Fireworks Fun

As you may know by now, we made some friends from across the border when we made a trek to Canada one weekend recently. Since then they have come across the border and surprised us with their presence at one of our favorite spots to eat and to shoot a few games of pool.

During their last visit to meet up with us we exchanged some email addresses and phone numbers so that we could make plans to get together whether here or with them in Canada. As I was going through my email after not checking it for a couple of days I noticed one from Pete (one of the group of Canadian riders). He stated that they all loved fireworks and that they would like to get together again over our 4th of July weekend to do some riding, shoot some pool and he also asked if we knew of anywhere that was going to have a fireworks show during our independence day celebrations. As it turned out we were headed a little bit south of here to view some fireworks. This was not a city sponsored event but rather we have some friends that are crazy about making things explode in the air with a burst of color to make things interesting. There is a group of about five people that get together each year and buy huge amounts of fireworks. One member of this group has a few acres of open land that is used for farming and away from most of the city in a rural area. They all gather here each July around the fourth to put on their version of a fireworks spectacular. I should also mention that these guys all ride Harley Davidsons too and that the majority of the people allowed to attend their event are also riders. This is an invitation only event and they govern who can set foot or wheels in this instance on their property.

I replied to Pete that this is what we intended to do and asked if he would be interested in joining us on Friday the 5th if I could get permission to bring along some guests. He said that it sounded like a great time and to please let him know and we could make a day of riding and seeing some fireworks. I contacted Dave and Shirley and asked about bringing along some friends. They said that if we could vouch for the people we wanted to bring along that it would be alright with them. They also mentioned that we shouldn't forget that there is a donation box they set up to help offset their costs of buying all of the explosives they set off. I told them that I remembered the box and that we would be contributing to the fund. I then relayed all of this info to Pete and he said that he would love to go along with three others of their group and they would be happy to contribute. 

We set a time of around 2:00pm to meet for some burgers and a game or two of pool before we hit the road for some fun riding together before we were to head over to join the group for some fireworks fun. We all met and they asked where everyone one else from our group was today. We said that the others all had made plans to be somewhere else today and this was it today. So we settled in for some food and as usual we gave our great natured waitress the usual ribbing and she gave it all right back. She too asked where everyone else was and also mentioned that the Canadians should apply for American citizenship since they were becoming regulars here. Everyone laughed at that one. We sat there and compared notes of what was happening with everyone over the past couple of weeks and soon our food arrived. This time with our order, our waitress chuckled and said that she hadn't forgotten and brought along some vinegar for our friends fries. Yuck, I once again thought to myself. But, to each their own. We ate and then played a few games of pool. We didn't really compete today as we did before. We just played and enjoyed ourselves and talked about the show we were to enjoy this evening. The Canadians mentioned that in the past they often talked about coming here for the day on the fourth, but just never seemed to do it so they were anxious for this evening. We continued to play and talk when someone mentioned that it was already 5:30 and if we were going to do any riding, we needed to hit the road. We did. We rode and enjoyed riding along some rural roads and along the water. We enjoyed some great sights along the way. Around 7:30 we stopped and took a short break before it was time to head to the farm. 

We arrived and as I mentioned everyone was checked to see if they were invitees or if they would be turned away. Of course we were allowed on the property. We rode along a short route to a clearing where there were already around 40 motorcycles. Most of the bikes were Harley Davidson, but, there was a huge variety of bikes of every make. We parked our motorcycles and then made our way to the donation box. I asked how much they had collected last year to pay for this years event and was told that we had almost $3000.00 worth of fireworks this year. I was bowled over since I knew that these guys bought their fireworks at an almost wholesale cost. That's one hell of a lot of fireworks since the prices they pay are so minimal. It helps to have friends and their friends were in the business of selling fireworks each July. Because of this, they are able to buy at a fraction over cost. We dropped in some cash and I explained to our friends what they were about to witness tonight. I saw them talk for a few seconds and then saw them head back to the box and add a few more dollars. I don't know how much more, but, they said they wanted a good show and that they hoped they might be invited back next year.

We all managed to make our way into the crowd and mingle. While we already knew many people in the crown, our friends acted like they had bee a part of this gathering forever. I noticed that they were mingling and talking with several people and I was happy to see that they felt so comfortable with us. But, as we have mentioned before; everyone on two wheels seems to be one big extended family.

I walked towards the field where the fireworks were to be launched. I noticed that there were crates all around and asked if those were all fireworks. The answer was, yes. I knew we were in for a great night.

Soon it was becoming dark and everyone was getting anxious. The next thing I knew was that i heard a massive explosion that signaled the start of the show. The show went on for over 90 minutes. That's probably better than most civic shows and there were fireworks of every color and every style going into the air that night. But, like all good things, this too had to end. We all headed back towards our bikes all still giddy like school children after a fabulous show. It took a while to get out on the road as there were so many people all headed towards the exit at the same time but we make our way to the road and headed towards home. Our friends asked if we would like a quick bite to eat since we hadn't had any food for a while. We all suddenly seemed to realize that we had not eaten and that we did indeed want something to eat. We stopped along the way at a restaurant and had a light meal. They said that they needed to head home and that they had thoroughly enjoyed the day and the night and that we all needed to get together even more often in the future. We agreed, said our goodbyes and that was the end of a day of riding adventure with some great new friends.