What are you doing for the 4th this year? [Archive]

Sonia_TX

06-28-2006, 10:32 AM

haha Katy!

My cousin is driving in from California because her moms 60th bday is on the 3rd so we're going to the Riverwalk to celebrate. It's a surprise. Then on the 4th...ugh...it's going to suck. My grandfather was buried on the 4th last year so I'm sure we'll head on over to Ft. Sam Cemetery and spend some time there. Then as usual, park at our regular spot (on St. Cloud and Bandera) to watch the fireworks from Woodlawn Lake. :) I am sooooooooo glad I have a 4 day weekend!

pache100

06-28-2006, 10:38 AM

Anyone doing anything exciting?

Not really. I try to stay off the roads on that weekend, too many crazy drunk people out there. My sister and I (and maybe my brother) will spend the day with my Mom at her house. We usually barbecue, and this year we decided on burgers.

We go to the parade in Schertz in the morning (10:00 AM). It's a cute little parade, lots of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles from all the neighboring communities, lots of kids, dogs, horses, and noise, etc. Then we just stay inside where it's cool (my Mom can't be out in the heat for health reasons) during the day. Then, we walk to the Schertz park from my sister's house (she lives 2 blocks from the park) for the fireworks show...we can see Schertz' and Randolph AFB's from there. And, we usually have a funnel cake from the carnival in the park while we watch the fireworks. Oh! And we all wear our annual $5 "Old Navy" 4th of July t-shirt - hey, it's the American way!

http://i3.tinypic.com/160etk5.gif

Exciting, huh? (not bad for three old ladies, though :lol )

CosmicCowboy

06-28-2006, 10:41 AM

pache100

06-28-2006, 10:43 AM

I am taking my kayaks up to the Guadalupe below Canyon Dam on Saturday early and trying to catch some big stripers. Water is way down and they should be concentrated in the holes. It may not be considered exciting but waterskiing in a kayak behind a 40 pound striper shouldn't be boring either.

CC, that would be awesome! The very first time I ever dropped a line in the water (period...in my whole life!), I caught a 4-lb striper at Canyon Lake off that little island straight out from the Randolph AFB marina! I was hooked for life!

ShoogarBear

06-28-2006, 10:44 AM

I was hooked for life!

How do you think the fish felt?

pache100

06-28-2006, 10:46 AM

How do you think the fish felt?

He was pissed...but he sure was fun to catch, even though when I felt him on the line on the light rig I was using, it scared the shit out of me...never having caught a fish in my life and all. He sure tasted good, too.

jcrod

06-28-2006, 10:47 AM

Grandparents live up the street from Woodlawn, so we're there bbq and watching the fireworks.

Johnny_Blaze_47

06-28-2006, 10:48 AM

Work.

CosmicCowboy

06-28-2006, 10:49 AM

Catching big fish in the kayak is a scream...The first time I went to Calaveras I caught a 32" red...sucker towed me around the lake for 20 minutes...

SpursWoman

06-28-2006, 10:53 AM

Hopefully blowing shit up.

We have a major amount of fireworks left from New Year's burn-ban ... we just bought some more, and User has been making some of his own. Blowing shit up is his thang. :lol

We'll be at the lake house. :smokin

pache100

06-28-2006, 10:55 AM

Catching big fish in the kayak is a scream...The first time I went to Calaveras I caught a 32" red...sucker towed me around the lake for 20 minutes...

Calaveras is a lot of fun, I love camping and fishing there. Braunig is fun, too. We used to go out there in February and sit on the discharge channel and catch stripers coming out of there. Boats would tie up on the cable and fish until they limited out and then they'd come out and another boat would move in and take their place. Sometimes, there'd be so many boats and they would be so close together, you could walk across them. The game warden would just sit off the mass about 100 feet or so and watch to make sure there were no fights; occasionally, they'd check licenses when you'd come out and check your fish to make sure you weren't over your limit. It would only take about an hour and a half (sometimes not even that long) for the four people in our boat to limit out. We'd camp out there for 3 days and do that. It was so much fun. A kayak would be a lot of fun in that situation because it would be easy to maneuver in and out.

