Throughout this journey there are times when we miss people and events from back home. The Santa Claus Parade in Orangeville is one of those. Christopher has faithfully marked it on the calendar each year and has his favourite spot along the road that he likes to view from. A couple of weeks ago Willie Brown left a note on our blog commenting on how Christopher’s spot on the parade route was empty this year. So here we are, anchoring off the shore of downtown Daytona Beach in the Halifax River. Our dinghy took us to shore for some initial reconnaissance and immediately we noticed a banner exclaiming that the parade was tonight! Bonus! So we checked out a few more things in town and headed back to the boat for supper. And then, in the cover of darkness Sea Jay ll (our dinghy) took us back downtown. You could feel Christopher’s anticipatory excitement. We walked by the Firehall and it was all abuzz with a bubble machine, decorations and trucks ready to be in the parade. The street was lined with crowds of people, music was playing and choir getting ready. It was all very energized. The only odd part was that the trees were palms and people were in T-shirts and flip flops! Not often the sight in Orangeville at the end of November. But we were not there to complain about the warm weather – Santa contradiction we were experiencing. The parade began and it was all we hoped for. Not a big city glitzy parade, but more of a small town, small budget parade, with kids marching and shouting school slogans. Of course being in Daytona Beach there were a few noisy race cars and motorcycles in the mix. Santa, of course, provided the finale for the parade and that was all that was really important. So once again unexpected and unplanned events on our trip provide a great, memorable experience.
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