I Love a Parade!

Leader of the Parade

      It was the weekend for the " Parade of Lights" in Carrabelle. Carrabelle's a little town up the coast about 20 miles from the island. Every year they host a parade on the.water that brings thousands of people to the little town.

   There's usually fifteen to twenty boats, all decked out with lights and Christmas decorations. Folks on the boats and those on shore sing carols and wish each other a Merry Christmas. There's live music, and free hot dogs for everybody. Even the dogs that have come to join in the fun are treated to a wiener and some water. 
  All the boats line up, with a police escort, and cruise up one side of the harbor, and down the other. This year there were only about ten. But they were ten good ones.
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Santa's Boat

 

 

 

    Besides the parade, Carrabelle boasts the smallest police station in the country. It's a phone booth.   No kidding. Next time I get over there, I'll take a picture of it.   

   After the last boat has paraded down the dock side of the harbor, the fireworks start going off. It's a beautiful sight.

   Unfortunately, not all my pictures turned out very well. It was a little tricky for me, not having a lot of experience with night photography. The flash isn't much help at a long distance, so I was constantly adjusting the settings in accordance to the lights on the boats.

                                                                                                       "The End"  

 So I missed getting a good shot of a few of the boats. A good example is the picture of the last boat in the parade. It was a canoe with two reindeer on it, but not many lights. A perfect end to the parade. Sorry I missed it!
  




Fireworks over the harbor 

    They have a contest for the best boat before the parade starts and the winner gets to lead the way. They also get an invitation to come back to the parade next year. I know I'll be there.