Tag: christmas lights

Christmas on Main Street

On By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights5 Comments

The side of a realtor office on Main Street in Dunedin changes murals with the seasons. Whoever the artist is does a really good job capturing the spirit of  the town.

The businesses in the area decorate the light posts along Main Street each year. Some are the same every year but many change it up. These are a few of my favorites although I think the flamingo is my favorite.

On the other side of Pinellas county, Safety Harbor also decorates along their Main Street. The last 2 are in front of the Bassano Cheesecake Cafe. During the holidays you may catch the owner walking around in a Grinch costume and they do have the best cheesecake in the Tampa Bay area.

Well said, Grinch!

Above are some shots of a few of my favorite houses in a nearby neighborhood that really goes all out. They have long lines to get into the neighborhood on the weekends before Christmas. Brett and I drove through early this year on a weekday.

Me sitting with Santa on a recent trip to Atlanta to spend some time with family. Brett and I found 4 new parks to hike around this trip so more to come on those.

I want to thank everyone who stopped by this past year and hope you stop by again in the next year. I’ve got more pictures to come. Have a great Christmas!

SkyWatch Friday

Small town Christmas

On By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights2 Comments

These are some shots of last year’s Safety Harbor morning Christmas parade. I was out for a walk on the waterfront and stumbled upon the parade that was just starting. It was a fun cold morning.

After dinner one night Brett and I stopped at one of the famously decorated houses near our house. The above is from one house. They draw huge crowds on the weekends and you are welcome to walk around the yard to look.

A few other fun houses we saw that night.

Nothing says “Florida Christmas” like a pelican with a present in his beak.

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Christmas walk through the gardens

On By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

A non-birding friend wanted to go for a walk early one morning last week at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. I tagged along without my camera so all of these are taken with my phone. The Gardens does a big Christmas light show at night but it’s also fun to walk around during the day here and it’s not so crazy crowded. The big silk floss trees were nearing the end of their blooming. There were still a few blooms at the top of the tree but most were on the ground.

The bald cypress trees were changing color which made it almost feel like fall if it wasn’t so warm. We were walking around in shorts and t-shirts with the weather being in the high 70’s but at least the humidity was low.

The food stand left bags of popcorn out from the light festival the night before. The squirrel knocked one down and started to have a blast. He was going to have a tummy ache. Eventually his friends showed up and they had a popcorn party. I wasn’t going to stop them.

A small sample of some of the decorations. They had some of the lights still on which made it cool to see in the daylight.

The monarch butterfly let me get really close with my phone. She may have been laying eggs.

The giant milkweed plant in the butterfly garden was full of caterpillars.

I have made it to the light show at night over the years. You can see some of my older posts here and here.

SkyWatch Friday

My favorite holiday tradition

On By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights2 Comments

I recently had someone ask me what my favorite holiday tradition was. It was an easy answer. Climbing in the car and riding around looking at the Christmas lights. I can remember back to when I was a toddler and we came down to Clearwater to visit the grandparents at Christmas. On Christmas eve we would have an early dinner, go to mass and then drive around and look at the neighborhood lights. We would go to different neighborhoods including around Clearwater beach. I remember everyone saying “Ooh, look at that one” over and over again. Brett and I still do it every year. This year we went after dinner with friends a few weeks ago. These were all in our neighborhood. They were nice but none were over the top “Christmas Vacation (movie)” decorated.

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

I always love a great over-done decorated house but I think this one tells the story best.

An added bonus was seeing deer in the neighborhood as we drove around.

Merry Christmas and thanks for stopping by all year!

May your days be merry and bright!

On By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights1 Comment

Pictures from our walk around the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. These are only a tiny few of the million lights from the Holiday Lights in the Gardens Festival. While my sisters were here over Thanksgiving weekend we stopped by on Saturday night. The gardens were packed but we still had fun walking through the lights.

And in the words of Irving Berlin –

“I’m dreaming of a white christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know
May your days be merry and bright,
And may all your christmases be white”

Mine will be white if the weather holds up, I’ll be on a sandy white beach relaxing.

My Corner of the World