One of the reaons I hate going into DC for the July 4th fireworks is the crowds. We've done fireworks on the mall a couple of times, and getting in and out is usually a nightmare.
This is why it's nice to have options. We haven't paddled DC on July 4th in a few years, so we decided that this year would be a good time to give it another shot. Barbara and I went into DC early in the day with our kayaks and parked at Jack's Boathouse. After we met up with everyone else we went paddling upriver and had a picnic, then back down to see the fireworks. It was great!
Of course I stopped to take a few pictures, which are here.
We decided that getting there early and hanging out all day is definitely the way to go. The traffic later in the day is just horrific, and the metro is really crowded as well. Doing it the way we did, we had no trouble finding parking and managed to avoid all of the crowds. It was a great day on the water!
