Happy 4th of July
Our plans? We have tickets to tonight’s Ducks game, which will be followed by fireworks.
The biggest fireworks display on Long Island will be at Jones Beach tonight, of course, but we’ve opted to avoid the crowds. There was a fireworks display at Eisenhower Park last night; we live close enough to the park that we could hear the booming as the fireworks were launched (no wonder Duchess was so clingy…).
We’ve got the DVR set to record the Macy’s fireworks. This year they’ve moved the barges to the Hudson River instead of the East River. Should be interesting,
I’ve never actually ventured into the city to see the Macy’s fireworks. The closest I came was in 1992 …
That year the Macy’s fireworks were presented on the Hudson.
But there was also a daytime event on the Hudson, Operation Sail. 1992 was the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ first voyage; a huge regatta, including replicas of Columbus’ ships, would sail into NY Harbor and up the Hudson River on July 4.
At the time I was working in Jersey City, NJ. Our offices were directly across the Hudson from the World Trade Center. The company decided to open up the building for July 4th activities. Employees could bring their families to either the Operation Sail event or the fireworks.
At the time, Drew, Jen and I were living in Queens, NY. That meant we would have to travel from Queens into Manhattan, then from Manhattan to New Jersey. That would have been doable, even with a toddler, but I was 9 months pregnant. In fact, my due date was … July 4. I really didn’t want to have two rivers between me and my obstetrician.
So we stayed home. When it got dark we put Jen to bed, then stood on our 6th floor balcony and watched the fireworks all over our neighborhood.
1992 was the only year the company opened up the building on the 4th of July. Missed opportunity…sigh.
Becca was born four days later. She’ll celebrate her birthday on Monday.
One year, my cousin (the one I blogged about today) was nine months pregnant and due , I think, on July 10. She was stressed out about if she would be able to make it to the hospital if she went into labor on July 4. It was the 2013 visit I blogged about where I finally understood why (and saw what Brooklyn is like the night of the 4th By nightfall I thought we were in a war zone). You were wise not to try. It's too bad your office did that opening of the building just that one time.
ReplyDeleteYeah … back then John Gotti used to shoot off fireworks in Howard Beach, but he certainly wasn’t the only one. We had quite a view from our balcony.
DeleteProbably the best bet not to go that year. It's too bad that was the only year they opened up the building.
ReplyDelete