Fireworks, Groveland Style

So yesterday after work (yes, I had to work...we had regular classes on the 4th), my brother and Heather came over.

Melissa and I made apple pie and then cooked a rather traditional meal (traditional except that the burgers and dogs were vegetarian, of course): the burgers and dogs, baked beans, corn on the cob, potato salad, potato chips, etc. All accompanied, of course, by a bit of Blue Moon, both the traditional ale and the new summer ale.

Around 8:15, we headed out to Groveland for the fireworks show. It got started about 9:15 and lasted for a solid half an hour...really, a show better than any I've seen before. Better (dare I write these words in the greater Orlando area) than Disney's show.

A side note about the Disney fireworks: Several years ago, when Hillary and Melissa were involved in Magic Music Days, we were driving in the "backstage" area of the park and got to see where they launch the fireworks show every night. Conveniently, the launch area is directly across the street from Disney's fire department. Scorched earth. Bare trunks of trees charred black. This, I guess, is the cost of "magic" in the park.

In any case, we had a good time at the fireworks in spite of the little bit of rain before the show, Melissa spilling a fair amount of water down the front of my shirt (cool and refreshing!), and lots of traffic on the way home. From what we hear from John the plumber, Groveland and Clermont have made a deal so that they can each put on a big fireworks show: Groveland puts on the July 4th show, and Clermont puts on a show for Memorial Day--that one, we'll be able to watch from our deck.