Das Texan

06-28-2006, 11:05 AM

I will be blowing stuff up.

and probably having some cookout at some point.

CosmicCowboy

06-28-2006, 11:21 AM

Calaveras is a lot of fun, I love camping and fishing there. Braunig is fun, too. We used to go out there in February and sit on the discharge channel and catch stripers coming out of there. Boats would tie up on the cable and fish until they limited out and then they'd come out and another boat would move in and take their place. Sometimes, there'd be so many boats and they would be so close together, you could walk across them. The game warden would just sit off the mass about 100 feet or so and watch to make sure there were no fights; occasionally, they'd check licenses when you'd come out and check your fish to make sure you weren't over your limit. It would only take about an hour and a half (sometimes not even that long) for the four people in our boat to limit out. We'd camp out there for 3 days and do that. It was so much fun. A kayak would be a lot of fun in that situation because it would be easy to maneuver in and out.

That sounds like fun! That was the power plant discharge? How big were they?

ashbeeigh

06-28-2006, 11:34 AM

We might go to the Shops at La Cantera and watch the Fiesta texas fireworks. That's it. Nothing big and exciting.

NorCal510

06-28-2006, 11:38 AM

is it illegal is SA to use fireworks?

pache100

06-28-2006, 11:40 AM

That sounds like fun! That was the power plant discharge? How big were they?

Yeah, it's at the power plant. About every three hours, they run chlorine through the channel to keep algae and stuff out. The stripers come out of the channel in droves when they start that chlorine (it's not strong enough to hurt people - about like a swimming pool - but fish HATE it). They weighed anywhere from 2-4 pounds. You'd catch as many that you had to release as you'd catch keepers. All of them were fun to catch, though. We'd use chicken livers (yes, on stripers - worked like a charm wrapped up in little swatches of nylon panty hose over a little treble hook) or small silver spoons. We did that for about 3 years in a row back in the 80s. I hadn't thought about that in a long time. :)

Did you see where that 72-yr-old guy drowned at Calaveras yesterday? They apparently hit some debris in the water and lost control of their boat, which went into a corkscrew spin. He, and his 80-yr old partner were thrown out of the boat. The 80-yr old was rescued, but as of this morning, they were still searching for the other guy. That water is like syrup it's so thick and murky and they said it's about 90 degrees. Poor old thing.

CosmicCowboy

06-28-2006, 12:52 PM

Did you see where that 72-yr-old guy drowned at Calaveras yesterday? They apparently hit some debris in the water and lost control of their boat, which went into a corkscrew spin. He, and his 80-yr old partner were thrown out of the boat. The 80-yr old was rescued, but as of this morning, they were still searching for the other guy. That water is like syrup it's so thick and murky and they said it's about 90 degrees. Poor old thing.

ouch! logs suck! I have seen idiots doing the "boat ejection" thing in Baffin on the rocks...only difference is they can stand up after they hit the water LOL...I saw one last fall when I was wading in the rockpile...crazy!...that area is clearly marked on the map and I was STANDING in the water (about mid thigh) and he went between me and the shore...I told my friend "watch this" just as he hit a submerged rock going about 40...LOL...fortunately nobody was killed but I'll bet they were damned sore the next day...

tlongII

06-28-2006, 02:21 PM

I'm going to get some ass!

:lmao

GrandeDavid

06-28-2006, 02:23 PM

Well, l'm gonna drop someone off at the airport at 5:30 AM (crazy hour, I know), then get to work. I'm in Brazil so it isn't a holiday. But I'll prolly screw off, anyway. ha ha

tlongII

06-28-2006, 02:24 PM

Unfortunately I will be working for at least part of the weekend. We're going live with a major release of our supply chain software.

tlongII

06-28-2006, 02:26 PM

Well, l'm gonna drop someone off at the airport at 5:30 AM (crazy hour, I know), then get to work. I'm in Brazil so it isn't a holiday. But I'll prolly screw off, anyway. ha ha

I hear that every day Brazil plays a game in the World Cup it's basically a holiday there so you get no sympathy from me! :lol

sa_butta

06-28-2006, 02:27 PM

Ill be working making triple pay. Im pretty excited about my paycheck.

