here so of course they participate in the parade as well....

Love all the flags.....All in all it was a fantastic day. We picked the baby up at 2:30 and came home to eat pizza and enjoy the rest of our day off. Can't wait till next year when Raleigh is big enough to enjoy the parade!