The Fourth at Wellington

To my delight, much of The Fourth was spent right here at Wellington.  We have lived in Wellington for two years, two months and two weeks.  Plus a day or so.  But through the magic of "calendars" it is our third Independence Day at Wellington.  Ever since we moved in I've been wanting to stay home during the fireworks display.  I was sure we would be able to see the fireworks from our upstairs balcony.

It all started on the 3rd, actually.  Benicia held its annual Torchlight Parade down 1st Street.  The Hub and I were home alone (but for the cat).

It was a beautiful evening and we decided to stay on the porch and watch from there.  Wellingon is a couple of blocks from 1st Street.  But we could hear the goings on.  And we had our own little parade.  People were parked up and down our street, so we had a steady flow of foot traffic.  As the parade ended, two blocks up, many of the cars, trucks and floats rounded the corner and drove in front of our house.  So we got to see as much of the parade as we wanted. 

On the 4th, we had the kids and a couple of friends for a barbecue.  We took walks around town.  The photo at the top of this post was a group of boats at the Marina, all linked together and sharing hors doeuvres prior to sailing out into the harbor to watch the fireworks.

Below is a photo of the condos at the harbor.  There were a lot of parties going on on balconies.  I respected their privacy and didn't take their pictures.  But I took a picture of this one that The Mom and I went in about 15 years ago and again this year when it was for sale.  It's the bottom condo on the left.  Very cute two bedroom overlooking the harbor.  Neither one of us bought it, but we both thought about it.

A lot of people were downtown.  The new little market that opened up had many patrons.  It looked really quaint with the produce bins out front.  You can't really tell from this pic, but it did.

 In the park there was a festival.  Bands played, vendors sold and families barbecued.

There was even a climbing wall.  Most of us stayed on the ground on account of our fear of heights.

 A little "choo choo" took tikes around.  It wasn't really a train.  You can see the wheels underneath.

This is the yacht club.

 It was only early afternoon, but people were picnicking down by the water.  Staking out their spots for the fireworks.

Our spot for the fireworks was staked out two years, two months and two weeks ago.  Here is what it looked like from our balcony.  Only way better.  I couldn't believe how perfectly situated we were for the fireworks.  It's almost like they planned where to set them off so that we would have the best view right from Wellington.

You know fireworks never look as good in photos.  Especially photos with your phone camera.  But I needed proof that we could see them from our balcony, since all the kids walked downtown to see them at the water.

Overall it was a complete success with lots of food, friends and fun.  I think we'll do it again next year.