Today is the 4th of July and we believed we had identified an ideal location to watch tonight’s municipal fireworks show. They are launched from the La Conner Marina. There seemed little reason to go anywhere today because we were already where we needed to be – right here in the La Conner Marina RV Park. Nevertheless, parking looked like it wasn’t going to be scarce as the showtime approached so we did pop into the town of La Conner for a quick leer.
Downtown was about as busy as a tiny town could be. Lots of tourists just like us were creeping along the two downtown streets perusing the myriad shops, quite a few of which were clearly oriented toward selling nifty, upscale home furnishing items to affluent perambulators. Most of the businesses were open despite it being a holiday. Even the local overpriced grocery store was open and we bought some mozzarella for tonight’s lasagna.
We made a few passes by La Conner’s residences close to downtown and found a really handsome assortment of beautiful wood-framed structures, almost all of them with intricate wood gingerbread. There are also lots of interesting public art sculptures dotting the sidewalks. Downtown was definitely work a look.
We returned to our trailer, made and consumed probably more lasagna than was prudent. Soon, fireworks owned by the locals started to light up the sky. Fireworks sales are legal in Washington but the places where they can be set off is a bit nebulous. As it happens, La Conner is directly across the Swinomish Channel from the Swinomish Reservation and the folks over there were all amply supplied with very impressive fireworks and not confused about where they can be fired off. Fireworks retail outlets are ubiquitous. Peggy and I set up our folding chairs at the edge of our RV park, overlooking a stage with live bands, a beer garden, a booth with kettle corn and the municipal fireworks launch area. The Swinomish Nation, across the channel, who were all amply supplied with myriad dangerous types of fireworks, began their festivities before dark. They were so well supplied that it looked like some of the opposite shoreline was former fireworks storage and manufacturing facilities that had all caught fire.
Artificial lighting was absolutely unnecessary anywhere near the channel for the next three hours. Aerial bombs kept all of the elderly jumping. At 10:00 PM, the town of La Conner started their show right in front of our seating but, since it occurred in the middle of a sustained barrage from across the water, it could have been left out and nobody would have known. Those Native Americans across the channel really know how to celebrate the 4th.
We might make special arrangements to be here again on one of the 4ths in the future.
We got a few pix. Click the link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/cHS2e8NTCaLoWPRW9