Chapter 4: In Which Moose Takes a Jammin' Boat Ride to Celebrate Some Fawkesy Guy

Remember Remember the 5th of November....Guy Fawkes Day/Night is the main fireworks holiday here in New Zealand with fireworks going on short sale around the holiday. For some reason Wellington decided to postpone their fireworks from the 5th of November to the 9th, probably to hit the weekend instead of midweek. The actual day passed without much pomp and circumstance for Moose and the crew, they were going to watch V for Vendetta in true American fashion but someone else beat them to it because it was not available at the video store. The real excitement came on the 9th since Uncle Tim has cool friends who own boats and like music.
First, Tim drove to the boat dock where everyone helped move amps and instruments onto the rather large boat. Moose and Renee were surprised at how many instruments and amps kept coming onto the boat, then with not much warning the boat left the dock and the jamming began!

It was just a touch chilly though they couldn't have picked a much better day given the sun, lack of massive wind and next to clear skies. Turns out the views off the back of the boat were also pretty incredible...

This view is towards the Hutt Valley, Moose is still surprised with all the water all over the place. The shape of the harbor and mountains in an arc keeps getting him confused as to which is the harbor vs the straights. Renee was really scared that Ingrid (the bass trombone) would jump out of her hands into the water so she didn't play while the boat was moving; opting instead to chat with fellow boaters and meeting many new people who's names she doesn't remember. Once the boat was anchored Ingrid was retrieved from the cabin and Renee joined the jam.

There were so many instrumentalists it was incredible. Moose quite enjoyed being in the thick of the music (though it was a little loud) though he couldn't sonically contribute. Renee really enjoyed the atmosphere of communal music and emptying her spit valve over the side of the boat. There was music until fireworks and then on the way back. The fireworks were nice, very similar to 4th of July shows Moose and Renee have seen. Highlights were the smiley face ones and the super sparkly ones. Renee thought the sound was overall quieter but that could have been due to the distance...who knows.

Overall rating: AWESOME
XP: Years since Guy Fawkes died: 407