Fireworks and more pics from yesterday

Yesterday’s plans got messed up somewhat, but it still ended up a fine day.  I spent the afternoon at the Saucer chatting with my friends Dennis and Mary Pat from Huntsville, then stopped by Rio Loco for a quick bite to eat.  Next stop was to be Tom Lee Park, where I had tube tops waiting on me.  However, I pulled up WeatherBug and it showed that rain was about to come through.  I wasn’t real interested in another rainy day in the park, so I went home to wait it out.  I ended up not getting to the park until 8 PM.

However, even though I wasn’t there, people were still snapping pics on my behalf.  Here are a couple of pics someone e-mailed me of the Nuh-Uh Girl.

The Nuh-Uh Girl deciding what to eat next

… and, after the decision has been made.

So anyway, I got to the park at 8 and started texting people trying to find anyone I knew.  Trouble is, most of the friends I was trying to meet got there at 4 and were near the stage, and I had to wade through a sea of people to find them.  In Tom Lee Park there are these poles with numbers on them.  I think maybe the barges and riverboats use them to identify their position.  And during May, so do festival-goers.  “I’m at Pole 9, on the riverside,” texted Bicycle Bobby, who was an important person to find because he had PBR.  (You can bring your own beer and booze to Sunset Symphony, as long as it’s not in glass.)

I went to pole 9.  Bicycle Bobby was nowhere in sight, but I saw my group of friends.  I stopped long enough to mooch a beer and take this pic of Sarah and friend:

Normally I would have stayed and hung with them the rest of the evening, but my friend Suzy was texting me to come find her near the left end of the stage, and rumor had it that Suzy had on a pink tube top, commando.  So I bid my friends adieu after mooching a beer, and told them I’d come back shortly.  I made a stupid mistake here:  I failed to snap a pic of Lauren from Calhoun’s, who had on a purple tube top.

I waded through the crowd to get from the riverside to the sidewalk side.  It took me a good 10 minutes because I had to dodge blankets, lawn chairs, kids, food, coolers, you name it.  Tried to find the tube tops I was looking for, then realized that even if I found them, I was going to have to turn right around and walk to the porta-potties to trade in the last two beers I’d consumed.  By the time I got that done, I’d had enough of the crowd and was ready to say “screw it” and leave.

Fortunately I had a good Plan B.  My friends Lee and Lauren had called earlier in the day.  They were having people over at their condo at the Lofts on Tennessee Street.  So I walked over there to watch the fireworks.  Here are a few pics.

Lauren and Morgan dancing

The Nuh-Uh Girl wasn’t on the rooftop, so there was plenty of food for everyone.

Shawn, Morgan and Joe watching the fireworks

Toward the end of the show, I set the camera to video mode and started filming.  I got more than I bargained for.  About a minute after I rolled the camera, there was an explosion and two fireballs and the show was abruptly over.  I never found out what happened, but that did not seem to be the intended grand finale.  See video below, where you can see the first fireball and explosion at the end.  Everyone ran to the edge of the roof to see what happened, so I turned my camera off and missed the second fireball.

After it was over, we went downstairs and played Rock Band for a while.  No bars for me afterward… I decided to call it a night.

And now it’s an extra-long Sunday Fun Day, with no work tomorrow.  Time to recharge the camera battery, drink some caffeine and get out there.