more Independence
boom! crash!
On the 5th our friends the Guileys texted us to invite us to a fireworks display in Acton, postponed from the 4th due to the weather. It would start at 9:30. I was intrigued, Leah aghast. But since she had another offer, for a ladies craft night, the boys and I were free to be grossly irresponsible and take them up on the offer.
a nice spot
After some difficulty finding where we were supposed to park, and a lovely walk through the woods from the approved parking location to the fireworks venue, we found a fine spot to set up our encampment. The event was at Nara Park in Acton, which turns out to be a pretty fancy spot, with a large man-made natural amphitheater (does that make sense?) and an impressive stage for the concert which was to precede the fireworks. The back of the amphitheater featured a long steep hill, which the boys enjoyed tremendously while we waited for our friends to arrive.
they also rolled down
As people trickled in I was surprised by the crowd; apparently this Acton celebration is really a thing!
some of the crowd
Catching the concert spirit, we did some energetic dancing to the music of a Beatles cover band... a little too energetic for me! The boys wanted to keep up the craziness but I told them to save some energy for when their friend Taya arrived, because I knew she'd want to run. And she did!
After another half-hour or so of dashing around the hill (while I sat quietly and enjoyed some adult conversation) the kids calmed down enough to want to explore a little further afield. I was glad to go along with them.
I told them to stand still for a second
Nara Park is also a local swimming hole, and the pond had a very Cape Cod-esque bridge across the marshy, non-beach side. There was also a little gravelly cove, and you know what that means!
disturbing the calm
These three kids sure enjoy each other's company!
they like each other
As dark fell we reined in the kids, and took some time to pay a little more attention to the music—and to the great display of light-up hulahoops and other flashy toys decorating the widespread crowd.
just like a real concert!
Then of course there was a the main event. Harvey was delighted by his first real fireworks display, and Zion was happy enough to watch them from behind my back. I offered to hold him on my lap but he declined; he clearly preferred to have my body between him and all that airborne fire.
a fine end to the evening
If we could have been magically transported home after the fireworks ended all would have been perfect, but unfortunately we and a couple thousand other people all had to get to our cars, and get said cars out of the parking lots, with our worn-out kids. There were some other distant rockets going off as we headed down the hill; Harvey and Taya wanted to see them but Zion had had enough: "I tired of fireworks." When we got to the lovely walk through the woods it was charmingly illuminated with strings of work lights, but it was also extremely crowded. We stood still for several minutes while people figured out how we were all going to fit on the narrow path.
at least it was a cheerful crowd
Then of course once we reached the car I didn't even bother to start the engine for half-an-hour or so; the people who had pulled out right away got in line and didn't move an inch that whole time. The fireworks ended at 9:45; it was 10:55 when we finally made our way out of the office park where everyone was parked onto the main road.
Not that I mean to complain: the boys were both long asleep by then, the evening (midnight?) air was lovely and cool, and there was music on the radio. All in all, it was a great time, and now our Independence is properly celebrated.
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When I asked Zion to describe the fireworks he said, "Boom, and even shiny!"