What is this...China?!

It's either that or WW3. At first we were feeling a little sad not to be celebrating the holidays as usual with family. But the spectacle we beheld last night made us wish it was loved ones who were here. One of the perks of living on a lush, tropical island, surrounded by a large body of water (that's what makes it an island, I know) means that anyone and everyone can explode fireworks as they please. The streets were filled with various on ground displays...and dangling from ladders and light posts (and dangerously near power lines) for that matter. The arsenal that nearly each house had in their garage/carport was amazing. You could barely drive the streets, or see for the smoke. But the craziest thing was that folks were shooting aerial fireworks from their front and backyards. You never knew when one would explode above your head. Officially and legally, the festivities of fire weren't to begin till 9pm but most started unleashing their booty (that's pirate speak booty - and no double entendre like on a certain t-shirt I heard was gifted among the family) around 6pm. And some even started the day before. A permit allows you to buy up to 5,000 firecrackers! It looked, sounded and smelled like a war zone (except thankfully, as Nate pointed out to Ben, no one died...although that's still to be determined). Here's some footage of the melee. Enjoy it cause I fell off a 5 foot brick wall for these shots (again, like all of my video footage, not for those with a weak stomach)





my neighbor said this year was mild. Here is some of the aftermath.