Fireworks!!!

We ARE getting OLD!!! After our late night on Friday we got a late start on Saturday.

The original plan went something like : Leaping out of bed, eating breakfast at home and then heading down to the Heritage Fair (the one I told you about yesterday morning) for a full day of music before trucking over to our favorite viewing area for the fireworks.

So, what did we really do? Well, I rose early but I sure didn’t shine! The Big Guy slept in. I mean really slept in. I was beginning to think about going in to see if he was still breathing when he finally came wandering out of the bedroom!

We’ve sort of made a tradition out of watching the Nathan’s hotdog eating contest on TV each year on the 4th. The play-by-play coverage and the color man can be absolutely hysterical. The first time, we watched just for kicks but then we started thinking of it as a holiday thing. These competitive eaters take the contest VERY seriously!! On year’s we go out early, we’ve actually taped it! We had plenty of time to watch it at home yesterday. I wasn’t even dressed yet at that point! Incidently, Joey Chestnut won again this year, eating 69 hotdogs and rolls in 10 minutes! So, the much-coveted Mustard Belt remains Stateside! Hey, if ESPN devotes plenty of time to coverage, it MUST be a bonafide sport, right?
This picture gives an idea of how many other fireworks were visible from this vantage point. The big blue burst was part of the community display we were there for . The larger burst in the background was part of what spectators were setting off while watching the professional display. Both of the fireworks visible to the right were parts of other commercial displays a few miles away on the waterfront. The two spots on the left were merely individuals setting them off from their yards.

I’m an absolute fireworks fanatic. I still love them as much as I did as a child so we finally got our fannies out of the house about 7 p.m. and headed straight for the fireworks. There’s a high hill behind the community college a block or two from the fireworks that provides a fantastic vantage point and easy parking on roomy lots without the humongous traffic problems. The spectators always fire off a tremendous amount of fireworks right there on the college property before the big show. This year, some of these were absolutely fantastic and of professional sizes! The hill gives us a great view of the professional display for that community as well as views of a number of other commercial displays in the distance and a huge amount of stray blasts by individuals in their own yards all around us.

It was a great night to view these displays and we actually watched fireworks all around us for well over 2 ½ hours last night! I loved it!! I tried to take some pics of the beautiful sprays of color against the night sky but my camera has definite limitations in that area. Hopefully, you can appreciate some of it from these shots.



The picture on the left shows some of the many fireworks visible in the distance AFTER the one for this community finished! (The red lights on the far right are tail lights!)
The very top picture shows some of the spectacular items shot off by spectators on our field BEFORE the community display started.

Considering fireworks (with the exception of hand-held sparklers) are illegal in Maryland, the police were extremely tolerant at his event. They merely advised folks to move away from the crowd when shooting them off and did keep them off of the brand new soccer field just completed on the property.

I hope y'all had a glorious 4th!!!