Fourth of July

For the 4th of July we decided to brave the crowds and watch the fire works show in DC.  There was a free concert on the capital lawn before the fireworks but you had to get there at like 3:00 to get seats and there was no way we were going to go sit in the heat for 6 hours just to see a free concert (plus church doesn't get out until 4).  So at about 6 we met up with some friends and took the metro to the national mall.  It was kinda crowded but not too bad... yet.  We found a good patch of grass at the base of the Washington Monument and spread out our blankets.  The fireworks didn't start until 9 so we spent the rest of the evening playing games, eating snacks, listening to the live bands, and chasing down our friends son every time he tried to escape!  As it started to get closer to 9 the crowds around the mall started really getting thick.

Here is a video showing where we  were watching the fireworks.

By the time the sun was almost down, the whole national mall (and probably more) was packed with people, you couldn't see an empty spot anywhere. Then the fire works started.  It was a pretty good fireworks show, and the setting was great! They light off the fireworks from the reflecting pool in between the Lincoln and Washington monuments and we were close enough to see them lighting the fireworks. 

The Grand Finale

   Once the fireworks were over it was time to try and get home.  We decided that the bus was the way to go since the metro was going to be SUPER crowded.  We walked down 17th street for about 8 blocks to catch the bus and the entire time we were just surrounded by a mass of people.  There were people filling the street from side walk to side walk as far as I could see in front and behind us.  For at least half of the walk the street was blocked off to traffic, but a few blocks from the bus/metro stop, traffic was allowed to drive.  The problem was there was still a huge mass of people.  A few cars tried to push their way through, but for the most part they ended up having to pull over and just wait because they couldn't get anywhere.

This was the street right next to the white house as we tried to walk home.

It was a little difficult to find the bus in the huge mass of people, but we found it just before it left! It took us about an hour and a half to get home on the bus, the metro might have been faster, but at least on the bus we got to sit! So all in all it was a really good fourth of July! (next year if we're here though, we'll watch the fireworks from across the river.)