(Arnolds Park)– History will be repeated in the Iowa Great Lakes this Christmas Eve is the mild weather continues.
Officials with the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum say that if West Lake Okoboji remains ice-free, there will be another Christmas Eve cruise this year on the Queen II.
The first ever Christmas Eve cruise on the Queen II was held back in 2001. Abnormally mild weather kept the lake open late that year as well. Officials had to add a second cruise that year after the first one quickly filled up. The lake froze the very next day…Christmas Day.
Officials say another Christmas Eve cruise this year would bring some badly needed cash to Maritime Museum operations. Tickets would be priced at 50-dollars a person, the same as the 2001 cruise.
While the Queen II has been moved to it’s winter home at the former Okoboji Boats and has been winterized, officials say it wouldn’t take much to make it operational again.
The National Weather Service says the abnormally mild weather should continue through this week atleast…with no snow expected.
