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The last time Casa Brillig went to the Boston Esplanade to watch the fireworks display, K1 was too small to carry her own chair usefully and kept falling asleep about 15 minutes before they started after a day in the sun. For the past two years, we've been in Oklahoma for the Fourth, and while that was K2's first experience with fireworks, they were small local ones.
The kids needed FIREWORKS ...
For those who've never been to July 4th on the Esplanade, it's both incredibly easy, and not for the faint of heart. All you need to do is gather up some food and nonalcoholic beverages, a blanket or chair or whatever, and some stuff to keep you occupied for a few hours. Like, 8 or 10 (more if you want to be inside the Hatch Shell "Oval" to see the Boston Pops; we don't because we're in it for the fireworks, which can't be seen well from there). Then make your way down, find a spot to call home amidst the 400-800000 other people who decided to do exactly the same thing, and wait until the Pops start playing at 8pm, carefully timed to the CBS audience. When the 1812 Overture plays - complete with cannon and church bells - you know you're getting close to the 10:30 fireworks. When they're done, exit with everyone else and surge thru the city towards the subway station, and head home.
See, easy! So easy that we have very few people who will go with us, citing noise (umm, yeah. People and fireworks do that); crowds (ok, point. But we did it with a toddler and everyone survived); and wanting to simply relax and do nothing (which is what I did from 2-10, in a very comfy chair :-)). Thankfully, we had friends who wanted to go, and so 4 adults and 5 kids set out at 1pm (latest we've ever been) to the festivities. We managed to get a spot in front of the barge, even if it was on the other side of the walkway and not directly ON the riverbank.
On to some pictures. Please excuse the low-resolution, we had a bevy of iPhones but no Actual Camera (hmm, what is the collective form of iPhone... bevy? flock?)
The view back where we came. Not as crowded as we'd feared, since we actually DID manage to get a spot in a desireable location:
Barge in front of us was loaded with 20 minutes' worth of fireworks:
Looking down the same direction a few hours later... a tad more crowded:
Spent some time playing a favorite card game:
We brought cold cuts and stuff, but food vendors tempting us with delicious Indian and Spanish food made those a late-nite snack instead :-). Watermelon and peach pie our friends brought were a delectable dessert:
K1 took this picture at sunset, shortly before the concert started:
K1 also got our only picture of the fighter jet flyover that occurs every year during the Star Spangled Banner, timed at "land of the free":
And then there were fireworks!!
The next are courtesy of K1:
Come join us next year... we'll spread out an extra tarp to make room for more!!
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Brillig's ObDisclaimer: I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do. "TopCommentness" lies in the eye of the nominator, and the reader. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments).
From Ed Tracey:
Over the verdict
in the Florida murder trial that has blanketed cable news for the past several weeks: eXtina wrote to thank dov12348 for the announcement [ saying, "The 24/7
every channel coverage has not been enough; it has even inexplicably made it into the NPR news headlines".
Later on, Otteray Scribe began a thread about your-friend-and-mine Nancy Grace - with many expressing 'concern' about her well-being. Me? I think the next missing-white-girl case will rejuvenate her.
From sardonyx:
In The Troubadour's diary about Homophobic Bill Kristol, mikeconwell has a question that should be asked, and when The Troubadour looks up the answer, Horace Boothroyd III has an important query about said answer.
From Yours Truly, brillig:
Meteor Blades' Permanent rules for Kansas abortion clinics would be same as those temporarily blocked by U.S. judge uses a "no coathangers" symbol that one commenter found 'tasteless'. His reply is succinct, and blunt.
MinistryOfTruth defines truth in DCSpeak.