Fireworks anyone?

[donheff]

DW and I rode Capitol Bike Share bikes down to the National Mall and caught the fireworks. Very nice. The concert underway at the Capitol looked like fun as well.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff DW and I rode Capitol Bike Share bikes down to the National Mall and caught the fireworks. Very nice. The concert underway at the Capitol looked like fun as well.

Heh. I can still remember being one of gazillions of people on the Mall in 1982 watching the Beach Boys and the fireworks. The Metro crowds were so big that the turnstiles were locked open and riders threw their money into 50-gallon barrels supervised by security guards.

[harley]

I volunteered with the Park Service in '85, shortly after James Watt had declared the Beach Boys a "bad influence". The crowds were huge. My responsibility was emptying trash cans. I would pull a overflowing bag out of a can, put a new one in, and before I could tie off the full one and toss it on the truck the new one would be full again. What a zoo. Still, it was a cool experience although one I never repeated. Tonight I sat on my back deck and watched the Ocean City MD fireworks. Much more relaxed.

[Darryl]

Great show tonight enjoyed the show and visiting with friends. Parked a few miles away so plenty of one on one time walking and chatting with neighors

[Meadbh]

Happy July 4th to all my American friends!

[tuckeverlasting]

I am in the "other Washington" (state) and went to see the fireworks at Lake Union in Seattle. They were good, although probably not as good as the ones in Washington DC!

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff DW and I rode Capitol Bike Share bikes down to the National Mall and caught the fireworks. Very nice. The concert underway at the Capitol looked like fun as well.

We saw some of that on TV and I said "I bet that's the best one in the country.

We started on the thirty mile trip to the local fireworks, but it looked like fog was coming in so we turned around.

I noticed very few private fireworks and fireworks stands thus year. Is it the economy?

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl We saw some of that on TV and I said "I bet that's the best one in the country. We started on the thirty mile trip to the local fireworks, but it looked like fog was coming in so we turned around. I noticed very few private fireworks and fireworks stands thus year. Is it the economy?

We were at our weekend place on the tidal Potomac over the weekend. There were tons of private fireworks down there. Seemed like normal to me. Since a lot of the people down there are weekenders, the fireworks were big on Sunday night.

[REWahoo]

No fireworks down here in the parched southwest. Sales were banned statewide and all but a handful of professional fireworks displays were canceled. They were granted permission only if the launch and landing area was over water. Not much of that around these parts....

[Nords]

We saw fireworks flying off the store shelves in 2008 & 2009 so I'm not sure how much the economy affected people's spending decisions.

Hawaii's new fireworks ban seemed pretty effective. We saw some nice professional displays downtown and over Pearl Harbor, and a very nice show somewhere over Ewa, but otherwise the neighborhoods were almost silent. No pollution or street mess, either. Best 4th of July sleep I've had in decades.

[W2R]

Oddly, the fireworks in my neighborhood were also much less than usual and I don't see any reason why. The streets seemed pretty empty too, except for the usual complement of extremely drunken drivers. Restaurants seemed deserted.

What gives? Maybe everyone decided to go elsewhere for the 4th this year.

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo No fireworks down here in the parched southwest. Sales were banned statewide and all but a handful of professional fireworks displays were canceled. They were granted permission only if the launch and landing area was over water. Not much of that around these parts....

Yes, our city's show went on as planned, though they had to apply for an exemption to the county-wide ban. They were shooting over water and the assumption was that a city show set off by professionals, with firefighters at the ready, might discourage some amateur yahoos from setting them off themselves and starting fires.

Went on a lot longer than usual, too. I wonder if we got some of the fireworks from other localities which canceled their shows.

[Rustward]

Did not attend any this year, and the amateur stuff has been banned.

A dozen years ago or so, I was making weekly trips from DFW to MSP and flew out the evening of the 4th. Something told me to sit in a window seat, and I saw dozens and dozens of fireworks shows over the two hour trip -- many amateur and a lot of professionally done ones. My face was in the window the whole time. Just didn't get to hear them.

[aaronc879]

I'm not a fan of fireworks. I sat home watching tv with headphones on to try to drown out the noise. There were a lot of private fireworks going off all week and on the 4th it was all day and night not stopping until after midnight When it got really bad I would put in my ear plugs then put on my headphones and crank up the stereo. Still could hear some of the fireworks but it helped. I never go anywhere on the 4th. City firework events are too crowded for me and there are too many drunks on the roads. This is Wisconsin so you pretty much assume everyone on the road is drunk anyway but the 4th really is the worst day other than New Years Eve.

[MikeD]

I love fireworks. We grew up in upstate NY where fireworks were illegal. Only the cop's kids had them. We used to go on vacation to the Virginian eastern shore (Chincoteague -- where I met my wife in '71) and the family would stop by the fireworks stands there. We kids would save our money for six months and spent it all on fireworks. I would get so happy that I would cry. My mom once said a memorable line to me: Mike, don't cry into your fireworks bag, they'll get wet.

We got married in '76 and saw the 1976 bicentennial fireworks display on the mall from atop the Kennedy center. It was great.

I was the treasurer of the local fireworks club in Va by '82 and sat in as the civilian member of the mall's fireworks selection committee that year. We picked Grucci.

I have seen a bundle of firecrackers containing 1.1 million crackers set off whilst hung from a crane. It was great!

Mike D.

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeD I love fireworks. We grew up in upstate NY where fireworks were illegal. Only the cop's kids had them. We used to go on vacation to the Virginian eastern shore (Chincoteague -- where I met my wife in '71) and the family would stop by the fireworks stands there. We kids would save our money for six months and spent it all on fireworks.

When I was a pretty little kid we took a trip to Smoky Mountains National Park. My little brother and I saved our dough and bought a brick of 1 1/2ers at a gas station we stopped at somewhere in Tennessee or someplace. We hid it under the back seat and returned home as the neighborhood heroes. I still remember setting up elaborate army men formations and using the firecrackers to blow up enemy emplacements - heaven. Needless to say, fireworks were illegal in Chicago.

[happy2bretired]

My town allowed more types of fireworks to be sold this year. My neighbors must have a lot of money to burn on fireworks. The sky was exploding on Sunday night. I'm glad I boarded my dog and probably will continue doing so next year. I escaped to a small town lodge and enjoyed a nice quiet 4th with very good food. Came home to a big mess on my drive and lawn.