A few days ago I had dinner plans with a friend. A casual text arrived the night before about fireworks in the evening to celebrate our city’s birthday and the first thing I said to Charles was, “Want to sail there?”
No matter how you phrase it, yes is pretty much the only suitable answer to a question that involves friends, impromptu sailing and a 266th birthday party. I heard the folks on land were getting cake.
After a proper Mexican dinner with one less margarita than I would have preferred, my friend and I braved the Saturday night resort marina crowds and dodged tourists on the pier to get to the quiet of our dock. We arrived early enough to push off from the dock in the golden light of a sun that was thinking about setting but wasn’t quite ready to turn in just yet.
After a short but lovely sunset sail, we anchored on the outside of dozens of boats. We like being a part of the crowd, we just want to do it from a distance.
The normal river traffic was present in the form of water taxis and dinner boat cruises. Channel 16 on the VHF was busy with the Coast Guard, the police, the fireworks barge and day sailors squabbling and being asked by the Coast Guard to take their messes to private channels. Hey fellows, there’s room for everyone here. The river is a big wide wet place and everyone gets a good view.
After sunset, fireworks! Maybe I haven’t been paying attention for the last 20 summers, or maybe our city has an incredible birthday budget. Thank you fair city for putting on one of the best fireworks displays I’ve ever seen.
I only have two pictures to share. Because 1. You’ve seen fireworks before, right? Don’t they all pretty much look like fireworks? And because 2. I was living in the moment and not through my camera screen. They were beautiful and filled up the night sky and I forgot to pull out my phone until Charles reminded me about my dearest readers.
So there you have it, the time I was living and breathing and enjoying the moment and forgot to get pictures for you.
Fair winds and happy sailing to you all!
Oh my. I love watching fireworks from a boat. There’s just something about sort of having a wider view. Sounds like a great evening. The pictures are amazing. 🙂
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I shoot everything, I mean everything, but occasionally something fills you with so much awe………you just want to exist and enjoy, those are the moments worth living……..I get it. Thanks for thinking about us though 🙂
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I agree about the awe… Sometimes you’re just struck with something out of the blue hat you thought was an every day thing.
It was beautiful and I’m so glad we were able to be a part of it!
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Great post!
Sounds like a moment with a loving friend, which dreams are made from…
chris
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Sorry!
i also see that you dropped by for a read,
thank you,
chris
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This sounds so beautiful! By the by, thank you for liking our article! If you ever need help of a marine textile nature, you know you can count on us. Happy sailing!
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Hello! Charles and I will check out your designs. There may be some new curtains in our future when we get rid of the blinds.
Thank you for the heads up about your designs.
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Enjoyed reading about your adventures, how long have you guys been sailing?
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Charles has been sailing a lot longer than me. I’m a few seasons into it and still learning, as I see you and your family are also.
Fair winds to you all!
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What did your 4-footed sailing buddy think about the fireworks?
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She didn’t mind the noise at all. We weren’t sure how she would do because this was her first fireworks event, but she was quite calm.
Last night we had a storm and she jumped to attention during some loud thunder but her bone was eventually much more interesting than the noise outside.
We’re pretty lucky to have a pup who doesn’t mind thunder and fireworks!
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She’s perfect for a life of sailing. 🙂
Mine are frightened by lightning and fireworks.
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I’d heard that a lot of dogs are so we kept an eye on her on the 4th and for that event as well. She’s 5 months old now so I think she’s still adapting to everything that comes along
We have a local dog shop that advertises thunder shirts and I’ve heard they’re great. Do you have them for your dogs?
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Never heard of a thunder shirt. I’ll look it up. Thanks. 🙂
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I’ve never used one but I’ve heard they work great for anything your pups are afraid of. I do most of my shopping on Amazon but here’s a general link with a video at the bottom of the page. http://www.thundershirt.com/
If you get them and they work, please check in. A good review may help some other pet owners down the road.
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You’re right; they do look a lot like fireworks. Better that you stayed in the moment. 🙂
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