4th of July

I never used to be a really big fan of the 4th, but I can most closely attribute that fact to living in or visiting a hot location on the 4th. Sure, watching fireworks has always been fun, and I have lots of fond memories of that, but being hot and uncomfortable in July is just not that fun.
Like I said though, there were lots of fond memories. When I was younger, I remember Grandpa Lutes sending us a sweet little package full of sparklers and other mostly non-harmful fireworks and that was always a lot of fun. I remember a family vacation (before Glenn) where we went to Cabo San Lucas and were treated to beachside fireworks by the resort, even though the holiday has no meaning to them. It was a really special night that I will always remember. I also remember the time when Glenn took me to a Dodger game on the 4th. That was another experience I could never forget. After the 7th inning stretch, we left our bleacher seats in left field and stood behind the bullpen waiting for the go ahead to run onto the field and claim our seats for one of the most spectacular fireworks displays ever seen. It truly was amazing. It was even choreographed to music!
My most memorable 4th of July would have to be last year's. Not only was it not 100 degrees outside, but we were by water, and later that evening I got to shoot off my very own fireworks for the first time. Now that we are back in Washington, I wasn't about to spend another 4th of July simply sitting back and watching the show. I was going to get in on the action too.
This year, we made our way up North the day before to do a little outlet shopping, eat at Bajio (sadly out of business), and pick up some fireworks on the Rez. Of course, I have little to no self control when it comes to buying fireworks, so at the very first booth we spotted and stopped at, I spent all $40 that I had. We had brought Janke along on our little trip and he didn't buy anything at the first stall. At the next stall, I remembered I had $5 in my wallet, so I quickly spent that too. Since Janke is a little indecisive and I secretly think he was just planning on sharing with me, despite my protests, we decided to hit up Boom City. I've never heard a truer name.
Boom City is flat out ridiculous. If you were to create a stereotypical image of a pyromaniac in your head, multiply it by a couple thousand and put those people in a couple acres of land surrounded with stalls upon stalls of fireworks dealers, you would get Boom City. This place was nuts. I have never seen so many fireworks in my life!
Not only that, but there were boxes of fireworks for sale that retailed for $150, $350, even $1000!!! Can you believe that?!
Imagine my surprise when Janke didn't buy anything, and we left empty handed. Hmph.
At around 8:00 on the 4th, Glenn, Janke and I made our way out to Tacoma to watch the fireworks show. It was lovely as always. Afterwards, we drove around University Place to find a suitable place to shoot off our own explosives. We found a nice little area not too close to houses and proceeded to blow stuff up. I was even super nice and I shared with Janke. It was fun. I love shooting off my own fireworks. The only other person who I think might enjoy this as much as I do is Jeff. I hope I can get him up here, maybe next year, because we would have a blast!
I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July! I know we did. Love you and miss you all!
Enjoy the video below of Janke having a difficult time getting the lighter to work. (Hopefully I loaded it properly.)