Although it reminded me of one of my dad’s memories of his childhood in Palatine (where the ‘works got rain and three explosive techs ended up dying) I trusted in modern technology and thoroughly enjoyed the warm rain con explosions. We half expected the kids to start complaining, but they had just as much fun.

Another weird turn of events this year came in a 4 square foot triangle. Amidst hundreds of people, a lone warbler sat, well, warbling over its nest. People took pictures, gawked and generally stood confused around its marked off home until the show began.

There weren’t any flaming-blanket incidents from falling shrapnel (probably from the rain) but the explosive techs got a bit ballsier. The ropes were closer and the explosions were lower. The crowd responded, too. I don’t think we’ve been this vocal yet.

The only downside was the walk back. Unless you plan on tailgating, there’s no parking at Emrickson. So we parked waaaay down on Dean and hoofed it. The kids weren’t so into it at 9:45 but they made it.