Boomers

Lake Isabella is a small community of only about 1,200 people, but this year, it put on one heck of a good fireworks show.



The setting is very nice. The fireworks are launched over the lake, and usually, hundreds of boaters sail to the north end of the lake to watch the show from the water. This year, a strong south wind turned the lake pretty choppy, and a number of pontoon-boat owners decided to watch this one from the dock. There still were more than 100 boats anchored out on the lake, full of people watching the show.


Tim Wolff, the village manager, worried that with Mount Pleasant cancelling its show, that Lake Isabella might be overwhelmed with people looking for an excellent show. That didn't seem to be the case. The crowd control was very good, with the township marshall, the sheriff's department, the state police, Tribal police and Lake Isabella security all contributing manpower.

The show itself was truly excellent. The sky was cloudy, the air heavy and moist, and the village -- with funding from private donors -- put on a fabulous, 30-minute show.
Many of the most spectacular displays were low, designed to reflect in the lake. That worked to perfection.
















And the grand finale was one of the grandest I've seen. It was intense, fast-paced and just an absolute pleasure to watch.
Andrew and I watched it from the east side of the lake, just off the golf course. We couldn't get access to the dam this year -- apparently, there's a serious liability issue, but where we watched was directly across from the launch site. Perfect!
And the breeze kept the bugs down.
Just a thought: Does it say anything about Americans that we celebrate our national holiday by blowing things up?