Independence Day! (Sarah day 4)

What better place to be on July 4th than our nation’s capital! I didn’t think I could bear the massive crowds on the National Mall, so Sarah and I decided to view the fireworks from the Jefferson Memorial. We had no idea how early we needed to be there, or how long it would take us to get there on the metro. The metro had a completely different schedule, with trains running on different tracks to accommodate the flow of traffic to the Mall, so we planned for lots of extra time in transit. Oddly, the car we were on was not even full, and it was a quick and easy trip to L’Enfant Plaza.

We had to go through a couple of security checkpoints in our walk from the metro to the Tidal Basin, but the lines weren’t too long and it was a painless process. I can’t say that much for the waiting time after we arrived. We decided to stake our territory on the steps of the Memorial, although the marble is not particularly cushion-y, the steps provided a little bit of back support. There were a lot of people there, but there was still plenty of room, so we picked our spot and made ourselves relatively comfortable. After about an hour, it started to sprinkle. We were prepared for rain (you have to be, in DC at this time of year), and figured that as long as we stayed huddled under our umbrellas, our spots, our stuff, and our selves would stay dry. This was a great plan, except that it didn’t account for the puddles of water pooling around us, especially on the step just above the one we were sitting on. Shortly after the rain let up, we stood up to stretch our legs and discovered that the water from the top step had seeped down the back of our shorts. Since she was in khaki shorts (and I was in dark denim), Sarah’s damage was far worse than mine, and she had to spend a few minutes in front of the hand dryer in the bathroom to help dry her pants. Fortunately, we were not the only ones to be surprised by the rain and we had plenty of wet company. Here is a shot of the crowd just before dark:


We bought ponchos in the gift shop and headed back to the steps. This time we sat on one of the ponchos to help keep us dry. Our plastic ponchos helped a little bit during the next downpour, but we still ended up a bit damp. Still, we were more worried that the fireworks would be cancelled because of the rain. Just after 9:00, the rain let up and the fireworks began. The show was great, and even though I couldn’t quite get the Washington Monument and the fireworks in the same picture, we were so close to the fireworks that they covered most of the sky in front of us. Here are a few of the better pics. Next year, I’ll watch the celebration from somewhere dry!