Parade draws big crowds

They rode down Main Street on scooters, floats, military Jeeps, and even a scale model battleship. Their ranks included soldiers, Shriners, politicians and beauty queens. Together, they made up the record 340 entries in the 103rd annual Huntington Beach Fourth of July Parade.

Police said they did not yet have an estimate of the crowds that thronged the parade route, but parade spokeswoman Connie Young said they expected about 200,000.

“I never knew this many people could show up,” said first-time visitor Anita Young of San Clemente.

Residents and visitors clapped hard for the many displays, from marching bands 100 members strong to a float carrying Miss Huntington Beach and her court.

The loudest applause of all, however, went to something a little simpler. Roughly a dozen men and women in military gear stood proud on a float, its two-word message saying everything: “Welcome Home.”

For a video from the parade, click here. For more pictures, click here.