2 Hours After Sunset (and 10pm on weeknights)

It's true.  We Americans love to celebrate our independence day.  It's crazy how much we spend here in the United States for our fireworks.  $600 million!!!  {{source}}

As a kid I loved going to fireworks shows and I loved it even more when my parents let us make "air designs" with sparklers.  I'd write my name and make squiggly twirls and all sorts of amazing things in 20 short seconds.

We never really bought much more than sparklers, as my parents preferred popping our own popcorn and finding a free fireworks show to attend rather than spending the month's budget on light-em-yourself firecrackers.  I admit as I became a parent, I felt a childish giddiness take over me when I bought my first fireworks to light at home.  Putting on your own little show in the driveway can be fun and let's face it, it's nice to NOT have to get to a park hours in advance to save a prime fireworks viewing spot and then wait forever in traffic to get home.  So, I don't blame many for wanting to have their own fireworks at home.  

The problem is, we're not talking sparklers here folks, or just on the 4th.  Many will shoot off fireworks several nights throughout the month.  Aerials, poppers, squealers, all of it.  And things in the night are ALWAYS louder than during the day.  And they especially seem louder when the neighbors are shooting them off at midnight in the middle of the week and your own littles can't sleep because of the noise and you yourself have to get up in 5 hours to get to work.  

My message?  Be Considerate.

So, what's the rule regarding fireworks?  Well, that is up to each city's ordinances, and they do vary, by the way.  Some have no rule, while others say nothing past curfew (10pm).  Many city ordinances allow fireworks for up to 2 hours after sunset.  (Which is typically what - 8:30, 9 pm?)

But just because that is what's allowed, doesn't mean it's POLITE or appropriate.  Proper fireworks etiquette would be this:

No shooting off fireworks 2 hours after sunset, and not after 10pm on weeknights.

Seriously.  I've had littles with bed times MUCH earlier than 10pm.  And while much of the nation is on summer break from school, many of the districts I've lived in are on a year-round schedule.  Not to mention, just because it's summer break doesn't mean every parent in your neighborhood is letting their littles stay up.

So, be considerate.  Pay attention to sunset and don't shoot fireworks off 2 hours after that, or after 10pm on weeknights.  Sure, you might think your neighbors do not care, since they haven't ever mentioned it before.  But I guarantee, unless they are right outside shooting them off with you, you are making SOMEONE in the neighborhood ticked off.   Honestly, it's plain rude. 

I've lived in neighborhoods before where one or two households would light off fireworks until well past midnight.  And as much as I liked my neighbors, it really irritated me of their lack of sensitivity to the others that lived on the block.  Did I ever ask them not to?  Did I ever call the police?  No...  turns out I'm much too passive-aggressive for that.  I really hate confrontations.  :)

So, unless you live in the middle of nowhere, without a neighbor in sight for miles, be polite.  

Don't shoot your fireworks off 2 hours after sunset or after 10p on weeknights.

Collection: Houses in the Av's

There is a neighborhood of Salt Lake City, referred to as "The Avenues", or "The Av's" for short. It was one of Salt Lake's first neighborhoods. Way back when, it was **THE** affluent area of Salt Lake, as it climbs the mountain. Unfortunately, some homes have not been kept up or have taken a bit of a beating as many college students from the "U" rent rooms there. A few years ago they started a revitalization project in the Av's and a lot of the homes are being renovated. Homes there still sell for quite a bit, regardless of their condition.

But it isn't just the gamut from dilapidated to luxury that piques my interest. I like that there is great diversity in styles. When Utah territory was settled in the late 1800's, many of it's settlers came from the East Coast or Midwest. But there were also many who took boats from several European countries, landed on Ellis Island in New York and THEN still made the Trek out West! I love seeing the cultures carried through the diverse architectural designs.

I get to drive the Av's often since one of the major area hospitals is up there, and it's where I go to do get testing done. I like driving different streets each time and will see anything from French Tudor, Victorian, A-Frames, Craftsmen Bungalows, and Large Contemporary newer homes too. I've even seen a few that look like haunted houses straight from Transylvania! lol!

Here is just a sampling of what you might find up in the Av's.

Many of the homes up in the Av's also have a view of our state's capital building, on the other side of City Creek Canyon. Funny, it looks like it is RIGHT.THERE. But you have to drive all the way down the Av's over a few blocks around the "basin" known as City Creek Park, and then back up the hill to Capitol Hill. Still, a great view though.
Do you have any eclectic neighborhoods like this where you live?