The smell of sunscreen mixed with eu-de-horse-on-hot-asphalt permeated Kainalu Street as neighbors and friends shared whatever shade they could find for this morning's 62nd annual Kailua Fourth of July parade.

Amid all the colors of the bright day, a best-in-show wardrobe award should have gone to Margo Sprague of Kailua, bedecked in a red-white-and-blue hat; red-white-and-blue kukui nut lei; star-spangled earrings and necklace; and even a red-white-and-blue feather boa.

"My husband bought this for me in Chicago," she confided, tugging on one end of boa. "And he got me a green one, too, for St. Patrick's Day."

Her husband could be found heading in her direction a few minutes later, wearing an identical lei. Ken Sprague had just finished his flag-bearer job with marchers who are Vietnam veterans.

"It's a very good, enthusiastic crowd," he said. "It's always good to have people celebrate the good things about our country. And to carry the American flag."

Plus, he had personal reasons to be thankful.

"We're lucky we didn't have to walk behind the horses this year," he said.

As the veterans marched past, people whooped and applauded.

"Thank you, gentlemen!" was the shout-out from Patrick O'Malley to the Purple Hearts and other veterans' groups. He later said that he himself was retired Army.

And, of course, it was a day for families, who lined the parade route from end to end.

At one end was Abigail Rose Aweau, 2, who tried valiantly to wrap her rosebud mouth around a giant lollipop.

"This is tradition, to be here," said her grandpa, Patrick Ishikawa.

Farther down, another grandpa, Bill Henderson of Kailua, was taking in the sights with granddaughter Veronica, 4›, and daughter Holland. His girls had managed to pull in quite a haul along the parade route: a fan, balloons, stickers, pencil, water bottle and even — score! — a frozen Otter Pop.

"We've been coming since she," pointing to daughter, "was that size," pointing to granddaughter, he said, his smile as wide as the Kailua Bay.

And Kailua's Jackie Cadinha — or Auntie America (recognizable by the "Aunty America" pageant-style banner she wore over her mu'umu'u) — was definitely having a good time, though one might wonder who thought it was a good idea to give her a microphone as she sat in the shade in front of Calvary Church of the Islands.

She was giving out her own running commentary.

"I was out here looking for Uncle Sam," she explained with a hearty laugh.

Don't confuse Aunty America with anti-America.

"Do you know why I am Aunty America?" she asked, then answered: "because I was overqualified to be Miss Hawai'i!"