Ditto Landing won out!

Ditto Landing won out! The baseball game would have been great but I’ve gotten to where I just love Ditto. I spend a few hours a weekend sitting at the mouth to the harbor watching boats come and go and get excited when one of the really big boats heads out. So choosing it for the 4^th was pretty easy.

Emily and I got there a little before the scheduled opening time and that turned out to be a blessing. The place was packed by fireworks time. The powers that be set everything up at the main pavilion using the end of trailer parking lot as the fallout zone for the explosives. This was ok by me since the main pavilion is high ground and you get a great view of the Tennessee River. By sunset the River was full of boats and I was so envious. I got to be one of those fortunate ones next year.

4^th of July is one of those days when one comes to grips with aging and knows it isn’t all bad. I enjoyed seeing the kids running with boundless energy as their patient yet tattered parents ran after them. The teens where so easy to read. Those who wanted to be cool but just couldn’t manage and those who coolness just came naturally, if being born beautiful and wealthy is all natural. Young lovers pawing at each other while lover want-a-be couples awkwardly fumbled in hand play and body bumping. Middle aged couples sat comfortably next to their significant other with looks of all-knowingness on their faces. Then there where the older folks like Emily and I who enjoyed being spectators. Clearly the fireworks and sky divers were not the only show that night. Everyone was beautiful in the setting sun.

The fireworks were grand and lasted a decent amount of time. Across the river, rival displays from people willing to spend the money would show their booming colorful explosions and the evening was a vista of July 4^th celebration.

Getting out of the parking area was not as bad as expected and my fellow humans gave just as good a show there of their humanity. Those who couldn’t wait and shuffled their way into line while others just sat in their vehicles with their windows open enjoying the cool evening air. Families dragging coolers, lawn chairs and excitedly tired kids with them as they trudged back to their family chariot. Older folks, locked in arm with their adult children enjoying the end of the evening stroll. Emily and I watched as the confusion played out before us. Our patience was rewarded when we saw the masses had the wrong exit strategy and we slide out the back way while the masses dealt with each other. We got a McDonald's meal after unsuccessfully trying Sonic. The holiday staffing had played havoc all day at the restaurants in town. Returning to my place, I couldn’t send her home so late with so much activity still going on in the wilds of Northern Alabama. It was just too long and treacherous a drive back to Fayetteville, TN. So I offered her a place to sleep at my place. Well, heck, any excuse will do now won’t it. {wink}