Funny Fourth

Quinn has never been able to stay up late enough for fireworks. Last year we got pretty close, but at 9:00 pm he started losing it and fell asleep before we could head for the door. We were pretty determined to see something resembling fireworks this year, so we all took late naps and headed out a bit early to keep Quinn occupied. A friend told me that they did fireworks at Willamette Park which is in Old West Linn. When we got there I had the feeling that she gave me some not exactly precise informationl; if this was where it was happening, it was going to be a very intimate affair.



Once we realized that there weren't fireworks in the offing, we had to come up with Plan B. We headed towards Oregon City.

We followed the crowd and found an odd city ritual. In the Rite Aid parking lot tons of people were parked. Some people had set up their chairs and were just sitting there, pointed north, waiting for the show. Others were setting off fireworks, while others were cooking up a little snack on their barbecues. It was truly weird. I drew the line at watching fireworks from the parking lot, so we marched across the street to the river. We found a spot on the grass next to the road (no way we were fighting our way closer to the river and the music). Erick went for ice cream while Quinn and I watched the goins' on. By the time the festivities began we had ice cream and all was well.


Being a conoseuir of lights, Quinn appreciated the fireworks quite a bit. He squealed quite a few times.


Towards the end he sat between us, put his arms around our necks and said, in a very loud voice several times: "Aww. This is NIIIIIIIIICE!".


The couple next to us looked at us and laughed.

Quinn got to bed at 11:30. I prayed for a sleep in the next day.