We went to a fireworks party last evening, just on the edge of Little Italy here in San Diego. It was on the roof of an apartment building overlooking the airport and the San Diego Bay, with Coronado and Point Loma in the distance. Since the building was on part of the hills that face the bay, we were high enough up that we could easily see all the way past Sea World to Mission Beach and maybe even to Pacific Beach. Just a great view.
Before the fireworks started, the best part of the location was how close we were to the landing planes. They were at about the same elevation as us, just slightly south of where we were (maybe a block or so). If you�ve never been to San Diego, the usual approach to the airport takes you within feet (sometime inches, we all think) of the houses and other buildings in Little Italy. It makes for a big surprise to tourists when they see how low the planes are. It�s even cooler when they pass over your head in a convertible, by the way�there are places where you could swear you could touch the bottom of a passing plane.
Anyway, there we were, having a beer and waiting to watch a plane land while waiting for the sun to finish setting and the fireworks to begin. Finally, a jet came along. As luck would have it, it was an America West plane. In fact, it was the America West �Ohio� plane�so close you could see every rivet and the people in their seats.
I couldn�t help but be struck by the weird irony that I was celebrating my first 4th of July in San Diego, feeling a bit confused by the weather (it was 72 or so during the day and by 8:15pm, it was chilly enough for a light sweater�when in my head the 4th meant that it should have been about 85 and humid) and just a tad homesick for my native Ohio, when this big jet flies past painted like a stylized Ohio state flag (you can see it here, just scroll down a bit).
I watched it the whole way until it finished its landing and turned to taxi to a gate at the distant terminal.
The sun finally finished setting, and, right on cue, the fireworks started. The main show, for us, were the coordinated twin launches from a barge in the bay and Shelter Island on the north side of the bay. They exploded right in front of us and were really lovely. While not as big as Red White and Boom (not even close, really), they were still pretty. They kept landing planes during the show, which must have been really amazing for the passengers as the planes were right next to the explosions!
As a bonus, we could also see the shows from either Mission or Pacific Beach (far in the distance so we�re not sure which one) and Ocean Beach. The OB ones were directly on-line with the end of the runway, which looked pretty cool as well. And later, we could see the Coronado show which was on the other side of downtown, and the Sea World show which was in the distance north and west of us.
So, from one location, we got to see at least five different fireworks shows. And the cool planes. It was a lovely way to celebrate the holiday. Maybe by next year I won’t feel so confused by the weather.