Hey friends, and happy belated 4th of July to my American readers! Matt and I continued our tradition this year of watching the DC fireworks by kayak. :)
I think this was our 4th time watching the fireworks by kayak; it’s expensive (you pre-book a kayak through the Key Bridge Boathouse and they charge an outrageous amount of money – it’s more than double what it used to be years ago) but it’s such a unique and cool way to see the fireworks without dealing with the massive crowds at all the other prime viewing spots.
Plus, we figure this might be our last year for awhile doing this (something tells me taking a 7 month old in a kayak next year would probably not be the brightest idea…), so I’m glad we made the push!
We lucked out with nice weather – not too hot, not too cold, and not too windy, either! It stormed in the afternoon which cooled things off nicely, and even though there was rain/storms in the forecast for the evening, it stayed dry while we were out there. Whew!
You can take the boats out as early as 6, but we didn’t get out there until about 8. Sitting in a kayak for 4 hours straight didn’t sound super comfortable. ;) Our departure still gave us plenty of time to paddle the 30ish minutes from Key Bridge over to the water in front of the Lincoln Memorial!
The first year we did the DC fireworks by kayak was 2013 – I remember it not being crowded out there at all! In 2014 there were more people but still nothing crazy, and even last year it wasn’t that crowded (although it was a little rainy last year so that might be why). Well, this year the secret is definitely out – there were tons of kayaks (as well as boats) out on the water! Still plenty of room to float around and not be on top of each other, though.
Just as it got dark, the fireworks began!
Gorgeous – here are some of my favorite shots. I took a bunch of pictures in the first minute of the show and then put my phone away, relaxed, and enjoyed the rest technology free. :)
Just before the grand finale, a MASSIVE group of geese floated by. Matt snagged a photo of them – too funny! This was only like 1/4 of them – there were so many! Apparently they weren’t enjoying the fireworks so much, but they didn’t seem to be bothered by all the kayakers!
Such a fun night. We got stuck in lots of traffic trying to get out of Georgetown last night after paddling back to the docks, but it was worth it. :)
Did you watch fireworks last night? Where were you?
Have you ever watched fireworks from the water? I love the way the fireworks light up the water in front of you – so cool looking!