Fourth of July
June 30th, 2008
It’s coming. In fact, it will be here on Friday. The fabulous Fourth of July.
At least for those of us who are fans of picnics and fireworks, the 4th is a day to anticipate.
I am excited to say that we will be attending the fireworks display at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds this Friday AND we will be having dinner and watching the fireworks at Bryce Resort on Saturday.
Most children love fireworks (after they get over the noise) and I was no exception. Growing up, my summers typically ended with an exclamation point as the fireworks exploded over the harness racing track at the West Virginia State Fair in Lewisburg.
The West Virginia fair usually took place on my birthday week (though it is much earlier now) and it always felt extra special. It was the last hoorah of summer before we had to put away our shorts and go back to school. (Back in the days when shorts weren’t allowed - can you imagine?)
One year on the 4th of July I was in Nags Head, N.C., with a friend and his family. They rented one of those enormous beach houses complete with its own pool on the first floor and a hot tub on the deck of the second floor. From the hot tub we watched fireworks displays up and down the beachfront.
I have watched the fireworks in New Market from the roadside above the Shenandoah Valley Travel Association. I sat on the grassy bank above the Strasburg town park and listened as fireworks bounced off the mountains and lit up Signal Knob.
One year, some friends and I went to Half Moon Beach for the fireworks display. I don’t know if they still do this, but they used to set off the fireworks from the middle of the water in the old quarry. It was pretty cool until one of the fireworks missfired and instead of heading skyward, it shot right at us - blazing through the wooded area like a scene from “Platoon.”
I am happy to tell you - especially if you live in the Shenandoah Valley or will be visiting this holiday weekend - that there are plenty of pyrotechnic displays planned for the weekend. I will have to go no farther than a couple of miles to see the one in Woodstock. The people hired to do the show are the same ones who lit up the skies last year and, believe me, it is a show worth seeing.
While no other activities usually go on at the fairgrounds - people would rather sit in the parking area by their cars than in the grandstand - this year the 4-H Dairy Club will be selling ice cream at the dairy barn before the fireworks show.
Wherever you have to go this Fourth of July, I hope you find a night sky that is full of bright lights. Make sure you watch the eyes of your children and grandchildren. I guarantee you are making memories.