TRAFFIC. No one warned me about the traffic. And why would they? We live in the Dallas area, so traffic is a given, right? Melody and I were to meet at 6:30 that evening, with plans to join a photography meetup group. After sitting at the Spring Creek and Highway 75 light for almost 45 minutes and watching people park in nearby parking lots and walking, I knew I was in for a mess.
I FINALLY made it down Spring Creek only to find the road closed and a very impatient police woman directing traffic around it. Most traffic was going south on Jupiter, so I went North since I chose the less populated left lane. I eventually wound my way around, and ended up parking in the Collin County parking lot. I got out of my car, expecting to have a long walk ahead of me, so imagine my surprise when my 50 foot walk took me right to the entrance. The whole time I waited in traffic and went through the detour, Melody and I were texting and calling each other to keep each other posted on our progress. I called her after I paid for my ticket, but my call wouldn't go through. I had plenty of signal, but I guess the network was overloaded with all the people. I tried texting her and calling, but nothing ever went through. Looking around at the mass of humanity, I just knew we'd never find each other. Just as I was contemplating: should I walk around yelling "Melody" over and over, low and behold the mass of people parted like the Red Sea, and there was my friend. Thank you Lord!!! The fact we found each other is a miracle itself, so we didn't push our luck in trying to find the meetup group.
Instead we walked up a couple of different hills until we found a decent place to set up a tripod. Fifteen feet away was a flatbed trailer with our names on it. We picked up the tripod and moved over to the trailer. I hoisted myself up as gracefully as I could, and we were able to get some decent shots over the mass of humanity.
The glow itself was a bit disappointing. It lasted MAYBE 15 minutes. The fireworks after weren't bad, and of course we got to experience the crowds and traffic again.
Will I go next year? Not sure. I might try the Celina one. Surely it won't be that crowded!
