This is my first year doing this. I have been wanting to see it the last few years. But one thing or another, I never made it previously. This year, I made it a point. Back in June, I asked Charmin to book her community club house. Her community is located on one of the spot where the parade turns around. So it would be a perfect spot for viewing. It is funny, but her neighbors gave her a bit of hard time in locking up the place for the prime time of a Saturday night event (Dec 20) so early. Oh well, first come first serve!!!
Tom was still sick that night, so I went by myself. I was going to cancel, but Charmin wouldn’t let me, as she hardly knows anyone from the guest list. And since we are hosting it at her place and it is my idea to do this event to begin with, I am obligated to show up and help out. Alma from the meetup actually did most of the coordination for the guests. I just “facilitated”.
We decided to this as a wine meetup event. So everyone brought an appetizer and a bottle of wine. There were about 30 of us actually showed up. There is always a bit of flake factor, but not too bad on this one. We started early so we can get a good parking spot. Ok, maybe a bit too early!!!
I made Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates with Cream Cheese. It was a good seller and so easy to make. I pitted the dates, stuffed with some cream cheese, wrapped up in bacon, poked a toothpick to secure the bundle. And then about 15 minutes in a 400 oven. They were all gone pretty quickly. And so yummy, the richness of the cheese, the sweetness of the dates, and the salty smoky maple bacon. Wow.
I think the schedule of the parade route has been changed from previous year. The boat did not arrive until 8:30pm or so. Everyone set up chairs on the beach. Did I mention we were too early??? We bundled up outside chit chat for about an hour, and then went back into the club house for more food and wine while waiting for it. Finally it showed up. It was worthwhile. The parade went by really fast. My little camera hardly did much justice to the show the yacht owners put out. But I did try to capture a few shots.
When it was all done, everyone helped out with the cleanup, including vacuuming the floor!!! Thanks a bunch.
If I ever do it again, we definitely should get a fire pit. Maybe even set up an outside table for hot coffee and chocolate. Alma did make hot cider for everyone at the clubhouse, so that was really good! But instant gratification setup by the beach would be really nice for those cold noses, hands and feet!!! It was fun overall…
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