Boom & Beyond

Looking Down on the Boom

Taking in Red White & Boom from downtown Columbus hasn’t been a high priority for the two of us over the last decade. In fact, can’t recall the last time we ventured downtown for the annual show, maybe 6 or 7 years ago. This year, however, we were fortunate enough to receive an invite from some new friends that have a place in Waterford Tower overlooking Bicentennial Park, and of course the fireworks. We were stoked about the opportunity. 

As with most Columbus Boom celebrations, it takes place on the 3rd unless that falls on a weekend day. This year’s event was slated for a Wednesday evening. Wouldn’t you know, while rain has been hard to come by for most of the early summer, storms were forecasted to strike through most of the afternoon and early evening. Boom … and boom!

We made arrangements to attend the celebration with our friend Bill, who also got an invite. The plan was for Bill to meet at our house and then Uber downtown, to and fro. We toyed with having Bella (Belluber) drive us there, but in the end we opted not. The Uber dropped us a block from the venue. Nice!  

As one might expect, there was a security validation sign-in process at the entrance to Waterford Tower. Had to be on a list and receive a wrist band. Up to the 8th floor to June & Charles’ condo overlooking the riverfront. Wow! The view was even better than I imagined. We didn’t show up empty handed. We presented our hosts with a party gift, and we also brought a bottle of good wine to share throughout the event. 

I was familiar with 6 or 7 folks, including the hosts, who I met just this past April in Vail. Enjoyed food and drink ahead of the big firework show. Time seemed to fly by. Before we knew it, it was dark and time for Boom!

One unusual observation was the lack of a large crowd packing the two bridges crossing over the river as well as the waterfront itself. Not sure if it was the earlier storms or a Columbus security measure. Either way, very odd. 

See pictures! Boom!

After the firework show ended, we hung out for another 30-40 minutes exchanging pleasantries and what not. At the same time, Mindy reached out to our friends at Milestone 229, the restaurant at Bicentennial Park just below, who were hosting a private event. Despite the private event, they agreed that we could bring a group down to party the rest of the night away. There were 7 of us. We stopped briefly at the Bicentennial stage to catch a band that was just wrapping up their set.

We partied with our 229 friends until late into night (actually morning). We Ubered home around 2am.

Packing the 4th with Neighbors & Brisket

We spent the actual 4^th of July packing for our summer vacation phase #1 – Sugar Mountain NC - just me, Mindy & Bella. Once we were packed, we headed over to our neighbors, Pat & Lisa to enjoy some food and their family.  Pat made a to-die-for brisket. Yum-yum! I made and took broccoli salad. We didn’t imbibe too much and didn’t stay too late either given that we planned to depart for Sugar Mountain NC the next morning around 9am. Who wants to drive 400 miles tired and perhaps feeling less than optimal?