4th of July Fireworks at the Rose Bowl

Last year, I blogged about South Pasadena's pancakes and parade to celebrate the 4th of July. This year, I'm adding the Fireworks at Pasadena's Rose Bowl to the must-do Independence Day list.

I started this year differently. I actually got up and ran to the Rose Bowl. I can follow a route that is almost exactly 6.2 miles, which happens to be the equivalent of two laps around the Rose Bowl path. On my walk cycle (I run eight minutes then walk four minutes as my intervals), I was greeting a fellow morning exerciser as in "we're getting the exercise done now so we can eat later." She shared that she would be watching the fireworks from the Lincoln bridge, and that it was free. Hmm, I've seen the Rose Bowl and South Pas fireworks from my driveway, but I've never paid to see them up close. Although the entrance fees are pretty minimal at $7-$10, it was more the neck cricks and massive crowds that were unappealing. If I could see the show without the crick and crowds, that would be terrific!

I left about 6P for the 9P fireworks. I swung by Vons for a sandwich, as I wasn't sure how close I could get to the food for sale at the Rose Bowl. After driving around for 30 or so minutes scoping out a parking space, I eventually found one by the Vons where I got the food. While walking to the Rose Bowl, I was still looking for the cut-through to the Lincoln bridge. I ended up just walking down Rosemont and sat down on the wall by the Rosemont Pavilion to eat my grub, still planning on getting to the bridge. More and more people showed up and grabbed spots on the wall. I quickly clued in that I could stay here for the show!

The wall spot was awesome! Although I couldn't hear any music accompanying the fireworks - I really wanted to hear Neil Diamond's "Coming to America" coordinated with the blasts - I couldn't have asked for a better view. No neck crick, plus the relatively quick exit up Rosemont, only added to the fabulousness of the event. I'll be there on the Rosemont wall next year. Let me know if I you'd like me to save you a space!

Click here for the Rose Bowl's Web site.