Fireworks From the Iwo Jima Memorial

We went downtown to the Iwo Jima Memorial to watch the national fireworks on the Fourth of July. We went with our friends the Ls as we did 2 years ago. The weather played a bit of havoc withour plans, but it all worked out.

We were supposed to leave at 5:00, so we went to Ed's parents' house, where the Ls were, right at 5:00, but there was all this serious weather west of us, and we weren't sure where it was headed. We didn't want to be driving in it, so we hung out there for awhile talking with Ed's folks. Ed's brother, an airline pilot, made paper airplanes for the boys and Amanda to fly around, which amused them greatly. Finally we left about 6:45, and I was very afraid that we wouldn't be able to find a good place to watch, especially once we heard that the Iwo Jima area had never been closed, as the Mall was. I was afraid a lot of people would have left the Mall and come over to the Iwo Jima.

It was very crowded once we got there, but fortunately we were meeting some other friends, Brian and Angela, and they rode the Metro in. They were able to save a really nice big area for all of us. Whew! We brought our usual large amount of food, but since we didn't really get settled until 7:30, it seemed like we hardly had time to make and eat our sandwiches, much less fruit, cookies, etc. So we ended up with a lot of extra food.

We really enjoyed the fireworks. There were some new things we hadn't seen before, like fireworks in the shape of a huge star, and some in the shape of Saturn--a big ball with a ring around it. Cool! We were worried that Anna would totally freak out because she's in a weird phase right now, where she has decided to be frightened of all sorts of things, like the vacuum, swimming pools, women who cover (like Muslims), etc. But just to keep us on our toes, she was completely blase about the loud booms and the bright lights of fireworks. Go figure. But it made for an easier viewing experience, LOL.

Unfortunately we were sitting in front of a long-haired twenty-something year old man who thought he was the cleverest and wittiest cool dude of them all, and so he blathered on and on and on the entire show. He wasn't not exceptionally profane--just a few of the more mild cuss words sprinkled throughout--but he sure was inane and annoying. It was especially annoying because you could tell he thought he was just. so. cool. and that we should all be grateful to be getting this free comedy show. His girlfriend was beside him, and she laughed loudly at all his jokes, so I guess someone thought he was funny. True love.

We made it home a little before 11:00, proud to be Americans, and proud that we didn't lose anyone yet again in the huge crush of people walking along the streets in the dark.