Once the sun sets, folks grab a ticket and then wait in line near the water in Punta Gorda.
 
"This has been a tradition here for decades, literally decades,” said Ralph Allen, the owner of the King Fisher Fleet of watercraft.  “People go on canal cruises in Punta Gorda."
 
The lit wreath aboard the "Good Times II" provides a clue what's ahead on this nighttime voyage on Charlotte Harbor.
 
"We'll have some third generation customers on the boats this month,” Ralph said proudly of the holiday cruise to look at Christmas lights by water.
 
Families leave downtown Punta Gorda behind with the King Fisher Fleet to behold the spectacle from the water in a neighborhood known for grand homes on a series of canals.
 
"They are man-made waterways back in the old, old Florida days when the idea of dredge and fill was a popular idea.” Ralph explained.
 
Folks in the Punta Gorda Isles neighborhood don't really light up their front yards, rather the back of their homes along the canals are adorned in lights, along with their sailboats and their docks.
 
"It was started back in the 1950s by a pair of retired CIA agents I am told,” shared boat Captain Joe Giulivele. “They took their money and invested it in 300 acres."
 
Joe believes it's exciting to see the area come back after Hurricane Charley. It was literally 10 seasons ago that this area was affected by the storm, and now it's all aglow again for the holidays.
 
"When the dust settled, there were fewer lights in the canals in 2004 than there had been prior,” Ralph shared.
 
Everything from stars to trees, pools and angels are covered in lights.  Many of the waterfront homes pride themselves on their reflective displays lit nightly through New Year's Eve.
 
"No two years are ever the same in there,” Ralph said.
 
It's a look at the lights with the wind in your hair on the water in Charlotte County that Capt. Joe wants passengers to remember.
 
"I want them going away with more from Charlotte Harbor,” he concluded.
 
The tradition of Christmas Light cruises through Punta Gorda Isles continues through New Year's Eve.  The King Fisher Fleet also offers rides on Christmas Eve and Christmas night.

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