Vero Beach Christmas Parade

After a full day of playing and riding bikes and enjoying the 70 plus degree sunshiny weather, we drove to the park near the beach to see the local arts festival, play at the playground, and kill a little time before the big parade. One of the vendors was selling wind chimes and that was all Andrew needed to see. He could literally spend an hour playing with chimes, listening to all the different sounds they make. I was more interested in the smell of onions and sausage cooking at a stand on the next row.

We went to the playground for a while, then moved on to the boat launch, where we saw three large pelicans sitting on the tops of the pier supports. Then we drove to the beach park and played while waiting for the parade to begin. As it got darker and the temperature started to drop, I wondered if I would be warm enough in my sandals, shorts, and shirt. I soon discovered that I wasn't; I had to put on my fleece jacket and cover my toes with a beach towel, then I was perfectly comfortable. I'm not certain, but I think this is my first Christmas parade in shorts!

At 5:30PM, the police motorcycles kicked off the parade. They were followed by the Vero Beach High School band and the fire department. Surprisingly the parade kept coming and coming and coming. Each float had a number and I know I saw number 67 go by before it was all over. Finally, Santa Clause rode by in the bucket of a fire engine ladder truck.

During the entire parade, Andrew was not with us. He was swinging on the swings, talking to the teenage girls who were hanging out nearby and a teenage (almost) boy he met. Afterwards, while pulling out of the parking lot, a group of girls walked by our girl and said, "Good-bye Andrew" as we drove past. Later I asked why he didn't watch the parade with us. He told me he could see better from the swing because he could get higher and see over everyone.