CubanMustGo

06-28-2006, 02:32 PM

Staying at home trying to keep some lunatic from catching the house on fire. With no significant rain for 2 months now the place is a tinderbox.

Yeah, I like fireworks but not in these conditions.

2Blonde

06-28-2006, 02:40 PM

I am taking my kayaks up to the Guadalupe below Canyon Dam on Saturday early and trying to catch some big stripers. Water is way down and they should be concentrated in the holes. It may not be considered exciting but waterskiing in a kayak behind a 40 pound striper shouldn't be boring either.HaHa.. I thought you said strippers.:lol

We're supposed to go tubing somewhere on the Guadalupe with some friends if there's still any water in it on Sunday.

tlongII

06-28-2006, 02:42 PM

They have anorexic 40 lb strippers on the Guadalupe?

CosmicCowboy

06-28-2006, 02:43 PM

HaHa.. I thought you said strippers.:lol

We're supposed to go tubing somewhere on the Guadalupe with some friends if there's still any water in it on Sunday.

We may be in the same area...Water is painfully slow and low...If you do the horseshoe below canyon you will put in at the second bridge and go downriver and I will put the yaks in at the same place and go upriver towards the dam...

2Blonde

06-28-2006, 02:48 PM

We may be in the same area...Water is painfully slow and low...If you do the horseshoe below canyon you will put in at the second bridge and go downriver and I will put the yaks in at the same place and go upriver towards the dam...I have no idea. I have never been tubing down here before. Actually I haven't been tubing or rafting since I was a teenager back in Oklahoma in the Dust Bowl Days.:spin

CosmicCowboy

06-28-2006, 02:51 PM

hehehe...well if the fish aren't biting I may go back downriver through the horseshoe looking for strippers...LOL

Heres a pic of a 25 pound STRIPER I found on the internet...the record on the Guadalupe is 50 pounds...those suckers just love those rainbow trout that parks and wildlife stocks for them...LOL

http://www.skiffguide.com/images/big-striper-2005-MD.jpg

Old School Chic

06-28-2006, 02:51 PM

My hubby and I are going to be on vacation all next week, therefore we will be spending a few days in Cancun and then come home and clean, clean, clean...

pache100

06-28-2006, 02:51 PM

Staying at home trying to keep some lunatic from catching the house on fire. With no significant rain for 2 months now the place is a tinderbox.

Yeah, I like fireworks but not in these conditions.

That, too. Every year, my idiot neighbors all around (two doors down on each side and across the street, too) shoot fireworks like there's no tomorrow. I wind up with bottle rockets on my roof and all kinds of crap in my bone-dry yard. I usually come straight home from the fireworks show, that's usually just when those idiots are getting fired up (pun intended). I know I couldn't stop any fire they started, or keep it from burning my house down, but I figure at least I could slow it down with my garden hose long enough for the volunteer fire department to get there.

IMHO, fireworks belong only in the hands of professionals at organized shows...with a fleet of fire trucks standing by on the ready.

Extra Stout

06-28-2006, 02:52 PM

I think I shall climb Mount Sneffels on the 4th.
http://www.circlesandlines.net/wallpaper/th-sneffels-1024.jpg

CosmicCowboy

06-28-2006, 02:58 PM

I have no idea. I have never been tubing down here before. Actually I haven't been tubing or rafting since I was a teenager back in Oklahoma in the Dust Bowl Days.:spin

If your friends know the rivers around here they will know that the tubing options are limited right now...the upper guadalupe is probably too low to tube now...flows at the 281 bridge are only about 50cfs and the lower section of the lower guadalupe is butt dragging low as well...the Horseshoe area on the lower guadalupe is probably your best bet...

pache100

06-28-2006, 03:01 PM

If your friends know the rivers around here they will know that the tubing options are limited right now...the upper guadalupe is probably too low to tube now...flows at the 281 bridge are only about 50cfs and the lower section of the lower guadalupe is butt dragging low as well...the Horseshoe area on the lower guadalupe is probably your best bet...

