Independence Day Eve

I can't help but want to watch the Will Smith movie, Independence Day every Fourth of July.  Just say'n.

Some how I managed to miss all the fireworks this Independence Day weekend.  No worries, I had a great time with my friends drinking wine, listening to music and chowing down. David, Alex and I headed out to Les Bourgeois for their BBQ, live music, wine and awesome view of the river.

There were a ton of people there, not an open table in sight. Luckily this really nice, really redneck, family gave us some room at their table.

One thing I love about Les Bourgeois is the dramatic shifts in populations there. One moment someone is in heels and a sun dress and the next it's a guy in his rugby outfit. You just never know what you're going to get.  All you really do know is there will be a lot of people there enjoying a lot of wine and some of the best food Mid-Missouri has to offer.  Seriously good food.

Unfortunately it started raining, and then it stopped and then it started again… Yeah, so we went back to Columbia, before the fireworks show started. I got dinner at Flat Branch and then we headed to Tropical Liqueurs.

There we met up, by accident, with some friends both old and new. I have lived in Columbia for seven years and I still seem to meet new people regularly. That's pretty awesome.

Off to the condo where we watched a horrendous "scary" movie called The Fourth Kind.

Despite the lame movie, the Third of July turned out to be one of the best Fourth of Julys I've had in a long time. Good friends can do that.

On second thought… all the more reason to be sad about so many of my friends moving away!

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How I Celebrated my Independence

A Fourth of July fireworks display at the Wash...Image via Wikipedia

So yesterday was the fourth of July.  Or rather, it was the Fourth of July.  The day we celebrate our independence, here in America. Last year I was in Washington DC for the Fourth of July with best friend Landon.  We had a nearly missed the show, and in the capitol city, but it was a wonderful time.  This year was different, being in Missouri and not anywhere all that exciting.

We celebrate this by cooking out with friends and family, grilling some burgers and brats, enjoying the outdoor weather, drinking and setting off fireworks followed by watching a professional fireworks show later in the evening.

I accidentally didn’t do any of those things.  I had the intention of grilling out with Ryan at his work.  I had this idea that I’d hang out with my friend Beau and his guests for a Bar-B-Que.  I thought I’d pick up some sparklers for a photo I wanted to take.  I thought later I would go to Jefferson City or to Faruot Field and watch the fireworks show.

What happened was totally different but still a lot of fun.  I went to Harpo’s where I hung out with Colin, Kevin, Brittany, Ashley and a couple of other friendly people.  We had the idea of being on a roof equaling a great view of the fireworks.  Not so much.  The trees around the building blocked any site of the show.  But that was ok, we had our drinks and our conversation.  I had not seen Kevin in about a year so it was wonderful catching up with him. Plus, we totally matched.

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Later we went to the trainwreck of a gay bar out here called, Arches and Columns.  I hear it used to be a real deal pub, and then it was a leather daddy bar and now it’s just a dive.  But always fun.

Bumped into more people I hadn’t seen in quite some time, had a drink, had a good time.  We hung out a bit more at Kevin’s before I went home and crashed.

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Now for the Main Event

We almost didn’t make it to see the fireworks. It was touch and go as we were still eating when we heard the first crack of the fireworks. We actually missed much of the show, but thanks to Landon, we made it just in time to get a few glimpses at the show from the roof of his office building.

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Now for the fireworks…

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And then there were all of the cities surrounding Washington DC having their own fireworks shows. It was awesome to stand on the roof of Landon’s building and see six or more different fireworks shows 360 degrees around you.

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And here is why I love my new (yet old) lens. These next two shots were taken from Landon’s building in the heart of Washington DC of a fireworks show in Maryland Virigina!

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