The One With the Surprise

Happy 4th of July! Skippy and Cambria got to use some sparklers that a nice lady gave DK at work (they aren’t strictly legal here, but we didn’t start any fires...) So we actually thought we would skip the fireworks show at the lake tonight. Until we saw how devastated Skippy was at that news. So we jumped in the car… a little late, since a couple thousand people crowd around the small lake for the show. We found a parking place next to Trabuco Mesa Park, and thought, hmm… there are a couple hundred people here to watch the fireworks. We are so late there won’t even be standing room at the lake. So we set up our beach chairs on the gentle slope at the upper edge of the ball field, and waited for the show to begin. About five minutes into the fireworks, with absolutely no sound or warning, a commercial-grade sprinkler started up three feet in front of me, completely drenching me. We jumped up and ran about 20 feet until the sprinkler couldn’t reach us, and set our chairs up again. We were all laughing except for Skippy, who had been sitting in my lap. He and I had really gotten a face full of water, and he was not happy about it.

Thirty seconds later, the sprinkler came back, except that this time it reached about six feet further than it had on the first sweep, and I totally got nailed by it again! By this time we were pretty much cowering on the sidewalk with our backs against the cars parked there at the curb. I was dripping and shivering, and thinking that some hot chocolate would have been a good idea. But at least I couldn’t get any wetter. That is something you should never say out loud. It is like that Grizzly Rapids ride at California Adventure. Just when you think you can’t get any wetter… well, you know. So all of a sudden, in the middle of the fireworks finale, this renegade sprinkler with no head shoots off right at the grass line about ten feet away. It was like a fireman was standing there with a high pressure hose… aiming it at me! DK used me as a human shield, and managed to remain entirely dry. I, on the other hand, look like I went for a swim. For whatever random reason, tonight we provided a little side show for the enjoyment of all the other patrons at the park.

Skippy was telling us in the car on the way home, how next time we have to go to the lake, because he didn’t appreciate our choice of location. I tried to explain to him that it was an adventure, and that in a few days, he won’t remember the fireworks… but the sprinklers going off… that he will remember. I don’t think he believes me.