Happy 4th of July!

FROM JULY 4TH, 9:13AM

Happy Independence Day to all! I hope this finds you well.

We are enjoying the cool :) --if not the drizzly weather :(

I'm a big fireworks fan. I love to see them on the 4th of July, and the fact that it's not 100+ outside is a definite perk to enjoying them.

Of course, currently the sun sets at 11:35pm-- and that is "setting" in the most liberally applied sense--it sets to twilight. So, how do you have fireworks in the land of the midnight sun?! You have a midnight fireworks show!!

. . .

Last night we (John and I, Joe from law school, and Brian the intern) went to Eagle River. This is a city about 10 miles north of Anchorage. Up at Eagle River we grabbed dinner and then headed to Lions Park (not the critter, the people).

We arrived at about 9:30pm-- found a parking spot (we were pleased with ourselves) and began checking out the festival. There were 6 historic army vehicles, which were especially interesting since Joe is in JAG and previously served in the army. He gave us the running commentary. Then, we looked at the 6 food booths... found the one dessert place and lined up. We got a funnel cake (cooked in a cast iron skillet, yum) and settled on the grass. Now it was about 10:10pm... hmmm, now what? They had a sky diving demonstration (John called it a parachuting demonstration, since there was very little diving) and then... nothing.

In Arizona, fireworks are illegal... for good reason. They are highly flammable (one time at the fireworks show in Payson, Mom and Dad had to climb in the passenger's side of the jeep to drive our car away from the ember-caused fire on the driver's side of the car). They are dangerous (as all the public service announcements when I was a kid illustrated-- you don't want to lose a finger, do you?). And, the little known aspect, they are OBNOXIOUS in the hands of teenagers. Since fireworks are illegal in Arizona, if someone uses a sparkler (awesome), he/she is discreet. Here, where they are legal, you have kids throwing these snap packs (I'm not sure what they're called... they look like CapriSun packages. They explode and make a loud popping noise.) near everyone. What the *#@? (Don't bother to figure it out-- I didn't actually have a three letter curse word in mind... can't even think of one... was just trying to really make my point... you know?) Seriously?? Where are these kids' parents? I couldn't decide if I was being very logical or really old. Hmmm. I almost got out my whistle.

Needless to say, by 10:45pm I was done sitting on the grass watching overly indignant preteens spraying silly string at each other (and innocent bystanders, like Brian).

When I was a kid, my dad always wanted to leave sporting events early... to avoid the traffic. I never got it! I mean, we watched the whole game, and now, with 2 minutes left, you want to go?? That said... some part of Dad has sunk in. While I never really leave games early (unless I just want to leave), I have absorbed this sixth sense for parking-debacles-yet-to-come.

So, around 10:48pm, I began to get squirmy... not just tired of the teenagers, but thinking of our car at the back of the park's parking lot off the 1 main street in and out of the town.

By 10:55pm, we were packed up. We didn't want to completely abandon ship (that would be lame), so we walked up the hill to the Wal-Mart. (Notably, this Wal-Mart is on a hill overlooking a park and a beautiful mountain and is stylized in Arts and Crafts. Not your average Wal-Mart... we were all impressed. Big excitement up here.) There we bought Yahtzee and some cards. We figured we could play a game. When we left, the boys, but mostly Brian, tried to convince me the Wal-Mart slope was the ideal place to watch the fireworks. But there was the niggling fear of getting trapped in the parking lot... not in the prison-sense, but the "this is taking too long"sense.

We headed back to the car and onto the main road (aptly named Eagle River Road). About 10 cars were pulled off on the side of the road... right there. My parking beacon said this was the answer. So, we sat on the side of the highway above a glorified ditch. It was a perfect place to see the fireworks. It was a fun show. The weather was cool and the drizzle picked up right as the show ended. Can't ask for much more... plus, I got my first Alaska State Bird bite ;)

Happy 4th of July! I miss you.

PICTURES: fireworks from the side of the road (top left); John, Joe, and Brian--from front to back (top right); view of the festival from our seat on the blanket (middle left); view from the Wal-Mart (bottom right)