Views from the 4th of July

With the 4th of July this weekend, I've been thinking about all the places I've seen fireworks in my life. I once saw a fireworks display while at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, but that doesn't really count since it was a New Year's fireworks display and not 4th of July.

I spent many years watching the fireworks from the grounds around the fort in St. Augustine. I highly recommend it.

But my most vivid memory of the fireworks on the 4th was when I was in my early teens. My best friend and I had spent the evening roaming around St. Augustine on our bikes. This was before we could drive and we rode those beach cruisers everywhere. Our intention was to ride downtown and watch the fireworks from the bayfront. It was extremely crowded everywhere along the bay as you might expect. And when the fireworks went off, we found ourselves riding across the Bridge of Lions. People had lined the sidewalks up and down the bridge, so we had to ride in the driving lane. With fireworks going off, people everywhere and cars in front and behind us in the dark, we squealed, our hearts pounding and I was just sure that when my tires hit the grate that makes up the drawbridge at the top that I'd crash and we'd be roadkill. Somehow we managed to get across without injury, but it was one of those stupid teenage decisions (one of many I must admit).

But it's also one of my fondest memories of the 4th of July.