Monday – 04 July 2016
Today is Independence Day. I hope that everyone has a safe and fun holiday.

Greetings from Paragon City…

A couple weeks ago, I suggested to Sara! that we find a hotel overlooking a site with a fireworks display. That way, we could let the ladies stay up late and watch fireworks, but also not have to fight crowds trying to exit the venue. Win-Win. After doing some searching, I noted that most places around here are doing fireworks tonight… but we wanted to be able to find something that would allow Team DiVa to see them without creating tiny monsters who refuse to wake up tomorrow for school.

Saturday morning, Sara learned that Rocky Mountain Raceway was having a post-race fireworks show. She also found a hotel about a mile (as the crow flies) from the racetrack. We called, learned that they had vacancies, and booked a room. What we did not do was tell the girls about it. Instead, we went about our previously-scheduled plans, which included spending the afternoon with friends and their kids. As we were leaving, we told the girls about a “special adventure” that we were going to take that evening. This piqued their curiosity. They were quite pleased to find out that we were going out – and that they could stay up late – to watch fireworks. We threw essentials into a bag and headed out.

The hotel is not terribly far from where I work (and even closer to some places I go for lunch). We got there, got checked in, and headed to our room. The view couldn’t have been better: We were on the top floor, facing the direction of the racetrack. As an added surprise, I went out and picked up some popcorn from the nearby movie theatre, as a fireworks-watching snack. Another win. The girls impatiently watched cartoons while waiting for it to get dark enough for the fireworks to begin. I was a little worried that they might not make it, as they’d had a rather long day. My concerns were totally unfounded; they were amped. The display started a couple minutes past 10 PM and lasted for nearly half an hour. The girls “oohed” and “aahed” and commented on how pretty the various explosions were. And, to their credit, after it was all said and done, went to sleep rather quickly. Hallelujah.

The next morning, I asked the girl if it was a fun surprise. They enthusiastically agreed that it was.

Family adventure win.