4th of July - Port Ashton Style

Tristan, Tasha and Myles were so excited to celebrate the fourth of July...all day long Tristan was asking, "where are the fireworks." Of course, Lia did not reveal the secret location. Randy, Lia and I were less enthused about celebrating but luckily for our kids, our guests Jeff, Barbara and Bob were looking forward to producing a fireworks display. (In fact, Randy disappeared and missed the festivities. We sent Steve, a Talvi family friend, to look for him. Steve found him asleep on the boat...the next morning Randy admitted that he fell asleep reading a book, Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls, by Edward Leslie.)

Jeff is a frequent visitor...bringing friends to fish and relax at Port Ashton. And he is a good fisherman. His party came back with their limit. So, Jeff, Bob and Barbara struck a deal with the kids - they would assist with the fireworks if the kids would help package their fish.

Alaska's midnight sun does not lend itself to awe-inspiring fireworks displays. It just doesn't get dark enough to really see all the color. At Port Ashton though one must be flexible...so the show went on before dark. Barbara lit the mortar shells that shot off the aerial displays.

And the kids went nuts with the sparklers. They never stopped moving...running with sparklers in both hands around the adults, surrounded by smoke, insisting that it would keep the bugs away from us. We couldn't decide which was worse...the bugs or the smoke! (The bugs show up when the wind stops blowing.)

Our neighbors joined in on the fun shooting off their fireworks. A big light shot up into the air. We were waiting for the big boom and then poof an umbrella popped out and the flare slowly floated to the ground. They must have forgot their fireworks and used a flare gun...Alaska style...you have to improvise.

I brought some patriotic music to add to the festivities and Lia and I sung back up. Exceptional entertainment! But really the music took away from the experience of being on the beach, in view of Sawmill Bay backdropped by the snow capped mountains of LaTouche Island. It was a delightful night to share with family and friends.

Check out the photo of the fog, which is really the smoke from all the sparklers and fireworks, floating out over Sawmill Bay. It was a beautiful end to a fun evening. Thanks kids!