66 West...

Yesterday was the fourth of July. We had a great day, waking up around the time we'd like to get up everyday and spending time leisurely checking a couple of things off the "To Do" list. Gramma came over for a cookout, bringing with her homegrown green beans and our family favorite potato salad. We love it when Gramma comes to visit. Our family is getting so small, and everyone is so busy that we rarely get a chance to enjoy being family. Holiday celebrations are extra special when we can be together. After we ate, Gramma headed home, and I fell asleep at the foot of my bed waiting for 8:30 to come.

At 8:30 every July 4th, we load up the truck and head out to see the fireworks. We always go see the same show, but part of the fun of the night is trying to find the best place to watch it. For a few years, we discovered the hill on a major road where we would pull onto the grassy median and watch two fireworks shows at the same time. But the grassy median is grassy. And buggy. And we spent a good amount of time after we got home checking for ticks and putting lotion on mosquito bites. So we decided to hunt a new spot. Last year we found a pretty decent one, so we headed that direction there this year to see if we could improve the view. Oh. My. Word. We hit the jackpot!

We found an asphalt-covered viewing spot that only about 10 other vehicle-loads of people knew about. It was epic. The spot was directly in front of the fireworks show, far enough away not to get covered with ash, but close enough that you could hear the swoosh of the launcher and feel the boom as the powder exploded. About 15 minutes into the show, we heard rival fireworks. Sure enough, looking just slightly west of where we were sitting, we could see the show from the next town over. Two shows, just like in the grassy spot. No bugs. No crowds. Just lights and booms and oohs and ahhhs. It was a great night.

We're thinking next year we might head out a little earlier, with some friends and a homemade ice cream maker. Want to join us?