Being that it's the Fourth of July and parades are a mainstay of the season, I thought I'd share with you my top six (I know, strange number, eh?) most memorable parade experiences.

6. That random parade in Boston
A few years back, when I was in college, my best friend and I went downtown to do something or another. As we emerged from the subway, we found ourselves in the middle of a parade. Although we stood there watching it for a while, I don't think either of us ever figured out what it was for.

5. Somerville's zombie march
As far as I'm concerned, Somerville, Massachusetts is the coolest place ever. They're so cool, in fact, that they have an annual zombie march. What made it even stranger was that on the Monday after the march, I got an e-mail from the Suffolk County D.A.'s press guy letting me know that he had been a zombie there and, having spotted me, snapped a photo and sent it along.

4. A Christmas parade somewhere in Alabama
If you live in Carrollton, Georgia and are looking for a date idea a little more exciting than going out dinner, you're out of luck. Unless, of course, that date is with me. Then you'll end up in Alabama. Having never been to Alabama despite living a short drive from the state line, I decided we would drive into Alabama, go back in time (Alabama runs on central time) and grab some dinner. Problem was, there's not actually anything on the Georgia/Alabama boarder. After some more driving we found what looked like a town, but everything was shut down because of a Christmas parade. Making up this parade was every fire truck within fifty miles and a lot of pick-ups wrapped in Christmas lights. Being so hungry that I was a little light headed definitely added to the effect.

3. The Carnival parade in The Netherlands
Well is a pretty small Dutch town on the German boarder and home to Emerson College's study abroad program. It's also in one of the country's Catholic regions, so they celebrate Carnival before Lent. What impressed me most about this parade was the time and attention people put into their floats. Although Well has a population of around 1,500, which generally doesn't make for good parade fodder, people there pulled out all the stops for Carnival. Months before the parade we'd see trucks, tractors and trailers parked behind houses with cardboard, wood and paper being applied. People also dress up for Carnival. But, fyi, if you ever find yourself at a Dutch Carnival parade, don't make the same mistake my best friend (the same one as earlier; we've had a lot of misadventures) did: You're supposed to dress up as something cheery, so zombies are kind of frowned upon.

2. The Roseville Rinky Dinks
The Roseville Rinky Dinks were in pretty much every parade in the Mansfield/Blossburg/Wellsboro/Tioga, Pennsylvania area and, therefore, a staple of my childhood. A few of the members played instruments, but most marched with folding lawn chairs that they would use as props in a choreographed dance routine.

1. The Fripp Island golf cart parade
Fripp's golf cart parade easily makes the shortlist of the most surreal things I've ever seen. It's like a parade, but the floats are miniature. Today was my first time on the island and once I passed the security gate, I felt like I was in another world. Everywhere I looked there were golf carts. Hundreds of them lined the street leading up the the parade route. Although there were some standouts, I wondered how people knew for sure they were getting into the right cart when the left. Several times I got stuck behind golf carts on the road. Given the fact that I was greatly outnumbered I didn't dare pass. After today, I can safely say, it is now a life goal of mine to start a golf cart gang.