I experienced my first Thunder Over Louisville in May (remember I'm still catching up).
Hmmm, where do I start?
The obvious....the fireworks were spectacular. The air show was pretty interesting as well. I'd never been to one of those either. I have been so deprived. The day...We headed up to Floyd's Knob to join the friends that had invited us. A 45 minute drive for us, so we had plenty of time to look at the sky and worry about rain. We had already discussed our layers for warmth at home. We arrived at Ginny and John's just before 1...then the fun began. After a trip down the knob along hair pin curves with a hair raising driver, we stopped at the gas station for ice. Ginny comments this is the point they got to last year when they realized they'd forgotten the tickets.
John says, "Tickets?" Back the way we came.
Eventually, after threats of car sickness, we make it to Derby Dinner Playhouse. We park and meet up with another couple and begin the long trek to the river...until an entrepreneurial soul comes along with a tractor and flat bed with hay bales, no less, and offers to take us to the flood wall...got to love the American spirit.
At the flood wall I discover my wallet is missing. I try not to freak when freaking is not going to do any good. I do a quick mental inventory of my wallets contents...bank card, Visa, Priscilla's gift card with $14 remaining on it, insurance card, my driver's license that has a good picture (Those are hard to come by) and about $6. I'm hoping my host's German Shepherd, who I'd been running around the house with, was having the time of her life with a new chew toy...look green stuffing!
While doing this mental calculation of my possible financial ruination at the hands of an unscrupulous person, we weave through the throngs of people, vendors and infamous Thunder pots.
At King Fish we are shown to our tables, directly across from where one of the barges will be and under cover. Damn, it's cold on the river. Zach, our server, brings coffee.
So we spend the day talking, gawking at air crafts, taking pictures of each other...and taking a walking tour of the flood wall. It's cold, but it isn't raining...yet, and the company is good.
It did eventually rain...just a little, but enough to win my $5 bet that it would because of my presence. I also got a dollar on a dare...so I had recouped the $6 in my wallet.
King Fish did a wonderful job, we were served appetizers, dinner and dessert...and the drinks never stopped coming. Hint for future reference, oatmeal raisin cookies and coconut rum...not a good combination.
It's moving along to 9:30 so we pull our chairs up, maybe 12 feet from the river, for an unobstructed view of the fireworks, bridge and downtown Louisville (until the smoke completely obscured the view at one point. I kept hearing Smoke on the Water in my head. Yes, I'm telling my age). The city looks beautiful at night.
There we sit, bundled and huddled, watching the fireworks with the occasional and mandatory ohhhhs and ahhhhs. There were planets, hearts and stars and a rainbow of colors. At some point, there is an explosion of white fireworks, not very high with small squiggly tails, that are erupting with high pitched whistles from the barges and bridge and from two different voices on two different sides of me, I hear, "Screaming sperms." I think they look more like movie special effects for ghosts...but now I can't get the thought Screaming Semen out of my head...and they repeated these loud, blinding white pyrotechnics repeatedly.
We spent a short time in traffic, there was apparently an injury accident somewhere, but I think generally things moved well. We headed back up to the knobs and spent time in a hot tub being defrosted while everyone else fought traffic. About 14 hours after the adventure began we were on our way home...warm, content and tired. Or as Ginny put it...frozen, defrosted and cooked.
My son found my wallet at home. I'd apparently dropped it rushing around to get ready. So I guess this story has a happy ending.
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