A Fourth of July Celebration!

Laurie and I hadn’t seen any fireworks from a great vantage point since we were soaking in a hot tub overlooking the San Juan Islands in Washington State…many, many years ago.  So, when our friends Charlie and Karen invited us to view a fireworks show from their boat on Tellico Lake, we jumped at the chance! 

On our way to view the fireworks, I asked Charlie if he could cruise by this tow boat…one of the few working vessels this far up the Tennessee River.  I really like big boats and ships… The ‘Jeanette B’ was built in 1928 by the Charles Ward Engineer Works in Charleston West Virginia.  This vessel is 64.8 ft. long and weighs 47 tons.  The Knoxville Barge Company is a division of the Brownlee Companies.  The barge division’s focus is on shoreline erosion prevention, dock erection, river dredging and heavy material transport.  In this case, it was moving a barge full of rock to stabilize the shoreline.

For information on the Charles Ward Engineering Works, which was in operation from 1872 until 1931, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ward_Engineering_Works.  For better pictures of the Jeannette B, go to http://www.lesjones.com/2008/05/23/the-jeanette-b-knoxville-barge/.  The Brownlee Companies’ website is www.brownleecompanies.com.

Now…onto the festivities!!

Karen and Charlie also invited some other mutual friends, Holly and Joel.  Note the festive neckwear that Holly is wearing… 

Here’s Holly, (with a Shiner Bock), and Karen, our hostess for this soirée…

This is Charlie trying to guide us safely across the crowded lake at night…with Joel harassing him and Joel and Holly’s son, Justin just chilling with another Shiner Bock.

Laurie captured quite a few decent photos of the fireworks…and it’s a bit like trying to catch fireflies.  They last for an instant and they’re gone!

This fireworks show is staged annually by a local dentist. (Business must be very good!) He has a big party at his house and the evening is climaxed with a big fireworks display.  He even lets his neighborhood know when he’s staging the event so they can enjoy the display…

The fireworks used to be staged off the end of his dock, but this year the sponsor of this event stepped it up a notch…complete with a professional crew and an offshore fireworks barge.

There had to be 100 plus boats scattered around this part of the lake watching the action.  In addition, the main road along the lake was dotted with parked vehicles with their emergency lights flashing…

This show was so big…and so professional…that they actually had a safety patrol boat in operation to ensure that all the boats stayed back at a safe distance.  There was applause and boat horns were sounded after every burst of action emanating from the barge!

All in all, this was a great Fourth of July Celebration!  Over 30 minutes of top drawer fireworks, no crowds to deal with, good friends to share the experience, floating on the lake in comfort, a beautiful evening… So far, retirement has really been “tough”!

We hope that your Independence Day was enjoyed by you and yours!

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave