How to Shoot Off Fireworks If You Live in a City

By now I am sure you all are super duper jealous of our roof top deck. I don't blame you. But don't worry, I'm probably super duper jealous of your beach, pool, huge yard, or what have you that I can't get here in the city. However, if there is one thing that a roof top is good for, it is fireworks. We get two good displays a year-- New Year's and Fourth of July. And this year we got three if you include the fireworks from the Sailabration. We are lucky to be able to see the whole show peeking above the treeline in Patterson Park. So this year was no different. We camped up on our deck (and by camped up, I mean took a few beers and chilled out on our patio furniture) about an hour before the show.

It is a must that you go up to the deck just as it's getting dark and wait about an hour before the show. Why might you ask? Well if you don't, you will miss out on the amazing 360 degree fireworks show. I'm not kidding. Not only do we have an amazing view of the show in downtown Baltimore, but we get to see everyone else's fireworks going off throughout the city. I brought my camera up to the deck and took a few shots just to show you how fabulous it is.

 Then eventually 9:30 rolls around and it's time to enjoy the show the professionals have put on.

Ok, so now that you've enjoyed those beautiful pictures, of the Baltimore fireworks, I must break it to you that those were not the professional fireworks I was referring to. The real professionals? Us. Clearly by the title of this post this is a tutorial. In Baltimore, they have pretty strict rules in terms of fireworks that you can and cannot set off and where you can and cannot enjoy them. So rather than attempting the good old go to a Patterson Park baseball field, light the fuse, and run method, Andrew thought that he had a better idea. This is a photo of our roof with other houses in the background during night. Look at the roof portion of the photo closely my friends.

Now here comes the tutorial. Get a bright orange Home Depot contractor bucket. Fill said bucket with water for weight and fire safety. Attach a PVC pipe to said bucket with blue painter's tape. Put bucket contraption in the middle of your roof 30 feet away from roof top deck. Place roman candle firework in PVC pipe. Light fuse and run back to roof top deck, hoping that you don't fall through any potential soft spots in the roof. Enjoy fireworks display from roof top deck. Shout, "Ameeeerrrrrica!" with beer in hand with redneck like grunt and yeehaaaaw a la Andrew style. Laugh in Heidi-like cackle and say, "Be careful! You are crazy! Stick the fireworks in the bucket of water!" Then stick fireworks in the extra bucket of water (see lower right hand corner of photo) to make sure you are being completely safe. Oh wait, what? You mean we were already being unsafe by shooting fireworks off our roof? Oh, ok. Check street over edge of roof for absence of cop car lights and then repeat.

And that is my tutorial for how to shoot off fireworks if you live in a city. Now let's just be thankful that Andrew didn't burn the house down.

How was your Fourth?