It has been a while since I ventured over town to take in the seasonal festivities and the arrival of The Claus Family boat. Figured it might be time to uplift my spirits before going to bed at 5:30! And what a show it was. Town was bustling with all sorts of visitors. Not sure whether there were more children or dogs. I think children.

Upon my arrival to the Harbor (you might think I was driving from eastern New Jersey), I sought refuge from my drive and a parking spot. My first attempt at the Opera House was futile. The lot was full and folks were boiling in and out of the building for the Festival of Trees. Nobody I recognized but there is a handy restroom.

I parked elsewhere and made my way down Townsend Avenue toward the waterfront passing people with many voices, some remarkably quite southern. I had no idea the festivities had such a draw. I was quite pleased to overhear chatter from a family of West Virginia's Charleston region, a favorite of mine from days gone by crewing up with a gang of Boilermakers working a coal fired power plant outage in Pennsylvania. I digress.

The public park was almost empty when I got there, so I wandered down the Balmy Days dock and staked out my “watch the Santa boat come in” spot. Immediately the wonderful reflections of boats and docks distracted me as the crowd began to swell along the waterfront. That's when I spotted “Ginger and the Bear” working the growing numbers of Santa seekers. Children reacted from embraces to total freak out at the sight of Ginger. The Bear seemed to have a less demonstrative following.

As Santa and his entourage climbed the walkway from the town pier, Santa slipped but made an instant recovery, assuring everyone that he was fine en route to greeting the waiting crowd. Ginger and Bear backed off as the Big Guy made his way to the waiting trolley. With little fanfare, Ginger and Bear and attendants made their way up the hill to Eventide for a cameo appearance with Kim and a pair of howling miniature schnauzers.

It was quite an adventure for this reclusive photo guy and almost bedtime.