Patriotic Weekend

A fireworks display on Independence Day eve kicked off our weekend celebration. The show originated in Romney Stadium-the venue where Utah State's football team lose all their games. We watched from the field just adjacent the stadium along with all the other poor folk. Shells were launched contstantly for nearly 30 minutes--a pleasant surprise. We invited some friends over to watch The Sandlot, it's really a great summer flick. It's one of those movies that is hard to resist quoting the lines before they come.

The following day we attended the Cruise In at the Cache County fairgrounds. We rode our bikes there to avoid the hassle of finding a parking spot, but unfortunately we did not avoid the hassle of a ticket booth that only accepted cash. Therefore, we rode our bikes to the bank and back to the gates, so much for saving time! Once we were admitted onto the grounds, we walked around and checked out the cars. There were at least 100 cars parked on the grass in rows of about 15. Considering our geographic region, I couldn't believe how diverse the collection was. I think I was having a little bit more fun than Martha checking out all the cars, but she liked them too. I rewarded her with a snow cone for being a good sport. After she polished it off, she went back for another. What can I say, the girl likes shaved ice. My favorite car there was a Duesenberg. If you don't know what those look like you should really look them up. They look like the kind of car some rich miser like Mr. Burns would drive, a car who's driver would run over any poverty stricken low lifes who got in the way. After we zig zagged our way around all the cars, we headed for the outdoor arena where an anxious crowd awaited the forthcoming of Styx from behind the curtain. The Dennis DeYoung-less Styx still managed to rock the house. I came this close to bringing my Paradise Theater vinyl record for the band to sign. They played all the hits, Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man), which if I could digress for a second can I just say I love song titles that include a parenthetical phrase? The only other example I can thing of is Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) but I'm sure you can think of more. Moving right along...Fooling Yourself, Grand Illusion, Come Sail Away, Crystal Ball, Lorelei, Renegade. The only ones I would have liked to hear would be Mr. Roboto and Babe, but those tracks just didn't fit the set so I understand. The attendees were equally entertaining. Just when I thought some styles were long gone, I attend an event at the fairgrounds and realize they are not dead. From the guy with the Michael Bolton haircut accessorized with a fanny pack to the 40 year old bleach blond with the fake tan strutting her stuff, I thank you for not letting these nearly extinct fashion trends die off. Our bike ride home was lit by fellow patriots lighting the sky with their pyrotechnics. Before midnight I had to listen to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA". If you haven't felt patriotic lately, jam that tune then tell me how ya feel.

Oh no, that's not it, we're only to Saturday, this weekend was packed with good times! The weather cooperated perfectly over the weekend so we felt we should continue to enjoy it. In the mid afternoon, we acquired some inner-tubes courtesy our pals Ryan and Brianna who had the idea to float the canal. We ascended up Hwy 89 a few miles just near second dam to the canal's entrance. The channel of water is about 12 feet wide and about 40° F. It moves at a decent pace, the trip probably takes around 30 minutes. The water is fairly shallow, the deepest part is less than three feet, so you really have to make sure you lift up any body parts that may be below the tubes reach. Unfortunately, Ryan was taken by surprise a couple times and his lower back was a witness to this fact. We played sand volleyball at first dam right by where the canal dumped us out. My ankle is still giving me a little trouble, so I couldn't fully enjoy myself, but it was still fun.That evening the roads closed at around 6:30 for the Cruise In parade. All the cars that had been in the show at the fairgrounds the last few days took to the streets for our viewing pleasure. Although I enjoyed looking at the cars parked on the grass, I much prefer to see them on the road where they belong. There's just nothing like the blub blub sound from an old carbureted engine and the smell of gasoline being burned at less than 15 MPG.