All the lights

I enjoy Christmas lights. 

Kind of. 

I'm admittedly weird about it. I don't like driving around looking at Christmas lights, but I appreciate them when they're in one location. When we lived in California, there was a street called Dove Court in Orangevale that went all out with Christmas lights and decorations. The entire street participated, which was amazing. We went several times and it was always a lot of fun.

I figured out a couple years ago I don't like wandering. It causes me anxiety. I like having a point A-to-point B. I don't mind meandering a little, as long as there's at least a general trajectory, so places like Dove Ct. work well for me because they were self-contained. You walk from house to house, making your way around the court, eventually returning to the entrance, heading to your car and then driving home or somewhere for hot chocolate (or these days, coffee or booze). 

Other places offer a similar setup, such as Zoo Lights at the Denver Zoo, which I attended last December. The Lincoln Children's Zoo also transforms into an enclosed wonderland, displaying hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights. I was able to attend their extravaganza this year, as well as the Denver Botanic Garden's Blossom of Lights, and have included photos from both below. 

Black Friday 2018 I bought myself a Canon Rebel T6 (Merry Christmas to me!) and I took it with me to both events. I switched between it and my cell phone, which probably looked a little schizophrenic. My Galaxy S8 takes surprisingly good pictures, though depending on the scenario the Rebel T6 was clearly the way to go. 


Lincoln Zoo Lights

Mom and I made a quick trip to the Lincoln Children's Zoo to see the new Christmas lights display. It was under 30° (about 26° that night, I think?), so we were only there about an hour.

This sign faces Capitol Parkway - love the Rudolph nose of the giraffe!  

We ponied up for the train ride too. :) 

  

  

  

I was playing with camera settings and this was a great spot to do it, partly because we were just waiting in line, but also because of the subject (giant Christmas ornament) and surrounding lighting. I got several drastically different photos depending on the shutter speed (no surprise, but still fun). 

Pretty sure this was visible from space! 

Rawr 😊🐻

Blossom of Lights
We have family friends with season tickets to the Denver Broncos and they frequently let Matt use them when the Broncos are playing the Chargers (Matt's a lifelong Chargers fan). When they offered tickets to him again this year, I decided to make a trip out too, arriving a couple days before he did. After enjoying some quiet alone time (Black Friday at a mall notwithstanding), I served as Matt's chauffeur around Denver before we headed home. On one of my solo evenings I visited the Denver Botanic Garden's Blossom of Lights display. 

  

This is currently my cellphone lock screen. 😎

Where are some of your favorite places to view Christmas lights? 





~ Katie Q. 🐧


Random Fun Fact: I recognized the bartender at the beginning of Chapter 1 of The Mandalorian. He's a Nebraska native named John Beasley and he spoke in support of Senator Coash's film tax incentive bill in 2012...as did Alexander Payne.

Sheila, John Beasley and me, 2012

Alexander Payne signing my copy of Jurassic Park III (he was one of the screenwriters).
It was a multi-pack with all 3 Jurassic Parks. He circled III and wrote "This one's mine." 😄