Let Bruce Toomer be your guide to the end of the road for next year’s Rose Parade. His first recommendation: Station yourself at the corner of Sierra Madre Boulevard and Villa Street.

Yes, that is the final lap of the iconic, 5.5-mile New Year’s Day celebration and it is a whole little world unto itself. For one, the longtime Tournament of Roses member said, the crowd lining the sidewalks there didn’t pony up any money for their vantage points.

They’re laid-back, relaxed and patient, eager to interact with each other and with Tournament of Roses volunteers.

“The floats arrive in clumps, so they have a wait in between,” Toomer said. “It’s much more ‘hometown’ at the parade’s end. It’s just people.”

Tournament of Roses member Stanley Maack said in its more than 20 consecutive years in the parade, the Marine Corps band is known for playing strong through the 5.5-mile route.

The 83-member United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band performed “The Marines’ Hymn” and “Semper Fidelis” and longtime parade-goers attest their marching and playing never wanes or fades.

The Marine Corps band played all the way, Maack said, but other bands at the end of the line, perhaps feeling every step of the trek at this point, sometimes need a boost.

But, he said, they summon up the spirit when they see the 210 Freeway Bridge coming up, a sign they are almost at the end of the big march.

“The bands know that turn, and there’s a new pep in their step, knowing they’re at the end. It’s like horses know their way to the barn,” Toomer said.

Many floats’ builders had to find creative solutions to make it under the bridge. This year, a towering pillar from the “Go Bowling” float had to make a big bow, the Trader Joe’s entry featured a pineapple that laid flat in a sort of botanical limbo dance and Nessie the Loch Ness monster from the Cal Poly float gracefully tucked her monstrous head under the overpass.

Gunnery Sgt. Wesley O. Hayes, drum major for the Marine Band, said the Marines don’t have to build up stamina for their New Year’s Day march, “our Marines are held to the standards as all United States Marines which, for us, makes parades an easy walk down the street.”

Hayes agrees the end of the Rose Parade feels very different from the corner of Green Street and Orange Grove Boulevard, where the spectacle steps off.

“The beginning of the parade feels very busy, because that is where the TV cameras, news outlets, and grandstands are,” he said. “Toward the end of the parade the vibe is very different, reminiscent of small-town parades you might have witnessed growing up.”

The Marines also have a little fun with their newbie brothers at this point.

“Not too far from the end of the parade route is a bridge that the parade goes under.” Hayes said. “That is a signal that we don’t have much left, however we always joke with the new Marines before the parade starts that when they see the bridge we are only halfway to the end!”

On Wednesday, families roared and ran down the sidewalk on Sierra Madre Blvd with their cameras and posters for their main event — the L.A. Unified School District All-City Marching Band.

When the students marches past, it was indeed worth the wait.

As the parade wound down, the Homestead Marching Band of Cupertino performed “Word Up” by Cameo with abandon.

Band members shouted “best day ever” to each other, echoing the parade’s theme.

Band members danced around in little groups during a pause, waiting for floats to clear out of the route.

That’s all in the tone and texture of the parade’s home stretch.

There’s lots of idle standing, audience members inspecting floats up close and taking pictures with parade entries and petting friendly horses.

Sisters Yazareth Chavez, Anid Torres and Ana Bella Zavala brought their own feast — menudo, tamales, champurrado, burritos and more.

“I think we overdid it,” Zavala said.

Many other neighbors relaxed and took in the spectacle from their lawns.

At 11:30 a.m., many paradegoers had already headed home at the parade’s end point, though more floats and bands were set to roll by.

Still, the stalwarts were still on hand.

They were determined to see all the entries, until the final petal passed by.