Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is St. Patrick's Day, but down here on Florida's Treasure Coast, all the celebrating took place this past Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was the St. Patrick's on 2nd Street Block Party, held in Fort Pierce, while yesterday was the Jensen Beach St. Patrick's Day Festivities and Parade. And believe me, the parade was the main event. I arrived in Jensen Beach about 15 minutes before it started, and there was not a parking space to be found. And after accepting the fact that I would miss the parade, I decided to drive around a bit and come back later to catch the "festivities" part of the afternoon. However, driving out of town was an adventure in itself. Traffic was backed up for blocks. Stuck in traffic, I was able to take the photograph on the left of a million or so St. Patrick's Day themed golf carts that were heading to the starting point of the parade. Personally, one or two golf carts in a parade is enough for me, but I digress.

After the parade was over, still stuck in traffic, I took the photograph on the right of a group of parade participants leaving the event. At least I assume they were parade participants, and not just a group of like-dressed friends who all had green hair. Not that I have anything against green hair. It has become quite popular these days, especially in the River North (RiNo) and Lower Downtown (LoDo) neighborhoods of Denver. But in any case, I was able to get that photo of someone taking a photo of them, strengthening my opinion that they were indeed part of the event.

After an hour of driving around, I returned to downtown Jensen Beach and was pleased to find that there were a number of parking spaces right on Jensen Beach Boulevard, where the "festivities" part of the event was taking place. This St. Patrick's Day celebration was sponsored by Mulligans Beach and Sports Bar and AC Doctors, and it will come as no surprise to anyone that Mulligans was the center of the action. Mulligans is right on the corner of Jensen Beach Boulevard and Indian River Drive, and so easy to spot. I have no idea where AC Doctors is located, but I suspect it was not nearly as lively. In any case, I took the photograph on the left of the guy in the green hat and yellow tutu entering Mulligans. And no, I have no idea how the yellow tutu relates to St. Patrick's Day.

Virtually everyone around me were wearing green T-shirts that said "Lucky" on them, including the guy sitting at the outside table at Mulligans in the photograph on the right. I did not see anyone selling them at the festival, nor did I read anything in the newspaper about special shirts to be worn at the event. I am obviously not tuned in to what the in-crowd is up to here on the Treasure Coast. I will have to start talking to the bartenders and wait staff around town so I can become more clued in, hopefully before the big Easter parties that I am sure will be held all over the area.

Not only did I miss out on those T-shirts, but I also failed to find and purchase a hat like the one the fellow in the photo on the left is wearing. I assume it has something to do with Irish heritage and tradition, but to me it just looks like a cat-in-the-hat accessory. But what do I know? Next year I will be sure to look on Amazon for one so I can fit in better with the locals. Walking up and down the street, it looked like everyone was having quite a good time. People were dancing to the song YMCA in one bar, and a guy on an outdoor patio was hoisting a female companion up and down between sips of beer. But sadly, it was time to head back to Stuart, where the celebrating was much more subdued (i.e. non-existent). Perhaps they will be holding a celebration today, on St. Patrick's Day itself, even if it is a Monday. Mondays can be lots of fun, right? Right?