the 4th in Clarksville

If you know Justin and I, you know that we tend to spend many of our holidays on the road visiting family and friends. To us a three day weekend equals the perfect opportunity to drive up to Chicago or to a lake in Alabama but when it comes to the 4th, there is absolutely no place we would rather be than Clarksville, TN. Why, you say? Well because we have this crazy, ridiculous lack of any laws preventing fireworks in the city. We don't know about most places, but our hometowns of Roanoke and Knoxville most definitely do not allow any sort of fireworks to be set off unless it is by professionals at a specific organized event. I do remember being really naughty one year and setting off roman candles from a friends house and to us that was seriously living on the edge. Here in Clarksville, though, roman candles are for sissies.

For the entire month of June, fireworks stands pop up on almost every street corner, where people stock up on hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of fun. Friday through Monday, yes that is four nights worth, the sounds of big box fireworks filled the air from dusk until ten or eleven at night. We happen to live in a pretty wooded area so its hard to see, but thank goodness my next door neighbor decided to set off a couple from his driveway. The other nights we drove to other friends houses with better views to simply sit back and watch the night sky with fireworks going off from all angles. I wish I had remembered to bring my camera but trust me... its amazing. These are HUGE fireworks and as long as you don't think about the skill levels of the people setting them off, you can just sit back and enjoy this lovely tradition that I have never experienced in any other place.

We have never in our lives enjoyed the fourth like we have these last years in Clarksville. The happiness, joy and pride you feel when you see a landscape scattered with hundreds of gorgeous fireworks is unparalleled. I don't know what it is... maybe its the fact that we are in a military town and that many of the people actually setting them off and having so much fun of their own are the people who have personally served overseas recently. Seeing our nation's soldiers and their families on a daily basis in Clarksville give us daily reminders of the sacrifices they make and of the gratitude we feel to have our freedom. These emotions are only heightened on the 4th of July and then the beautiful displays of all that excitement in the form of fireworks just plaster smiles on our faces permanently.

We both love this holiday weekend, and we love our country and all the amazing people serving and protecting our freedoms. Happy Birthday America!