ORANGE PARK, Fla — Hundreds of hours of practice, a two and a half mile march and the Thanksgiving of a lifetime.

An Oakleaf High School flutist marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in front of a national audience.

"It was, honestly, a surreal experience," said Emerson Smiley shortly after the parade ended. "There were so many people around."

A trip to New York that's been months in the making — Smiley submitted a video of her playing the flute and was selected as one of 200 musicians for Macy's Great American Marching Band.

Of course, her family pulled into New York a little early so they could do a bit of sightseeing.

"We saw a whole bunch of different things," said Smiley. "We went on a cruise. We saw the Statue of Liberty, we went to a market, that was a lot of fun, but t

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