They Say the Neon Lights Are Bright...on Blackhawk Bluff - December 23, 2021

Last night in a neighborhood called Blackhawk Bluff, I reverted to my childhood or at least my son’s childhood. A time when we jumped in the car and drove around neighborhoods to find the best Christmas lights. This experience, however, was on a completely different level.

We heard about this lighting display and put the address in our GPS. We weren’t sure where we were going but it became evident, we had arrived when we saw a long string of cars backed up to the main road. Oh no! Mild panic set in. They are all waiting to drive through the display! We had no idea how close or far away we were. While we sat in the bumper-to-bumper line, “Felix Navidad” was playing on a sound system and teenagers were selling hot chocolate bombs for $5. I don’t know what hot chocolate bombs are, but I found it comical these were being sold in 60-degree weather. We could hear “Jingle Bell Rock” and a few car horns blaring in a festive way. As we inched our way further, there was a gentleman with hair down his back, in the middle of the street greeting cars with a large colorful parrot on his arm. Okay…when in Florida, just go with the flow. It’s clear anything goes in this corner of town.

After about 30 minutes of car sitting on my sore bum, I said to Paul, “Boy, I hope this is worth it!” Just then we saw a few cars do a U-Turn, obviously deciding the wait was in fact, not worth it. I questioned out loud whether we should do the same. But I figured, if all these cars are waiting this long, it must be good. After forty-five minutes of crawling along, we see our first glimpse of bright lights and a policeman next to his car up ahead, directing traffic. Hallelujah! We have arrived! And it’s not chaos. Just the best kind of "organized chaos."

There are entrances to the left and the right, but we are directed to take a right. There is an obvious science here to get hundreds of cars through this very merry neighborhood. I am immediately struck by the lights above me – cascading strings of lights hung from the top of tall palms to the ground, in blue, pink, white and green looking like colored rain. There are brightly lit round balls in all sizes hanging from trees, and beautiful crosses in white lights. Our car passes underneath Santa and his reindeer strung across the street between two palms. Now I know why they suggested you ride in a pickup truck or view from your moonroof– better to see everything on high. We pass a hula Santa, a minion, grinches, Snoopy on a scooter, a pink pig in a Santa hat? and a life size illuminated Will Ferrell as Elf, sitting in the passenger seat of someone’s car! You can feel the Christmas spirit.

“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the Christmas lights.” -anonymous

We are playing follow the leader – our car one of many driving through the streets with lights that light the night. I have my camera out and can’t take pictures fast enough. There’s a blue convertible with a few teenagers with a barking dog in the back seat having a good time; kids standing up with their heads sticking out a moonroof; and parties of people in the back of pick-up trucks. I can’t stand it any longer (my back is killing me) and this is just the excuse I needed to get up myself, put the camera around my neck, open the moonroof and soak up the joy. Windows are down, people are happy, and everyone is yelling Merry Christmas. And here I am in the middle of it. Standing up in my car, half my body above the roof. All of it is a sight to behold. I feel a part of something wonderful. I’m having a real moment. Recapturing the feeling of the wide-eyed wonder of a child at Christmas.

It takes 46 amazing minutes to make it through Blackhawk Bluff. It’s almost 9pm as we exit. We cruise down the road and pass still hundreds of headlights on cars waiting for their chance to enter. I’m wondering how long they will wait and what time it will be when they finally leave for home. I want to shout out to every one of them, “Don’t pull a u turn and leave! It’s worth the wait.”

For me, it was just another little bit of Florida Christmas magic. A night to feel 7 again, instead of 64! And who doesn’t want to feel that way again?

“The light in a child’s eyes is all it takes to make Christmas a magical time of year.” - anonymous