4th of July - US Independence Day

We got an invitation to go to Poulsbo for the 4th of July weekend. The invitation came from Kim and Rob, who were on exchange to Grafton, NSW in 2008. We also spent time with them back in June when we went to a Mariners game, and kayaking on Lake Union.

We arrived on Friday afternoon to find that the house was right on the shore of the Hood Canal. We looked straight up the canal to see the newly opened Hood Canal Bridge.

The local fireworks display in Poulsbo was set for Friday, July 3rd. We headed in to the harbour area, at about 8:30, to get a good position. There was a band playing and people setting up chairs and blankets in any good vantage position. We walked along the boardwalk and found a free position near the water. There were people on the boats that were moored, and some out on the ones in the canal. There were people rowing, and in kayaks, and the water police patrolling the canal making sure all watre craft had lights on and were clear of the fireworks barges.

The sun went down around 9:30 pm, but it didn't really start to get dark until after 10:00 pm. Boats started to toot their horns in anticipation. They started at about 10:15 pm and continued for about 15 minutes. Quite a good display.

The next day was July 4th and we drove in to Kingston to see the local parade. Again, everyone was getting there early to get the best position for a good view. We found our spot and waited for the parade to start. There were drum bands, cheerleaders, car clubs, motorcycle clubs and all kinds of community groups in the parade. Everyone was throwing candy to the crowd on both sides of the road. I think that we were probably lucky that we were near the start of the parade. The kids in our group were scrambling to get as much as they could. The parade route meant that the road through town was blocked, which also meant that access to the Kingston ferry was also blocked in both directions. On the way back after the parade we went to Port Gamble to have a look at this quaint village that had been built in the style of houses in Maine. There was an interesting shell museum, and we called in at an antique store as well.

During the afternoon we went to a nearby Indian Reservation to buy fireworks. The natives are allowed to sell fireworks on the reservation. We pulled up to a heap of stalls on the side of the road. There were about 20 stalls, but they all seemed to part of the same group. We pooled money and sent Richard of to barter and deal. Hayley was also excited to purchase her own pack. There were all sorts of fireworks available, and packs ranged from $20 to uver $500 for some of the super family packs. We must have driven away with a coupe of hundred dollars worth, that would just go up in smoke tonight. There would have been hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fireworks sold through this outlet today.

After dinner there were some fireworks set off by the kids. We had a fire down on the beach and had set up a platform on the sand from which the fireworks would be launched. The official opening was when all the women were invited down to the fire to light a sparkler and declare the event open. We watched the fireworks around the canal and nearby, while we set our own off. They ranged from tanks that threw out showers of sparks, to skyrockets and mortars that exploded into showers of colour high in the sky. There were all sorts including bumblebees that spun as they launched and those that whistled as they flew. We began packing up around midnight, and still had some that could be packed up and used for next year.

The next day sitting out on the deck looking out over the canal we spotted a submarine being escorted from the base down the canal to the open sea. There were tugs with barges stacked with containers on either side of it in an attempt to shield it from public view. It was probably a nuclear sub and there were smaller navy boats in front and behind it making a "no-go zone" around the sub and the barges.