So. Last year's 35-shot Independence Day photo set on Flickr was the smallest I'd had for this holiday since 2010. Well, this year's 29-shot photo set is the smallest I've had since 2002 -- that is, the smallest since I started using digital photography, which was in 2003.

But, this year I took 21 photos before the fireworks started and only kept 8 of the shots taken after they started; last year those numbers were 23 and 12, respectively. I could have matched last year's count overall had I kept more of the many fireworks shots I took, but let's be real -- there are only so many unique shots you can take of a fireworks display. It's all about context, where they're happening at, and integrating those surroundings. And this was our second year at South Lake Union Park.

Another curious thing about my personal history with this holiday: I've spent it exclusively with Shobhit, and no one else, every year now for the past five years: four years in a row 2013-2016 at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles, and now two years in a row at South Lake Union Park in Seattle. In earlier years -- and I have photo sets for Independence Day going as far back as 1996 -- I spent it with friends. Most notably Danielle, with whom I spent Independence Day in Seattle every year between 1997 (a year before I even moved here) and 2000; then again in 2004 and 2005 when we went out with her and Patrick on their boat. I haven't spent the holiday with her since 2005, and almost thought there could be a chance of it this year, but once again, it was just Shobhit and me. Which was fine.

There was a guy Shobhit said might join us last night, from his work, but that never happened either. We just found our spot by the water at South Lake Union Park, at around 6:30 or so probably.

There were things both better and worse about hanging out at South Lake Union Park for four hours this year. Seafair is the organizer of the fireworks on Lake Union, and they always have a presence at GasWorks Park on the north side of the lake -- it's where the fireworks barge itself is much closer to and has been for both the two full decades I've lived in Seattle. Last year, they had a presence in South Lake Union Park, complete with reserved seating chairs up at the water line; a "silent disco" (people dancing using headphones, so if you're anyone else just watching them, it's pretty fucking funny); and open seating on the grass behind all that. Oh, there were also food trucks.

Neither Seafair nor the food trucks had any presence there this year. Only an inexplicable chain link fence surrounding the large grassy area -- inexplicable because there were still openings on all sides, so people could still easily fill it up with their blankets and picnic baskets and such. And there were cops wandering about. A small section of port-a-potties, which I could use easily early in the evening but bagged the idea when I went back there around 9:30 and the line was so massive I wouldn't have gotten back before the fireworks actually began. Or maybe I would have -- the fireworks didn't actually begin until 10:20. But whatever, I was fine.

Anyway! Seafair's absence actually worked very well for us, because given how early we got there, and although it was still warm and humid I assume the mostly sunny skies cut down on the crowds earlier in the day as compared to last year (it even sprinkled rain there for a minute), we found a spot to spread our outdoor folding blanket right there on the pier by the water. We were much closer to the lake shore this year than last year as a result, and honestly I hope we can duplicate that next year. Perhaps we'll even stake a spot out on the pier stretching into the water in front of that spot. I wasn't sure we'd be allowed to spread out blanket out there, but later it filled up with other people.

You know what? I just made a note of that on my Google Calendar for next year, just so I wouldn't forget about it.

We had a pretty hearty picnic dinner we packed into Shobhit's backpack and brought all the way down there: sandwiches I made for both of us; chips and crackers I packed; pineapple I sliced and boxed; corn on the cob Shobhit fried up right after getting home from work; and two thermoses, one filled with Tamarind Mule cocktails and one filled with hot chai, which Ia also made before Shobhit got home from work. I had everything but the corn on the cob prepped by the time he got home.

Shobhit walked there with the heavy backpack on his back and I walked down with the outdoor folding blanket folded up and hung with its strap over my shoulder. Walk down Pine to Boren, then up to Fairview to South Lake Union Park. Shobhit insisted the fireworks display was better this year than last, but I figure they were about the same. They must have lasted twenty minutes, once they finally got underway at about 10:20. Such is one of the few downsides to being in Seattle, where early summer nights start rather late (I don't know what the hell they do in Alaska, where sunset is an hour later than hours in Anchorage and yet another hour later than that in Fairbanks).

We walked back home after, and this time I carried the backpack and Shobhit carried the folding blanket -- until we switched about halfway there because the weight of the backpack was slowing me down, even though it had been significantly lightened by everything we consumed. It was just after 11 pm when we finally got back home, and then I took another hour to edit and upload my photos so I'd have them available for pasting into the requisite email digest I sent out this morning, and then also do my exercises and get ready. It was just after midnight when I finally got to sleep.

[posted 12:24 pm]