The boats just continued to pour into Liberty Bay throughout Saturday. The anchorage was filling up with boats of all descriptions. The Poulsbo Police had their hands full trying to keep boats from anchoring within the area that the fireworks barge was going to be anchored. Occasionally, someone would move off of the dock and out into the anchorage for what I would assume a better vantage point to view the fireworks. This just so happened at around three yesterday afternoon just as Dennis and Darlene on Tug of My Heart, were coming around the corner! What luck! The marina had been full all day and just as they come in, one empty slip! And to top that off, it was only two slips over from Bruce and Vicki on Moondance!
The area surrounding Liberty Bay began to fill up early in the day. People started putting their chairs, sleeping bags, blankets, coolers, whatever they had to mark their spots. It was not long and you could not see the lawn in the park! As we had never been to Liberty Bay for the fireworks, we could just imagine how big of an event this must be. People surely would not stake out a spot along the water way for twelve hours if it were not the best show ever.
As darkness fell, and the time grew nearer for the big event, people from the park started to move down to the ends of the docks. Children began to ask their parents, how much longer? It certainly was a party atmoshere going on! Then, BOOM! The first fireworks were to light up the sky's! They continued for 15 minutes with huge rumbling explosions sounding across the water. And then, just as quickly as it started..... it ended. Everyone on their boats started honking their horns for an encore...... as you may guess, it did not happen.
Even though it was eleven o'clock, boats started to pull up their anchors and move out!
By the time it was all done, I would have to guess there were five hundred boats anchored in LIberty Bay. I am not sure that the firework show was worth the trip, but the theatrics leading up to it certainly were! Now the interesting part, watching all of these boats squeeze through the opening to get out of Liberty Bay!
Along with the fireworks, there was the decorated boat parade and the dinghy parade (in which Bruce and I quickly joined in on!) I must say though, with all of these people squeezing into such a small location, you saw very few issues with short tempers or just plain public drunkeness. It is an event that you can bring your kids too and not worry about what they are going to see or hear. Now, I hear Holloween in Poulsbo is a whole different story....
See you next year in Poulsbo for the show!