And, please be careful. You can really get hurt in the Guadalupe when the water is low. There are so many rocks, and they HURT when your butt hits them. If you are renting tubes, get the kind with the plywood bottoms! They are worth the extra couple of bucks.

CubanMustGo

06-28-2006, 03:03 PM

Guadalupe River flow in Comal county is only 52 cfs (http://www.co.comal.tx.us/River_information.htm). That's below my idea of minimum flow there.

tlongII

06-28-2006, 03:05 PM

How do stripers taste anyway? Better than strippers?

SpursWoman

06-28-2006, 03:37 PM

IMHO, fireworks belong only in the hands of professionals at organized shows...with a fleet of fire trucks standing by on the ready.

I trust Chris 100%. Some of those freaks at the designated set-off areas? Oh, hell no.

Useruser666

06-29-2006, 10:46 AM

Water at the horseshoe below Canyon Dam is fine to go tubing on. (as of 6-28-2006) There will be tons of people there for the 4th though, so be warned.

I'm much more afraid of smokers, people who BBQ and catalytic converters than fireworks. Especially since each one of those cause more fire related damage and deaths each year than fireworks. If you're truly worried about fire, simply put out the lawn sprinkler on the 3rd for a few hours. If you're finding bottle rockets or missles on your property you should report it. There is a good chance those items are already banned in your county.

pache100

06-29-2006, 10:51 AM

If you're finding bottle rockets or missles on your property you should report it. There is a good chance those items are already banned in your county.

Yeah, I have reported it and it's not banned. I live in Guadalupe County, and both times I had someone come out (once 7-8 years ago and last year), they told me there was nothing they could do about it. The guy actually had the nerve to tell me that this is the reason people moved out in the county, so they could shoot fireworks (yeah, right, buddy); I told him I had as much right NOT to have them land in my yard and on my roof as those morons had to shoot them in the first place. He just smiled and shook his head sympathetically and got back his his car and drove down the road really slowly...like that was gonna scare somebody.

If you're truly worried about fire, simply put out the lawn sprinkler on the 3rd for a few hours.

I should not have to do that to keep someone from burning my house down.
(and, it takes about 10-12 hours to thoroughly wet down my 1/2 acre)

Useruser666

06-29-2006, 11:17 AM

I should not have to do that to keep someone from burning my house down. (and, it takes about 10-12 hours to thoroughly wet down my 1/2 acre)

1. The chances of your house being damaged by fireworks is less than that of being damaged by you yourself BBQing on your back porch. So unless you water your 1/2 acre every time you BBQ, then I wouldn't worry.

2. You could go and politely ask your neighbors to show extra care into setting off their fireworks, so they would not land on your property.

3. Go buy your own and aim them at your neighbors' house.

gay abc

06-29-2006, 11:18 AM

not doing anything...... life sucks :flipoff

katyon6th

06-29-2006, 11:19 AM

3. Go buy your own and aim them at your neighbors' house.

:lmao

pache100

06-29-2006, 11:27 AM

1. The chances of your house being damaged by fireworks is less than that of being damaged by you yourself BBQing on your back porch. So unless you water your 1/2 acre every time you BBQ, then I wouldn't worry.

I don't barbecue at my house. And I don't think smoldering bottle rockets on my roof is a safe situation at any time. I do worry. I don't have any other place to live.

2. You could go and politely ask your neighbors to show extra care into setting off their fireworks, so they would not land on your property.

No, I couldn't. I tried that one time, and the guy who answered the door scared the shit out of me; he started screaming at his wife while I was standing right there and he shut the door in my face and I could hear blows and screaming through the door (apparently the kids who were shooting the fireworks belong to her and not him and he warned her they were gonna get in trouble with those @##$! fireworks). I high-tailed it home and never went back. The other people, up the street the other way are also a little scary. They have teen-age boys, too, and they cause some mischief in the neighborhood. I have never had anyone bother anything at my place (except the fireworks, of course) in the 13 years I have lived there. I don't want to get them started doing stuff in retaliation; I'm away from my house a lot.

