A local San Diego man, Nick Garcia, organized the second Trumptilla boat parade in San Diego this year, on Sept. 6 on San Diego's bay over the Labor Day weekend.  I was there.

Nick encouraged people on boats and on land to show their support for their country, their president, and our men and women in blue by waving their flags (USA, Trump 2020, and Blue Line). 

Friends invited us to join them at the park along the bay to watch the boat parade, and it was awesome. 

Roy and I walked a little around nearby Seaport Village before the parade got started to assess the turnout and the enthusiasm.

Nick Garcia had hoped to double the number of boats in the Trumptilla from 1,000 to 2,000 this time.  Reports indicated that more than 1,300 boats participated.  He had also hoped that 50,000 would participate both on land and by sea.  The Trumptilla began in Point Loma, starting with a parachutist dropping from the sky with a huge American flag.  We saw the practice run the morning before.  The guy actually went under the Coronado Bay Bridge during his descent.  Very cool.

The Coronado Times has a few videos here.

It is difficult to say how many watched, but in the boats alone, there would have been at least an average of 5 to 10 people per boat.  We are talking about several miles that the boats traversed from Point Loma to the Coronado Bay Bridge.  Our friend Christy was over on the Coronado side and saw quite the multitude of people lining the coast cheering on the boats.  This morning, my wife checked her Facebook and saw videos taken of all the landlubber participants like us who were in or near Point Loma.

I took many pictures to get a "flavor" of participants.  What I observed was a definite cross-section of our society that came out on a very hot day in San Diego to show support for our country, our president, and for our men and women in blue. 

Here are some examples:

A truly moving and humbling experience was seeing an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair who may have had a stroke before.  His speech was slurred as he cheered with the crowd, both offshore and onshore, "Four more years..."

There were many symbols that clever people demonstrated.  One example is from the people with the boat that were towing a Trump life preserver:

Then there was the boat with the subtle sign with the inverted California state flag indicating California in distress (see below).  I didn't capture the boat with the upside-down blue line flag, but we got the message loud and clear.

The Naval Air Station nearby got into the act:

I really enjoyed seeing President Trump and Melania participate:

A Navy vessel was leaving port (great timing!) to the gratitude of all parade-supporters:

Donald Trump was near the stern of one boat while lovely participants near the bow displayed USA balloons:

There were craft of all sizes and shapes that participated.  Wave runners go into the action as one brave soul we saw on a kayak.

The people whom we were next to who shared their shade tree with us were from Ramona, where the temperature was well into the 100s.  They brought their grill and cooked steaks for lunch.  They probably could have cooked them beforehand on the sidewalk at home.  I was up there visiting family this past week.  I was pleased to see a Trump 2020 banner displayed along the way at CV Construction Company.

Here are a couple of views near Seaport Village as the boat parade was starting:

Here is an idea of some of the water craft that participated:

Then there was a beautiful Venezuelan-American woman there to support our country, president, and peace officers (rumored to be a former Miss Venezuela, so I heard).  Note the red, white, and blue bands on her wrist and the white band that says, "Support Our Troops."

Yes, the concept written on her cap was borrowed from President Trump.  I wore my MAGA hat to the parade.  It was given to me by my friend Sean, who is retired Navy and a big supporter of our president.  The words are in Russian that say Make American Great Again.  I was working in Kazakhstan at the time, an FSU country.  I got many surprised looks there while I wore my cap proudly.

The Trumptilla came off perfectly.  Everyone was civil to one another, whether they were supporters or not.  Our friend Christy saw one BLM tent near the shore in Coronado, but they were there enjoying the beautiful, albeit hot, weather.  There was only one screwball we saw in a boat who didn't have any flags, and who tried to stir up trouble by driving between the parade boats and the rip-rap rocks protecting the shoreline.  It takes all kinds, I guess.

My friend Roy capped the day off when he sent me the following picture:

Four more years of "Promises Made, Promises Kept."  God bless you, Mr. President, and your family, and God bless America.

Photos (except the meme) by Brian Tomlinson.