The Fourth, the second
So. last night ended up not so bad.
Mom and I were curious as to what the fireworks would be like this year, and when I didn't hear from anyone we decided to go together. My dad doesn't like to go down there, since it gets crowded and he can see most of the fireworks perfectly well from our driveway, so if I didn't go with, she'd have stayed home. Even though the fireworks didn't start until 9:30, we left at 8. Mom's not the fastest walker, for one, and we weren't sure about the crowds and seating...and if there was a direct route there, even. See, the plot of land the high school is on is long. Like, the "block" is about a mile long. When the high school isn't under construction, you can easily cut across it to get to the next east-west street, but with the construction and fencing, well, you get kind of screwed. Luckily just west of the football bleachers was a cut-through area, so while we did have to walk a bit more than normal, it wasn't too bad. The next cross street is still maybe a quarter-mile down from that point.
The park wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought. There was still plenty of seating at the high school--a typical year has an estimate of 10,000 people on the high school grounds--but you wouldn't get the full effect there. Still? Because of the reorientation, a lot of people probably stayed home, as there are a lot of houses in that immediate area. There were still a lot of spots remaining when we arrived around 8:30-ish. And, we ended up with a really great spot:
There were a lot of trees along the parkway next to the park, but the parkway itself had a number of open spots. Our two-person blanket fit perfectly between two other groups, so we ended up with an unobstructed view. I was a little worried about the water tower, but the fireworks ended up being next to/behind it, so that was fine. The only problem was that the parkway was on an angle, but we dealt.
Because of the change of location, things weren't totally normal. There weren't many speakers set up--a problem when your fireworks show is billed as a Sky Concert, with the explosions set to music. There's always a live band that performs prior to the show, and I couldn't tell exactly where they were. Around 9 I got up to explore, and before I reached the band (but was close enough to have my ears hurt) I ended up running into Nick, Aaron, and Renee. Well, what do you know? They invited me to sit with the group but I passed, though I did hang out for a bit and said I'd see them at Nick's parents' house later. The show overall was very good, but the Sky Concert part could have been better--where we were, we realized we couldn't hear the music that well. However, everyone realized that and kept pretty quiet, which was awesome.
Mom and I left right away. The cops are really good at closing off the streets so that all the pedestrians have a chance to get where they're going, so I was surprised to see a random car driving down Main Street as mom and I were crossing. As in, it was close enough to possibly hit me. Well, loser driver, pedestrians have the right of way for 20 minutes following the show, so it didn't surprise me in the least when the car, having gotten about a quarter of a mile down the road, got stopped by no less than three cops and promptly got searched. Ha.
I went home and freshened up and then went to Nick's parents' for the after party. Nick apologized for not calling. He mainly sent messages out in ways that wouldn't work for me, like texting, so that's how I wasn't on the list. No worries. I don't like the thought of calling and inviting myself over, which was why I never called him, but it's water under the bridge at this point. A group of us stayed out on the deck and talked for a while. Back at the park, when I saw Dan and Andy, I made a mention of school and Andy went, so, where did you go to school? Um...there. *points to large building a half-mile up the road* Yes, that was not the right question to ask in this crowd. ;) Oh, and I think we came up with a new band name: The Beaver Suit Band. Even if you asked, I'm not sure I'd remember. Anyway, I'm glad the night ended well and I hope I see everyone again soon. It had been too long.
Mom and I were curious as to what the fireworks would be like this year, and when I didn't hear from anyone we decided to go together. My dad doesn't like to go down there, since it gets crowded and he can see most of the fireworks perfectly well from our driveway, so if I didn't go with, she'd have stayed home. Even though the fireworks didn't start until 9:30, we left at 8. Mom's not the fastest walker, for one, and we weren't sure about the crowds and seating...and if there was a direct route there, even. See, the plot of land the high school is on is long. Like, the "block" is about a mile long. When the high school isn't under construction, you can easily cut across it to get to the next east-west street, but with the construction and fencing, well, you get kind of screwed. Luckily just west of the football bleachers was a cut-through area, so while we did have to walk a bit more than normal, it wasn't too bad. The next cross street is still maybe a quarter-mile down from that point.
The park wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought. There was still plenty of seating at the high school--a typical year has an estimate of 10,000 people on the high school grounds--but you wouldn't get the full effect there. Still? Because of the reorientation, a lot of people probably stayed home, as there are a lot of houses in that immediate area. There were still a lot of spots remaining when we arrived around 8:30-ish. And, we ended up with a really great spot:
There were a lot of trees along the parkway next to the park, but the parkway itself had a number of open spots. Our two-person blanket fit perfectly between two other groups, so we ended up with an unobstructed view. I was a little worried about the water tower, but the fireworks ended up being next to/behind it, so that was fine. The only problem was that the parkway was on an angle, but we dealt.
Because of the change of location, things weren't totally normal. There weren't many speakers set up--a problem when your fireworks show is billed as a Sky Concert, with the explosions set to music. There's always a live band that performs prior to the show, and I couldn't tell exactly where they were. Around 9 I got up to explore, and before I reached the band (but was close enough to have my ears hurt) I ended up running into Nick, Aaron, and Renee. Well, what do you know? They invited me to sit with the group but I passed, though I did hang out for a bit and said I'd see them at Nick's parents' house later. The show overall was very good, but the Sky Concert part could have been better--where we were, we realized we couldn't hear the music that well. However, everyone realized that and kept pretty quiet, which was awesome.
Mom and I left right away. The cops are really good at closing off the streets so that all the pedestrians have a chance to get where they're going, so I was surprised to see a random car driving down Main Street as mom and I were crossing. As in, it was close enough to possibly hit me. Well, loser driver, pedestrians have the right of way for 20 minutes following the show, so it didn't surprise me in the least when the car, having gotten about a quarter of a mile down the road, got stopped by no less than three cops and promptly got searched. Ha.
I went home and freshened up and then went to Nick's parents' for the after party. Nick apologized for not calling. He mainly sent messages out in ways that wouldn't work for me, like texting, so that's how I wasn't on the list. No worries. I don't like the thought of calling and inviting myself over, which was why I never called him, but it's water under the bridge at this point. A group of us stayed out on the deck and talked for a while. Back at the park, when I saw Dan and Andy, I made a mention of school and Andy went, so, where did you go to school? Um...there. *points to large building a half-mile up the road* Yes, that was not the right question to ask in this crowd. ;) Oh, and I think we came up with a new band name: The Beaver Suit Band. Even if you asked, I'm not sure I'd remember. Anyway, I'm glad the night ended well and I hope I see everyone again soon. It had been too long.