Christmas Boat Parades!

Our Christmas Road Trip was inspired by…Christmas Boat Parades!

Our trip was inspired back in the spring by Andrea and Brian’s stories of the Ventura Chrismas Boat Parade.

Wow. Boat Parades. Who knew?

…and we traveled in the luxury of our car instead of the truck. Ahhh…quiet comfort.

The Wandering Route

First Stop: San Luis Obisbo (SLO) and…Nipomo/Morro Bay to see Mary and Joe!

Our long-time friends and next-door neighbors, Mary and Joe, retired and moved to Nipomo, CA, on the Central Coast just South of San Louis Obispo. Seeing them was great, and we miss them a lot. It’s hard to keep up with friends. Add some miles in between, and it gets more complicated.

Just super great to catch up. Felt like not a day had passed…

SLO, Nipomo, Morro Bay

Photo album here.

Morro Bay Oyster Farm

Ventura & Newport Beach/Balboa Island Christmas Boat Parade!

Brian & Andrea…

Boat Parades!

Boy, oh boy, oh boy…did we have a great time visiting with Brian & Andrea and them showing us around Boat Parade World!

Ventura Boat Parade here.

Newport Beach/Balboa Island Boat Parade here.

The Padre Hotel: Bakersfield, CA

Then, we were off to the Padre Hotel in Bakersfield, CA, a favorite stop.

The Padre is about a 4-hour drive from home and then another 4-hours to Palm Springs or Las Vegas. A nice place to take a break; friendly folks, with excellent big city service and food…at half the big city price.

Bakersfield, who knew?