Monday, July 05, 2004

Fun with the Fireworks

We spent July 4th at PhyllisÂ?s house as you have now read, BBQ time. She marinated tri-tip steaks in Yoshidasgourmettsaucee and then grilled them. We furnished the side dishes. Baked Beans, cole slaw, pasta salad, 4 bean salad, all topped off with a nummy dessert. It was fun. Nobody argued, no one got mad at anybody else, we just ate, and had fun. A good Family Picnic.



This is Florence, Phyllis' 88 yr old neighbor...Whatt a hoot!!

We left about 5:00 and went to our own homes. Bob was coming back later to watch the fireworks, but I was pooped, so as soon as I got home I took a nap!! Bob came over about 7:00 and we watched the National Mall concert in Wash D.C. It usually is really good, but this year it was really STOOPID! I was bummed.

We headed down to the beach about 9:00 to watch the fireworks. This is a community Beach, overlooking the Straight of Juan de Fuca and the Entrance to Puget Sound. There is a 360 degree view of land on all sides. We are straight across from Pt. Townsend, which has some yearly fireworks, and we could see beaches and communities all the way down the sound. Around 10:00 more people started coming down



Bob insilhouettee

The wind comes straight off the Pacific and right down the Straight and into the Sound, and every year it blows about 25 MPH right at dusk. This year was no exception. To top of everything, the Tide was in, but starting to go out, which meant there was not much beach to set off the fireworks.

Bob and I are the cheapskates. We donÂ?t buy the fireworks, we just come down to watch other people and their kids set off their stash. Every time we saw someone else come down with a box in their arms we would cheer and clap.



Oak Harbor, on the East side of the island has some really impressive displays too, but the traffic getting in to see them is BRUTAL, and takes about 3 hours for everyone to get home. Not worth it. I keep wanting to go down to Seattle and watch the ones down there, but we never do.

About 10:00 it was almost dark enough to see them, and the ones with the smallest kids set theirs off and took their kids home to bed. THEN THE BIG GUYS lit theirs off. Talk about some impressive displays!! Boom, crack, pop. Sizzle, colors, fountains of sparks, and tons of smoke choking you. I LOVED it.



At 10:30 we started seeing Pt. Townsends display about 15 miles across the water, and with our binoculars it brought it right up close! So there were rockets red glare, bombs bursting air, all around the waterÂ?s edge. We could see almost to Seattle, but not quite, as it is around the corner of the Kitsap peninsula, and further down the sound. But Pt Gamble, and Hansville, and Bush Point and Lagoon Point and Ft Casey and Pt Townsend were all in view and putting on wonderful displays.

The majority of the ones down there this year were the wussy safe and sane Legal ones, but there were a few illegal ones handled safely by the Men who brought them. They were stuck into the sand at the waters edge, with the mortar pointing slightly over the water to prevent mis-fires and injuries to the multitude of people that were there. It was fun. It was cold, and it was really COOL!! This has been a tradition for us for about 5 years now. When we first started going down it was to watch the ones at Pt Townsend, but then more and more people came each year, and now it is the place to be on the night of the 4th.

I had left Sadie in the house, as she went nuts on Saturday night with the firecrackers in the neighborhood, so I did not want to risk her going nuts with the barking. We came home expecting to see the house torn apart, as this was the first time she had been left alone in the house and not in her pen. I unlocked the door, and no SadieÂ?OHMIGAWD where is she? I walked on in, and Bob said something which made her bark. She was asleep on the couch, and when she heard him she woke up and started her watch dog routine, SEE MOM! IÂ?M AWAKE! I KEPT THE BAD GUYS OUT!!! Yeah rightÂ?she was asleep on the jobÂ?and had been that way since we left. GOOD GIRL!!! GOOD DAY!!! FUN NIGHT!!!

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