We went to Barren River Park last year on 4th of July and we had a good time but since we have moved back to Tennessee, the park was further away. We talked about going back there anyway and then I got to looking online to see what was closer. White House had their celebration on Saturday (I worked) but then I saw Gallatin was having their fireworks last night and it was so much closer. So Gallatin it was!
We left out for Gallatin on the bike around 7PM. It is only about 18 miles to Gallatin from our house and the fireworks started at 830PM. The weather was wonderful for a ride on the bike. The sun was low in the sky and the temps were in the high 70's and we took a beautiful country backroad to Gallatin. We arrived around 745PM and the crowd was large. They had a carnival set up next to the Civic Center and the crowds were still milling around there so there was plenty of room to spread out our blanket and wait for the big show. We talked and played some Words with Friends, watched the crowd and of course, I was sooooo excited, I could hardly wait.
Then the big disappointment...we started noticing other people getting up and packing up their stuff and leaving the area. Then a bicycle cop rode up to us and asked if we had heard the news! The fireworks were cancelled! The truck that was delivering them had never showed up! Oh my gosh, I could have cried but instead I got mad and decided I would just go home! We walked back to the bike and Tracy suggested we go on to Barren River but by this time it was after 8PM and that celebration started at 830PM. We were 50 miles away! Again I was pretty mad by now and acting like the only child I am. LOL Let's just go home! So we took off down the road and Tracy said "You wanna go to Nashville?" Hmmmmm...we were only about 30 minutes from Nashville and I had no idea what time the fireworks started or even where to go but YES!! Let's go! The weather was beautiful and we would enjoy a nice bike ride even if we never made it to the fireworks. Surely we would see some fireworks along the way!
When we arrived in Nashville there were fireworks all around us as we rode in to town. It was beautiful! We rode up to the area around the state capital building and there was an area that looked out over the city and there were fireworks going off all across the horizon. I was thrilled! But then we noticed dozens of people walking fast in another direction and so we hopped back on the bike and headed that way. By now we were in downtown Nashville and the traffic was awful! We sat at a light for 10-15 minutes and I told Tracy "It's all good, I have seen some fireworks and had a wonderful ride on the bike, let's just go home..." I am not sure how but we ended up on a large bridge and cars were parked on both sides with only two lanes down the middle open. People had gotten out of their cars and were lined up on the bridge...we were on the bike and how convenient! Tracy pulled the bike in between two cars and we hopped right out on to the bridge. We walked a short distance to an open space and checked it out.
It looked promising! By now it was a little after nine and these people had obviously gathered for some reason. Down on the river below the bridge there were lots of boats, floating and waiting...we could hear the symphony off in the distance and the view of the downtown was just beautiful. THEN the fireworks began!! We had made it there, absolutely unplanned, completely unexpectedly and it was AWESOME! I cant explain it, I laughed, I cried, I was soooo excited! My first big city 4th of July celebration! Words cant explain it and video can't really show it either but here is the grand finale!
Well there you have it! It was the video times a million!! What a wonderful, surprising celebration! And no stress or hassle, we just rode up and had the time of our life!
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