It was reindeer season again in St. Petersburg, FL thanks to Enchant Christmas, a Vancouver-based lighting company that plants holiday fixtures in unlikely places.
The illusion of winter shone brightly inside Tropicana Field (The Trop), with 2.5 million bulbs ablaze.
Normally, home to the American League Tampa Bay Rays during the regular season,
the domed stadium had been transformed into an ice skating trail that curled around the third base line and ran across the infield.
Also included was the “world’s largest light maze,” anchored by a towering golden tree behind second base,
and a Christmas market bolstered by fast-food dining options. This year’s Tampa Bay theme was The Great Search, highlighting the disappearance of Santa’s nine over-sized reindeer–
all of whom were hiding within a 90,000 square foot light maze–waiting to be discovered and tracked through a scratch card.
Leah and I visited The Trop with our family from Albuquerque, and apprehensively outfitted the grandkids with skates for the first time.
There were spills and chills and grip-worn guard rails, but thankfully, no casualties, unlike others who required more immediate medical attention.
After a photo op with Santa…
we were off to explore the maze, helping Santa relocate his missing reindeer,
and stopping along the way…
to admire the fancy shapes…
or not.
While the kids had fun finding Santa’s reindeer and scratching their cards, Enchant had lost its enchantment for me after the fourth reindeer.
The canned carols had imprinted on my senses and the warm glow had turned to glare. I had reached the summit of Mount Monotony. That’s when I wished I was home scouting the local reindeer.
Streaming thru America 
Hello.
So sad that you missed the race! Those races seem to be intended for professionals, not for everybody like you or me! Only in Finland we have reindeer race which are intended for everyone! These races are free to participate. Can you imagine that you and your wife could sit in a reindeer sledge taking reins in your hands and start to compete with the other competitor! This race is great fun. I have made three posts and last winter I participated myself in it. I have not made any post about my competition, maybe next year.
In my first post, competitors came from Finland, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, and Australia.
Reindeer race 1
In the second post, the came from Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Finland.
Reindeer race 2
In the third post they came from China, Germany, India, Iran, Hungary, Mexico and Finland.
Reindeer race 3
Conclusion, quite international race, although lesser-known in the world! After my race, I can say that the feeling was nearly as great as driving fast on German “Autobahnen” at the speed of 150.6 miles. This winter these races are cancelled.
I am sorry for the bad weather! Anyway, in the north there is snow and experiences like vit world’s biggest snow castle in Kemi. This map shows you the depth of snow in Finland. Figures are in centimeters.
https://www.foreca.fi/Finland/Helsinki/map/lumensyvyys
Have a good day!
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I love those reindeer photos. Actually, I love reindeers. They are cute animals. For example, when hiking on some of our Arctic hills, there you meet free roaming reindeers! We have also free reindeer contests which are open for everybody. Last year I participated in that contests. The experience is awesome!
Have a good day!
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I was in Tromsø during the championship reindeer races over Sami Day, unfortunately missed it. I went dog sled mushing instead. I’ll be posting that adventure soon.
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