Race Up The Mountain

My vacation started like all vacations should.
With a race against the clock.

Can I make it in time?
CAN I MAKE IT IN TIME?!!?

Well....

Like all good work places...they want you to work up to the last possible moment. Milking you for all your worth before you go on vaca.

Which meant for me....
That I got to work a closing shift the night before I left.

Boo. Luckily I wasn't getting up too early the next morning.
But that still meant nearly an hour drive home after work.

Not fun in darkness. Or semi darkness..as the sun hadn't set yet.

Now, comes the race.

You see, this was the 3rd of July.
In my neighborhood we have fireworks at the local golf course that night.
It's a pretty big event, and I love seeing said fireworks.
I try to never miss it. lol my family will rearrange vacations to try and see the fireworks.

And guess what?
Yah.
I had to work.
Until close.
An hour away from the fireworks.

Closing being: 9pm.

The fireworks start pretty soon after the sun sets.
So in my mind...this was around 9:30pm

Hour drive.

Let the race begin!

I literally ran through the aisles of work to get to my stuff and dash to my car.
VRROOOOMMM!
I nearly squealed the tires out of the parking lot.
Gotta get to the fireworks!
Gotta get to the fireworks!

Basically my hope was that the fireworks would last long enough that I could see them shooting from the mountain as I drove up to home.

I totally drove too fast.
Not super fast.
But faster then the speed limit.

Anxiously I kept glancing at the clock.
Then the road.
The clock.
The sky.
The clock.
The miles passing by.
the clock.

Then.
Along the highway.
Fireworks started shooting up.

Not at the golf course. I was still thirty or so minutes away..
No, just neighborhoods shooting off fireworks.

It didn't help me at all.
While I loved seeing the pretty colors in the sky.
It made me tenser.

No!
No!
It's not dark enough yet! You can't shoot them off yet! There's still daylight on the horizon!

Well.
I was still on the road when 930 hit.
And amazingly...it was still light out.
I know the fireworks don't start til it's basically dark. Maybe when there is a faint line of light on the horizon still. But closer to dark.
And it was still pretty light at 930.

Tenser I got.
If the fireworks didn't go off at 930....when did they go off?
At this point I was fighting against hope.
Would I make it?
Would I actually get to see the whole firework show?

9:40 ish.
Still light. But getting darker.
By this point I was wondering "When does the sun actually set!"
I never paid attention to what time the fireworks actually started. I just knew it was after 9. around 930. Well, now I was really mentally banging my head against the wheel for not knowing this little detail.

I screeched off the exit.
Now for the slower part.
I had to get up the mountain to the golf course.
My poor car...isn't great with mountains. It struggles up them half the time.
Well. I wasn't going to miss the fireworks if I could get to them. None had shot up into the sky yet that I could see, So pedal to the medal I gunned up the mountain keeping a nice too fast speed for mountain driving. (35mph in case you're worried I was going 90 or something. :P )

And....no fireworks.
Hope rising.
Hope rising!

Then.
I hit the line of cars.
Lining the mountain.
Going nice slow annoying law abiding speeds up the mountain.
Cars. Parked on the side of the road.
Okay.
That meant that no parking spots would be further up.
I still had no idea how close I was.
-I just know that I used up a full fourth of my tank when it usually takes 1/8th for a normal no hurried journey. lol.
Again. mental banging against the wheel.
How far away from the golf course was I?!? I had to be close.
But how close?
Cars had been parked a mile down the mountain before it seems like.
So I took a side road.
Parked to the max.
Time ticking time ticking.
It was like 950ish.
I had to back track.
Went to the next side road.
Found a spot.
Got out.
I could hear the music.
I had to be close.
Ish.
There was a...undeveloped area between me and the golf course.
And I had no idea if I could run across that area and make it or get there to find out I was blocked.
So after a bit of dithering.
I took the road.
I ran down the hill.
Time ticking.
Time ticking.
The fireworks had to be starting any time.
I ran up the mountain.
You know...til I ran out of breath and had to gasping walk very quickly.
The green fence.
I was getting closer.
Flat ground.
Getting closer.
I broke into a run.
Weaving through all the little kids running about with glowsticks all over like it was an obstacle course.
Climbed one last hill.
And got tackled by my brother.
Who carried me the last three or so feet to where I could collapse at my parents feet.

A minute and a half later

The fireworks started.

Ah.
AH!
Soo awesome!
All the pretty colors and designs. Being able to be with my family.

I HAD MADE IT!
The tradition continues! Ha! :D

Go figure, the fireworks start at 10pm. lol.

Still. A mad dash from work to the fireworks and I had succeeded!
HA!

^^
Now, I call that kicking off my vacation with a bang. lol :)

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi