Independence Day at the Bay Area
It’s July 4th, and Americans everywhere are celebrating Independence Day. In most towns, fireworks are the order of the day.
On the eve of the holiday, Stanford University had fireworks at Ford Amphitheater. The fireworks were not hard to find - just follow the crowds. The field next to Stanford Stadium was packed with families and kids with multi-coloured lights. Once darkness fell, fireworks lit the horizon - we found that this was an excellent location because the Hoover tower was also silhouetted against the pyrotechnics.
 |
| From California |
On the 4th of July itself, we went to Shoreline Amphitheater, a huge outdoor arena capped with a huge white tent. There, the San Francisco Symphony performed musicals and entertained the crowd picnicing on the lawn. This was a much larger crowd - the Amphitheater itself can hold 20,000 people. The fireworks here was even better than the one at Stanford - here, the orchestra was synchronized with the fireworks and there we were just a hundred metres away from the lights.
One of the consequence of these fireworks is that they are very popular and since everyone drives here, the parking and traffic jam to get out was horrendous. We were stuck for 45 mins waiting to get out of Stanford and one hour getting out of Shoreline. Fortunately, Gabriel was asleep and did not make a fuss, so it was mostly an exercise of patience. Note for next year: park further away and walk!