Soggy Fourth
Ugh, after I invite mom, dad, and Mariah up for the weekend to enjoy our small town's HUGE Fourth of July celebration, what does it do? Pour rain the whole day!!!There for a while I didn't think we were even going to get to see any fireworks tonight. It rained and rained. At one point we gathered the girls during a break in the weather. We thought we could get to the park and let them do the inflatable bouncers, pony rides, etc before another storm front blew in.
We made it to the bottom door...then it poured so hard it was like sheets of rain and you could barely see.
Plan B. We went ahead and got in the cars and headed to Winchester to take the girls to Fun Expedition. This was actually a success. They played for nearly two hours, and we loaded back up and headed for Strasburg with our fingers crossed.
Apparently the rain had stopped here about 30 minutes before, because it was packed. We walked the mile to the park from our parking spot, and settled in. The ground was soaked, and it was muggy and foggy--but we were determined to see something catch on fire!
Gracie seemed to be okay for the fireworks, but got nervous as Mariah got nervous, and then I see dad covering her ears. We asked her several times if she wanted Daddy to hold her. She said "no" and seemed to enjoy having her grandpa hover over her and hold her ears closed while munching on kettle corn and snuggling up in a towel to watch the fireworks.
About 10 minutes in to the firework "show" things got a little hairy. The fireworks were actually landing in the sea of people watching them!! Luckily we were pretty far back, but people are jumping up and screaming!!! At this point I am ready to grab my baby and run, but no one seemed to be leaving. After that section of fireworks went off, everyone sat back down. I don't know if it was the wind or they had them too close, but it was the first time that has ever happened to us. We also noticed that the fireworks were so close that you had to lean back to see them, and ashes keep falling on me. I am hoping some one else will be in charge next year.
Despite the rain and the long walk back to the car, the girls seemed to have fun. And then of course Daddy had some more fireworks to put off in the parking lot....so they got 2 shows, and a very late bedtime!
Although "all of us" were NOT determined to catch something on fire (including people), we really enjoyed the day. No, I have never been that close - especially enough to feel the ashes. :) However, the fireworks were beautiful. Mariah is still talking about the wonderful time she had playing with Gracie, and at Fun Expedition, and of course the "spiral" fireworks. Thanks again for inviting us to join you in the wonderful celebration.
ReplyDeleteWe watched the fireworks here on TV. There was about a 45 minute delay because of strong winds & rain.
ReplyDeleteHearing about the ash remindes me of Boomsday. I must have been too close once because the ashes kept falling into my eyes as I looked up in the sky.