After I got kicked out of the Blue Anchor pub on Saturday I walked back to the Colony and took a nap. When I next emerged, the street in front of the hotel was lined on both sides with people sitting in lawn chairs behind metal barriers. Hania and I stood on the hotel steps and a little after six heard the sound of drums. The Delray Beach Holiday Parade was approaching. While the Fort Lauderdale Boat Parade, also taking place that evening, was big and corporate, this was small and neighborly: marching bands, pompom girls, women of a certain age dressed as elves.
A little before seven we made our way through the crowds on Atlantic Avenue to 2nd Avenue, where we were meeting friends at Coco Sushi. We got a table outside, with a view of the Christmas tree and the bright carousel in Old School Square. After dinner we walked through the square; even though the carousel was now dark and the tree closed – it’s a large, walk-through edifice – people milled about; some had staked out places on the grass, including a large family enjoying a large pizza. The atmosphere, like the parade, was of simple, small town pleasures and I thought that next year we’d come again for a night at the Colony, a historic hotel with a colorful lobby that was made even warmer by a real tree. I’ll just stay out of the Blue Anchor.
