Altoona, FL
The temperatures here in Florida sometimes fool us.
Even though we lived in Pennsylvania, and it was cold,
and sometimes a white Christmas,
it always felt like the season was here.
It's been in the high 70's and low 80's here,
which makes it hard to 'feel Christmas'.
George and I went to the neighboring town of Umatilla
yesterday as they had a Christmas festival.
It was a typical 'small-town' festival, including a parade,
local high school band playing, and some food & craft vendors.
The highlight of the festival was the unveiling of the new city sign :-)
Last night we did a few more things to get in the spirit.
The town of Mt. Dora puts on some terrific Christmas displays.
A group of us drove there to see them.
Before we looked at the lights, we had some great Mexican food!
We went to Fiesta Grande, which seemed to be pretty popular,
as we had an hour wait!
We kept ourselves amused..
As it turns out, we got in within a half hour,
and it was pretty good!
Afterwards, we took a walk around the town, and Donnelly Park.
The trees were all lit up with colorful lights..
Even some of the houses and shops were all lit up!
George and I cracked up when we saw this:
They had sled runs with snow (or ice) brought in for the kids.
We assume a lot of Florida kids may have never seen snow!
On our way back home, we took a ride by the marina.
It was all lit up, as well as some of the boats that were docked there.
Even though the temperature was 70 degrees last night,
I think we got into the spirit!
This morning we went to church, singing some nice Advent hymns,
and when I got home, I fixed fudge..
a Christmas tradition!
Yum!
Awwww…way to find your own Christmas traditions while in the very very south. We're having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit, too. Thinking about taking a trolley tour to see the best lights of Sarasota. Those lights were awesome! and the fudge looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to give you our address so you can send us some of that fudge. Christmas is for giving, right?
ReplyDeleteThat is if George doesn't eat it all up first! :cD
We're in Tampa and have seen some Christmas lights too but it just doesn't seem right when it's this warm.
ReplyDeleteSyl
It may be warm but they finally started looking like Christmas after the sun went down :)
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I would trade Christmas Spirit for warm weather!!! Those lights were beautiful and that 70 degrees sounds wonderful:o))
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of visiting Florida at Christmastime is the crazy over the top lights! Love it there, for some reason folks really get crazy with the lights thing. Maybe because it isn't so dang cold! also...what is your fudge recipe?? Been doing the fantasy fudge for years and for some reason it isn't working right now.
ReplyDeleteNice to see how some small communities celebrate. Ooh that fudge looks good ' )
ReplyDeleteThere is a trend in our area to go all the over the top with Christmas decorations. We are trying our best not to go overboard:)
ReplyDeleteWow, how big a town is My Dora?? Those are fantastic lights. I wonder if all folks who grew up with cold, snowy holidays have trouble feeling like it's Christmas. I do too.
ReplyDeleteI can understand the warmer weather not feeling very "Christmasie" But those lights would add to the effect for sure.
ReplyDeleteChristmas lights -- and fudge! -- can sure help get you into the Christmas spirit!
ReplyDelete