Christmas Tree Lane

Last night our family went out with some friends to Christmas Tree Lane here in Fresno. This is a highly-decorated 2-mile walk where you can see over 140 homes decked out in all manner of Christmas decorations. I suppose one could sit for awhile with their calculator and estimate just how many light bulbs might be lit up on this walk, but I just have decided to settle on the mental picture of 140 electric meters spinning, spinning, spinning. Not to be Scrooge-ish or anything - it just has to be an issue. (In fact, I just read here that one year it was actually cancelled due to an energy shortage).



But I digress. Here is what I learned from our stroll down Christmas lane:

• Our dog is seriously lacking in the "good dogs of Fresno" division. Not only could she not join the dog masses because she is never well-behaved in public, but also because she just doesn't have a thing to wear to an event like that. Most of the many dogs we saw had cute little Santa outfits on. One even was decked out in a Santa costume and blinking Christmas lights, but that dog did look a little forlorn. Probably because his paws were completely covered up by his long Santa sleeves, and perhaps because those lights might get a little hot from time to time. Or perhaps because he didn't like his Santa hat.
• I really, really am missing snow. At the house with the most decorations, they appeared to have a snow machine shooting flakes into the sky. Jacob and I stood in line to make the walk through the designated front yard path and I stood mesmerized below the flakes gently drifting down. Then I realized they weren't flakes at all, but were instead tiny little grouplets of bubbles. I was crushed, and felt vaguely like the flakes were more like spit bubbles. Tiny bubbles just do not cut it when you're hoping for snow.
• I can not drink hot chocolate and walk at the same time. I am just somehow impaired that way. One look at the front of the jacket that I wore last night can attest to that.
• In general, I've been noticing lately that Christmas decorations just really have a lot to do with winter scenes - snowmen, penguins, icicle lights and one-horse-open sleighs. I suppose this is all related to the "ideal" storybook Christmas or the life at the North Pole, but it all looks just a little odd to me here in California. That being said, my least favorite house decoration last night was the one with Santa riding on an orca whale and his elves surfing right beside him. I'm sorry, but Santa is not supposed to be surfing. I guess I would much rather have the polar bears frolicking in my neighbor's front yard that will never see a flake of snow than Santa in a swimsuit. I mean, really.

Well, that's about it for Christmas Tree Lane. It was a very enjoyable evening, even if there was no snow. Tomorrow I will show you a few pictures of some Christmas decorations around here. This will include a picture of our neighbor's house which goes back and forth in my mind from being "festive" to being "the House where Christmas Threw Up."