Washington DC Fireworks - 7/4/2022
The day had finally arrived that I have been looking forward to for quite a while. Fourth of July fireworks in
our nation's capital.
Sarah had watched last year's display from Gravelly Point on the Virginia banks of the Potomac River, so I was
trusting her guidance to choose a location. Sarah and I headed into DC well before noon to find our place to
watch the fireworks. But as we approached the parking lot of Gravelly Point the lot was closed. We were
baffled.
Disappointed and not hopeful that we could find a better viewing spot, we gathered our ideas and drove across the
river into Downtown Washington and took the first exit off of the interstate. We found ourselves in East Potomac
Park and grabbed the first parking spot we saw. Unsure if the park service was enforcing parking fees, we took
our chances and didn't pay at the kiosk.
We packed our chairs and walked north towards the Tidal Basin. After going through security we set up our
chairs and blanket near the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, right near the water. We should have a great
view of the fireworks. Now we just have to wait nine hours.
I sat in my chair and watched people walk past. Sarah read some from her book, relaxed and took a nap on her
blanket.
As the hot afternoon moved along, I noticed that the crowd around us was still quite scarce. We finally decided
it was time to go find some food. We ended up walking all the way to Constitution Avenue. Most of the food
vendors were selling ice cream and other frozen items. We waited in a long line to finally get some food. We
walked along 14th St. and ended up making a complete circle around the Tidal Basin.
Even as evening approached there were very few people joining us near the FDR Memorial to watch the fireworks. Apparently,
the vast majority of the crowd has gathered on the National Mall itself.
After our very long wait had dragged on, the time had finally come for the fireworks to begin.
We have a completely unobstructed view of the fireworks across the Tidal Basin, with the Washington Monument to the
right and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to the left.
Click here to see all of my photos of the DC fireworks.
The impressive firework display lasted for about twenty-five minutes. I was very happy to share this event with
Sarah in Washington.
There was absolutely no crowd to fight on our way back to the car. But the drive back to Sarah's apartment in
Rockville was full of heavy traffic, in spite of that, we made the trip in a reasonable amount of time.
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