Last weekend was Independence Day weekend, and it was easily as enjoyable as last year's. Eric's neighbor Doug was kind enough to take us out on the lake again for the fireworks show. Unlike last year when the organizers shot the mortars off of the dam at the end of the lake, this year they shot them off of a small barge, no bigger than my room, nestled in a small inlet. Apparently, Homeland Security decided that it was too dangerous to have fireworks on the dam. I think that's a load of bull, but oh well. It didn't effect our enjoyment of the show.
We headed out two hours early, eight of us on the boat, and quickly put down anchor. As the sun set, we played BS to pass the time. We played with two decks, which added a whole new dimension to the game. One deck had red backs and the other blue, so we had to constantly watch what colors were being laid down. Was it possible, we had to ask ourselves, to have, say, five aces, all blue?
The show began around 9 and continued for maybe 20 minutes. Watching fireworks on the water is better than on land because there is no obstructions and the blasts echo across the surface. Fortunately no fireworks debris hit us this year.
After the show, as we headed back toward Doug's dock, we passed a pontoon boat whose occupants were calling for help. Their engine wouldn't start, so we agreed to tow them back to the marina. We tied the front of their boat to Doug's boat's water skiing rope connector and slowly made our way across the lake. Honestly, I'm amazed it worked. Somehow we made it through the traffic of other boats, managed to avoid hitting the dock, and got the pontoon home safely. After that we floated back to Doug's.
None of us bought fireworks of our own this year, so after watching the Boston fireworks show on TV, we called it a night. Again, thanks to Eric for inviting me, Doug for driving the boat, and the five other people for making the evening so enjoyable.