Fourth of July So. Cal. Style

We had a lovely Fourth of July with Dan's parents. In the morning we went to the Huntington Beach parade. In the afternoon we ate baby-back ribs--our first attempt and they were d-licious. In the evening we went to the beach to watch the fire works.

As usual, the beach was pretty breezy. Most of us brought jackets except for the one person who told us to bring jackets: Dan's dad. But being a creative guy, he decided to use the canvas covers to the camp chairs as a sort of windbreaker. He put one on each arm and stayed just warm enough. The fireworks were pretty good, but they had a little competition. About the time the finale began, a police helicopter began circling over the water with a giant spotlight. Then a guy on a Sea-Doo went out there, and finally, about five or six life guards could be seen bouncing around in the waves. With all that action going on next to me, it was sort of hard to watch the fireworks. I never did find out what they were looking for, although the LA Times did note 2 drowning deaths in Huntington Beach. But those occurred earlier in the day I think.

Then as we drove home, fireworks were going off all around us on the freeway. At first it was sort of cool. But when one exploded right next to us, for a split second, I thought we were being shot at. And the fireworks were somewhat distracting, causing many drivers to slow down. Then I fell asleep, which is what I always do in a moving car if it's before noon or after seven at night. A moving car just rocks me to sleep.