04.07.2002
most of today was utterly miserable. lemme just rant about that for a minute, will you? i promise there's a good story about fireworks coming. ;)
i slept in today - holiday, no alarm, no plans. or, at least, that's what i meant to do. even with the blizzard fan on full blast, i woke up in a pool of sweat. sweat + fan = unhappy camper. so i got up and stood in the shower for a while, then hopped on the computer. had both windows open and the fan going to get a cross breeze going. even with all that? i finally realized that i couldn't tell if i were still drying off from the shower or sweating. unstick myself from the chair [insert sound of ripping Velcro here], stand in the shower for a while. lather, rinse and repeat. pretty much, i spent the whole day damp, and not in a happy way.
but it got better when i went out to see the fireworks. now, as the crow flies, i'm only a few miles from the Esplanade. but getting down there on the Fourth is a bear. been there, done that, have the tshirt, won't be back. i've camped out for the concert, and i'm glad i did. now, i do what i can to see the fireworks without going all the way downtown.
first time i did that, i was over at ChicaBeanie's place. we were sitting out in the garden, just shooting the breeze, and then decided to wander down to the river. ten minute walk, fireworks, ten minutes home to hang out in the garden again. lovely evening.
this year, i decided to walk from my place up to Prospect Hill Park. i've lived around the corner from it for five years, and only just recently went up there to check it out. first flag of the colony was flown there January 1, 1776, and it has a wonderful view of the city. perfect place to watch the fireworks, yes?
it's about a ten minute walk. and there was a breeze! yay! got up there about a half hour before the fireworks started, and plunked down on the grass to enjoy the cool. small crowd of families, kids, and friends up there, (ran into my upstairs neighbors at one point), most with blankets or chairs, a few with radios listening to the concert. an ice cream truck was parked there, and a few enterprising souls were walking around with coolers selling sodas and water. most were hawking in Spanish and English; one guy got funny and tried his pitch in about a half dozen languages. 'if you speak Chinese... well, i don't know Chinese. how about French?'
and then the fireworks started. what a great view... we could see all the big ones, and some part of the set pieces on the barge. stood there for a half hour, oohing and aahing. and then? a ten minute walk home. *smile* far nicer than the two hours it normally takes to get back from the festivities downtown.
happy Fourth, y'all!