Boom City!

Every year the husband and I end up at Boom City. I'm not sure how the tradition started, it's just been one of those things that we always end up doing. We always walk away feeling more alive than ever, and since we have never lived in a city together that allowed large fireworks, this is a great way to get the urge to blow sh*t up out of our system.

Boom City is on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. It is an expo for pyros- stall after stall full of fantastically colored fireworks at relatively inexpensive prices (bartering encouraged!). And if you're looking for some not so legal things (*cough* bombs and drugs *cough*) those can also be found. Although they're cracking down hard, for a good reason. Drugs in a place where you can light off explosives...? Yeah, not a great idea. This little slice of heaven is right along a monstrous field that is open to light off your newly purchased wares... it can become a bit of a war zone - children firing roman candles at each other, mortars (sometimes falling on their sides and shooting into the crowds- we see it at least twice whenever we go), and wind-blown fireworks that blow up too low to the ground, often next to someone's head (the first year it was me who this happened to... my ears rang for a week after).
This year they had a great staff of people who were wandering the area making sure nobody was getting too rowdy... and since we visited on the 2nd of July, less people were running around firing off stuff simultaneously... it felt like a much safer experience.

Can't picture it? Here's a video that nearly sums it up:

Need a bit of an adrenaline rush? Head out to Boom City just before sundown today, bring a lawn chair, dress warmly, and watch people blow up their money in celebration of our fine country. :) Hope you have a happy (and safe!) Fourth of July weekend!