Didn’t I promise you fireworks?

So today, being July 4th, the day the United States of America (not very united at the time) declared independence. Hooray!

Many years afterwards, this is celebrated virtually everywhere in the US of A, as everything pretty much shuts down, parades are done, cookouts and fairs are up, hotdogs and baseball, and to close the evening’s festivities, fireworks.

I had the pleasure of going to the South Street Seaport in Manhattan, after spending a nice day out in River Edge, New Jersey, with the aunt, uncle & cousin. We had a good time, and after I got back into the city and got some dinner, I set out the few blocks to the seaport.

I decided that Pier 16 (open area) would be better to view the fireworks from than Pier 17, as it looked like people were hanging off the railings on all three floors of Pier 17, and not enjoying it. On Pier 16, the amount of people was unreal – there must have been a few thousand people on 16 alone.

There was a drizzle when I left the apartment, which turned into a full-blown downpour quite fast. I was happy I had brought my trusty poncho along, as an umbrella would have quickly tired my arm ou, and I needed a hand free anyways to drink my Samuel Adams beer. Mmm. Drinking in the rain. I wonder if there’s a song for that.

So the rain stopped literally 2 minutes before the fireworks started (or did the fireworks only start once the rain stopped? We’ll never know!) and for 25 minutes everyone on both piers turned into a child – with the oohs, and aahs. I was not beyond that myself.

The downside of being on Pier 16 is that the wind was blowing the smoke generated from the fireworks right at us, and only at us. As the windspeed increased, particles left from the actual blast came raining down on us, and some got stuck in my eyes. Unpleasant, but that’s par for the course.

It was a great event to witness, and I’m sure everyone had a good time.

Hope you had a fun day too!