We really didn't have that much time to get anything ready so we brought a family sized bag of chips and whatever was in the "4th of July" tub at grandmas house where I've been keeping my stuff in storage. Mom had all of her stuff with her, Ben made it over to our house before the afternoon and we went and got grandma and the stuff she brought with her. We drove the 40 minutes or so out to Clear Lake between Eatonville and Graham off of Hwy 161.
I was really hoping for hot weather like we had last year so we could go swimming. It wasn't and we were disappointed. We got there around 4ish, found a parking spot we could get in and out of later, grabbed our stuff out of the back of the Escape and wandered our way down to the lake house. We set up our chairs roughly in the same spot we've been putting them for the past few years. We got all settled in. We visited with several people to pass the time (or else we would be in the water floating but we weren't), watched the little kids be weird, PJ took loads of people out on the boat for rides or to be pulled on a raft from behind the boat, we played a little HORSE basketball and horse shoes and by then it was time for some food!
There were grilled burgers, hotdogs and someone grilled up some ribs. I took a burger and a few ribs along with some of the excellent salads, fruit, veggies and chips that were offered. I would have to come back for dessert. I was really sad Bev didn't make her lemonade pie this time. It was always a hit.
It was getting cooler so I made a few trips back up to the Escape and changed into some sweatpants, socks and shoes and brought down my fireworks I've kept in a bin for several years. I figured it was time to light them up. I shared with Ben and Sammy and gave some of the less dangerous ones to the random kids to blow up. We did it on the dock so we knew we wouldn't light anything on fire. I did have a safety bucket to put the burnt up firework skeletons in and of course the wrappers and plastic bits.
It was getting darker so everyone brought out their dock fireworks. We had to wait until at least 10 for the barge firework show from the middle of the lake. I was also disappointed that the weather was so overcast we didn't get to see Mount Rainier in the distance. Most of the day it was covered up by clouds. Maybe next year.
Paul or PJ lit our flare indicating that we were ready for the show to begin and also each house on the lake contributes a portion for this firework show to happen. I am not 100% absolute but I heard the person who puts on the show owns Blackcat Fireworks and lives on the lake. That's just what I've been told.
At 10 the show began. I always found it fascinating that we saw the boom but didn't hear it until seconds later just because of the echo. I am a fan of fireworks and could watch them for hours everyday. It's amazing on how the colors (let alone the chemistry behind it) and designs could be packed into a tube to precisely go off at a certain time when it's lit. It was nice to relax and enjoy the show and not have to worry about going to work the next day since we are having it a day early.
When the show was done we cheered and yelled encore! We didn't get an encore unfortunately. We got our stuff together, told everyone bye and thanks for having us and we headed towards home. We dropped off grandma first and then we were finally home. I told Ben good night because he did have to work the next day and he went back to Rochester. I went to bed shortly after.
Happy 4th of July everyone!
Next Adventure: Moving Day!
No comments:
Post a Comment