Christmas Boat Parade

It was the perfect night. We walked the block and a half to the New River and plunked down our backpack chairs on the river's edge. The temperature was perfect for jeans and a t-shirt as we drank our beers and watched the beautifully lit boats pass by.
Some decorated with the Florida-theme of dolphins and palm trees...
Ironically, it was the big, corporate yachts that we were most disappointed with. They just lit up their logos on the sides - Hard Rock, Perrier, Foreclosure.com (yep, got us in the holiday spirit with that one!). But the smaller, privately owned boats were lit up, had music playing or skits to enjoy. One sailboat had people dressed in toy soldier costumes and when the cannon goes off, they all fall down....over and over and over. Gotta hand it to those guys & gals - that must be dizzying!

This was the first year they started the parade in downtown Ft Lauderdale. Usually they just do it on the Intercoastal. Even with some congestion on the river and some delays, I still think it was a hit. So many residents could walk to see it, and since it is more narrow on the river we could enjoy more details on the boats.