4th of July - The most original title.

I never know how to start these things. It was a dark and stormy night... This post is really about me wanting to play with Google Maps and see if I get myself to embed the map without much hassle.


View July 4th in a larger map

The start of my day wasn't much to crow about. Oh, speaking of crowing, my wife selected her next two tattoos. Both including crows. Anyway. I got us Subway, putted around at home for while and continued to refine my ID3 tags in iTunes. With 12,038 files, and adding more almost weekly, it's a never ending task.


Later on H started to text back and forth with her brother to arrange what they called: Operation Brother Drop. He can't drive yet, so their father had to drop him from their middle of nowhere camp site. The park your trailer/camper and leave it year round kind, not tent. So it was set. Grab the brother and give him a good fourth of July. He was having no fun with the camping. I've been up there before, bore fest I tell ya.


On the way home H had the great idea to hit Culvers. We go there so little and it's a shame. We love the place, and we live really close, and we drive by it at least once a week. We eat there and I completely stuff myself. I'm even told by H and a complete stranger to have the root beer. Weird. We head home where we wait for the sky to darken. Our cue to head out to see the fireworks.


Now the fun begins. We make our way to Target to use their parking lot. I know that you can't park there unless you're shopping. But what are they going to do with every car in the area parking in their lot. Nothing, that's a what. We make our way to the soccer fields that Blaine uses for the big ass soccer tournaments every year. Right as we get situated, H start to not feel good. 30 minutes until the show starts. I race my way back to Target to get a bottle of water so she can take her medicine.


From our location I could see two other firework shows. The real fireworks (the show I went there for) was pretty cool. Sort of lackluster finale though. Overheard some fella say it's because of the recession. Not sure if I buy that, but I don't have a better answer.


Now here comes the grand exit. A couple thousand cars all trying to use the same three two-lane streets to get to the highway. And it's barely a highway. 4 lanes, but stoplights every 1/4 mile. Local Minnesotans of the north metro know my pain of highway 65. It took us about 35 minutes to travel 1.3 miles. Not cool. For most of the trip I had my eyes glued to the gas gauge. It was on E when I got to the lot to begin the night. And I knew all this time idling in traffic would be an adventure in its self. I should have turned towards the highway the first chance I had, but no. It was just a tiny bit backed up so I decided to keep going straight; thinking it would get better the further away from the event I was. Booooo me. That would have saved me big time I think. I heard plenty of booming cars with rap, 80's and country music. Somebody trying to direct traffic from their own idling car. Another person throwing out those tiny snap firecrackers out of their car window. We got hit with a sprinkler thru our open windows. We first thought it was some ass hitting us with a super soaker or something. I round the corner and can finally see the intersection. Yes! We’re going to make it. Just as we cross the low fuel light turns on. Even though we were 10 feet from the gas station, that light still panicked me for a second.


We make it home fine and vow that we are not doing this again next year. I suggest we just take bikes. Or we could just walk. It’s not that far away. I’m quickly shot down. So, I had a good fourth. I’ve missed out on the last few for just this reason. The hassle of coming and going to such an event.


Holy crap. Would you look at that? I didn’t expect to be so long winded. But it is what it is right? If you don’t like it, copy and paste it into notepad and edit away. Delete all together if you want. Whatever. And after proofing it, I realize it's a shit written tale too.