3. Go buy your own and aim them at your neighbors' house.

No thanks. As I said, generally speaking, I think fireworks belong in the hands of professionals in a controlled environment with fire-fighters and equipment handy.

I do know there are people who handle fireworks responsibly. Unfortunately, they don't discriminate in who they sell to.

SpursWoman

06-29-2006, 11:28 AM

3. Go buy your own and aim them at your neighbors' house.

Or their goats. :lol

CosmicCowboy

06-29-2006, 12:46 PM

I vote for shooting back. Get those that look like a tennis ball with a fuse...you drop them down the tube and they shoot out and explode in a big star cluster...set your tube at an angle and lob a few mortar rounds at them...:lol

SpursWoman

06-29-2006, 01:01 PM

I trust Chris 100%.

Of course, I posted this before I heard all about their little testing session last night.

http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/tuttlecreek/gif/slide6_smaller.jpg

:lmao

CavsSuperFan

06-29-2006, 01:02 PM

What are you doing for the 4th this year?

Probably put on a “Swanson’s” TV dinner, Watch the Game Show Network...Or be a wild-man & watch a DVD...Maybe the 40-year old virgin or something....

pache100

06-29-2006, 01:09 PM

Of course, I posted this before I heard all about their little testing session last night.

http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/tuttlecreek/gif/slide6_smaller.jpg

:lmao :spless: :lol

Gatita

06-29-2006, 01:09 PM

BBQ, swim, work on my tan.

tw05baller

06-29-2006, 01:37 PM

Not really. I try to stay off the roads on that weekend, too many crazy drunk people out there. My sister and I (and maybe my brother) will spend the day with my Mom at her house. We usually barbecue, and this year we decided on burgers.

We go to the parade in Schertz in the morning (10:00 AM). It's a cute little parade, lots of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles from all the neighboring communities, lots of kids, dogs, horses, and noise, etc. Then we just stay inside where it's cool (my Mom can't be out in the heat for health reasons) during the day. Then, we walk to the Schertz park from my sister's house (she lives 2 blocks from the park) for the fireworks show...we can see Schertz' and Randolph AFB's from there. And, we usually have a funnel cake from the carnival in the park while we watch the fireworks. Oh! And we all wear our annual $5 "Old Navy" 4th of July t-shirt - hey, it's the American way!

http://i3.tinypic.com/160etk5.gif

Exciting, huh? (not bad for three old ladies, though :lol )
wow i wont be the only one going to shertz's redneck jubilee.

pache100

06-29-2006, 01:49 PM

wow i wont be the only one going to shertz's redneck jubilee.

I try not to get too involved in the carnival, but I am the desinated funnel-cake-getter. :lol We only go to the baseball fields to watch the fireworks. We take our chairs and a cooler. I can't do that thing in the next block, I'm just getting too old.

I wouldn't miss the "Party in the Park" in September for anything, though! Did you catch Jerry Jeff Walker and Johnny D and the Rocket 88s last year? Very nice show for free! And lots of good food, too!

spurs=bling

06-29-2006, 05:46 PM

nothing, i was going to go to my friends house but since they put up the big no fireworks sign. and something about a $500 and up fine we can't do anything anymore....wait that hasn't stopped us before :devil

:flipoff da :cop

jman3000

06-29-2006, 05:50 PM

Going up to Garner with my family. First time in a while I won't be doing fireworks for the 4th.

tw05baller

06-29-2006, 10:52 PM

I try not to get too involved in the carnival, but I am the desinated funnel-cake-getter. :lol We only go to the baseball fields to watch the fireworks. We take our chairs and a cooler. I can't do that thing in the next block, I'm just getting too old.

I wouldn't miss the "Party in the Park" in September for anything, though! Did you catch Jerry Jeff Walker and Johnny D and the Rocket 88s last year? Very nice show for free! And lots of good food, too!

yeah i dont do carnivals. we barbcue before we go. and yes the party in the park was pretty good.