Lighted Boat Parade and Christmas Tree Lighting in Morro Bay

I was out of town last year and I missed the Lighted Boat Parade and the Christmas Tree Lighting events. This year I wanted to participate and so I went to both!!

I watched the parade from The Harbor Hut, which was nice since it was so cold outside!! They were great and let me in even though I didn't have reservations (next year I will return there with a reservation). There were about 30 boats that streamed by the restaurant, some really large and some smaller. Some were tall sail boats and others were small fishing boats. My favorite boat was the small boat that had the Grinch on a motorcycle pulling a tree, it was animatronic and seemingly lifted out of the water as the Grinch "took off". My second favorite was the tropical island-themed medium-sized boat, with its palm trees and cabana. My third favorite was the boat that had some inter-tubes that looked like lighted fish floating behind it. The most amazing boat was the final boat in the parade, a long canoe with about 20 people in it, it must have been a crew boat!! Here are some pictures of my three favorites:



Tonight I attended the Morro Bay Tree-Lighting event at City Park. This event is a great one for families with small children, as Santa Claus arrives at the end. I probably won't be back, but it definitely got me in the Christmas Spirit!! Who can resist free cider and cookies, and a passel of 4-year-olds performing the Nutcracker Suite!! The high school choir did an amazing job singing some Christmas carols, followed by a supposed sing-along (I think I was the only one singing along, though). I didn't bring my camera, but there were plenty of parents filming their kids. Santa arrived in a fire truck, siren and all!! He read "The Night Before Christmas" to a group of about 100 children assembled at his feet. When he was finished, the Mayor had a countdown to light the tree, followed by a round of Jingle Bells. As I walked away on my way home, I turned around and saw the tree, which looks like they thought they might not have enough lights as they started at the top, or they ran out of lights as the ended at the top!! The lights are the energy-efficient LED lights, so they should have sprung for another couple of strands!! The cider was great, I brought my own coffee cup and it stayed warm throughout the event. They even provided cinnamon sticks to stir with. The cookie I had was great, homemade oatmeal with raisins and what appeared to be cranberries!! Alas, when I went back for another they were gone ...

Overall, a nice event for families.