Updated: 03/17/2009 7:27 PM KSTP.com | Print Story
By: Chikage Windler

WINDLER: Chik's Pics - Lucky warmth at St. Paul's St. Pat's Parade

Chikage Windler - Meteorologist READ ALL OF CHIKAGE'S "CHIK'S PICS" BLOGS EMAIL CHIKAGE READ BIO  READ ALL OF CHIKAGE'S BLOGS ABOUT AUSTEN

I made it to my first St. Paul St. Patrick's Day Parade today.  It was so much fun and as you'll see in this blog, I took SOOOOO many pictures!  The weather wasn't as fabulous as yesterday's, but I still think the luck of the Irish was with us.  Almost right on cue, the fog and mist that plagued the morning lifted and the hazy sun shone.  Temps in the 50s made it a mild treat to be outside in the sea of green-clad people.  Check out all my pics in my blog.

Want to read my previous blog?

WINDLER: Chik's Pics - Austen enjoys our late Winter warmth!

Tuesday, March 17th - St. Patrick's Day Parade in Downtown St. Paul

What a great day for a parade.  After the fog and mist lifted, it was mild and comfortable to be out on the streets of St. Paul.  And there were a LOT of people with the same idea as me.  Babies and kids and adults and even some dogs...all decked out in green!  Irish flags were waving.  Celtic music was playing.  I imagine there were probably one or two people toasting the holiday with a noontime beer.  You think?

And almost everyone was NOT wearing a big winter coat.  They either opted for a lighter jacket or for some, no coat at all.  It's lucky that Mother Nature decided to bring us temps some 15 degrees above normal to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

Much to my surprise, while I was snapping pics, I heard someone call my name.  When I turned around, I discovered one of my coworkers, Brandon, a producer for 5 Eyewitness News.  He gave me a great tip...something that I don't think I would have thought of on my own.  One of the best vantage points for the parade is up in the skyway!  Since I had already taken plenty of on the street pics, I went up to the skyway with Brandon to discover a great new parade prospective!  I'm sure if the weather had been super cold, it would have been super crowded in the skyway, but instead, we practically had the whole thing to ourselves.  I got some nice long shots of the parade route from up above.

5 Eyewitness News Producer Brandon Benavides & me in the Skyway

Check out all my "Chik's Pics" from the parade right here:

Thanks as always for reading my blog!