Tag: Fourth of July

A Samish Island Fourth of July

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on A Samish Island Fourth of July
Travel

The celebration actually started yesterday.  There were the beach fireworks Duff and I saw while paddling, usually involving ordnance  obtained from the reservation and NOT approved by Washington State law.  Also, the neighbors a couple of doors down had hired a band.  Duff and I had heard them while paddling, and back home they were really loud.

After dark Laura and I walked out front and watched (and listened to) fireworks both on the reservation across Padilla Bay and on the San Juan Islands.  For some of them, if these weren’t official shows, then someone was REALLY in violation of the “safe and sane” fireworks laws.

Monday, July the Fourth was one of the best Independence Days we’ve ever had.  It started quietly enough like every other morning on the island so far.  I even skipped another paddling opportunity in order to sleep in a bit.  Mid-morning we decided to head down to the Samish Island Parade on North Beach.

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Fourth Fireworks

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on Fourth Fireworks
Local, Miscellaneous

Fireworks 11

Our family was somewhat scattered, and the drought was causing some concerns about lighting fireworks in the Upstate, so we decided on a different path for this year’s Fourth.

First, we headed over to Paul’s for some of his world-famous ribs and blistering rounds of bumper pool and bocce balls. No mercy was spared on either account.

For our fireworks, there were several option. We could brave the crowds downtown, or we could brave the religious nutjobs over at Redemption World Outreach Center. John Ellenberg has a hanger at the municipal airport, which would have a great view of the RWOC. Chip and I remembered his access code, and toyed with the idea of using his parking lot to view the fireworks.

We loaded up the convertible and headed to the Haywood Road Area. It was already a zoo, and there was stepped up security, so we decided not to try John’s place. As it turns out we parked on the road overlooking the hanger. It was a good thing, because they were launching from the end of John’s building, so we were actually in the fallout zone for the fireworks. The display was pretty cool.

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