1. The fireworks won't start until after 10pm. There will be plenty of time to leave the store, drive home, put the groceries away, gather blankets and jackets, and walk up the hill to see the fireworks. Plenty of time.
2. No matter how hot it was at 3pm, when the sun goes down and the wind comes out of the canyon, it will be cold. Cold, I tell you. This is the mountain west. We are not in Texas anymore. Bring a jacket and an extra blanket to put over the legs. And a few dollar bills to buy glow sticks.
3. Just because you park the car in a quiet neighborhood doesn't mean it will be quiet later, after the fireworks.
4. Indeed, quiet neighborhoods are full of stop signs, and not the four-way-stop kind. Stop signs, as opposed to traffic lights, turn roads into parking lots after major events such as fireworks.
5. My own street is separated from the nearby larger street by a stop sign. It will be a parking lot for an hour or so after the fireworks. Therefore, do not even think about driving, even if the sun has already set and you are already in the car returning from grocery shopping. See number 1.
6. The hot air balloon launch is definitely worth seeing. If they launch at 6:30 am, be in the field by 6:00 am. That means be near the field looking for parking by 5:45 am.
7. If the balloon launch happens three days in a row, pick a day to attend besides the day of the parade and the 5K. The day of the parade and 5K, there will not be parking. Even at 5:45 am.
8. No matter how hot it is predicted to be at 12pm, at 6:30 am it will be cold. This is the mountain west, not Texas. Bring a jacket.
9. Although the hot air balloon launch is worth seeing, the parade really is not, even if it lasts two hours, with floats and marching bands. Two boring hours.
10. But if you want to see the parade anyway, and you send someone with a few blankets at 6:15 am, you still have a chance to get front row seats. For the record, Janice found places for our blankets near the very end of the parade route, even as late as 6:15 am. Thanks, Janice.
11. Of course, front row seats will be in the direct sun on the asphalt. And no matter how cold it was at 6:30 am, after two hours in the sun on the asphalt, you will be too hot.
12. Bring sunscreen. Send Earl to buy popsicles. Thanks, Earl.
13. And for goodness sakes, get the kids to bed on time the night before if you really plan on finding a parking place at 5:45 am.
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3 comments:
Sounds like a typical 4th of July - fun, huh!I want to know one thing though - where are the mosquitos? No July 4th is complete without the dreaded mosquitos!
Happy Fourth of July! I love Provo's parades for the 4th--perfect combo of kitschy, classy and fun--no one else's quite measures up. The year we took our kids to see the parade in DC, the first part was great--all marching bands and thrown batons and uniforms but it soon dissolved into hari krishna groups and and an elephant (!). Hardly 4th of July fare, if you ask me, so we left to see the diamonds in the Smithsonian.
In spite of it all--sounds like a fun, busy day for your family.
I love it! And might I add for my own future reference - it is never worth it to camp out for a firework viewing spot on the roof early. Your spot will soon be overtaken by unruly drunkards and ever-shifting rules by the building. Better to remain in the air conditioning as long as possible and then find something at the last minute.
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