|
December 25, 2017: Christmas in Dallas |
|
December 7-10, 2017: A Gallery Opening and Birthday in San Antonio |
|
Return to the Index for 2017 |
In November, our friend Lou called and asked if we would like to join him and his friend Lynne Perler and do a carriage ride to see the Christmas lights in Highland Park. We've seen these carriages during the Christmas season for years, but never thought about doing it. So we made plans to meet the carriage in the parking lot behind the On the Border restaurant on Knox Street for the 90-minute ride through the neighborhood of Highland Park.
|
The whole point of the carriages is to take folks around through the VERY upscale neighborhood of Highland Park where the folks who live in the very large homes and mansions decorate their homes and yards for Christmas. These people are very wealthy, and there are a number of firms who set up the decorations for them. Now, many homes do just traditional strings of lights perhaps along the roofline of the house, or wrapped around the trunks of the trees in their front yards. Some will have lit-up Santas or other figures, and of course there are a number or Bethlehem creche scenes. But some of the homes go all out in their decorations, using many thousands of lights or huge displays.
During the holidays, people will drive slowly through the neighborhood, which is perhaps a mile-and-a-half square, looking at the lights. While the passengers can see everything, the driver often is shortchanged. By hiring a carriage, everyone can see the displays without worrying about driving. Some of the carriages provide refreshments (like hot chocolate or coffee), but all of them provide lap robes or blankets and allow riders to bring their own edibles and libations.
The carriages aren't exactly cheap- I think ours was $40/person for the 90 minutes- but they are a pleasant way to ooh and ahh over the displays while being lulled by the "clip-clop" of the horse hooves. I won't go so far as to say that everyone should try it at least once, but I will say that if you have the time and don't mind the expense, it is an extremely pleasant way to spend an evening between Thanksgiving and Christmas in Dallas.
Our time slot was 9PM-1030PM, and we met our carriage in the parking lot behind On the Border right on time. Lou is, of course, one of our best friends, and Lynne Perler is someone that he goes dancing with fairly often, and we had met her a couple of times before as well.
|
|
But some of them did- particularly those taken of our little group before and after the ride- and those I want to include here. So if you want to, have a look at the twenty-eight pictures in the slideshow at left. Move from one picture to the next using the little arrows in the lower corners of each image, and track your progress by referring to the index numbers in the upper left.
So, although my poor pictures aren't really a substitute for being on the ride, perhaps you can get a bit of enjoyment by coming along with us.
I also made a few movies during the ride of the decorations in Highland Park; these tend to turn out better because the focus is continual as the camera is filming. You can use the players below to watch the two best of the movies we made:
|
|
|
The carriage ride was a lot of fun. We'd seen them for many years, and it was nice to give it a try for once, so we thank Lou for suggesting it!
You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.
|
December 25, 2017: Christmas in Dallas |
|
December 7-10, 2017: A Gallery Opening and Birthday in San Antonio |
|
Return to the Index for 2017 |
