Road Trip, Krazy Kaplan’s

In preparation for this weekend’s cookout, I decided to head across the border into Indiana for some fireworks. I’m not sure what the laws are here in Illinois, but I haven’t seen many places to buy fireworks.

I’ve seen the plastic packages in grocery stores. I’m not talking about those – I’m talking real fireworks – stuff that actually shoots up into the air a good two stories or more.

When I was a kid in Indiana, I remember buying fireworks but then signing some official document stating that I would not detonate them within the state (and that I would transport them out of state within two weeks). No one else seems to share this memory, but I swear I signed something like this in high school.

It’s been many years since I’ve actually actively gone out to buy fireworks, so today was pretty exciting. Chris decided to tag along for the ride, and we set off around 2PM (after a quick stop for lunch at Hot Doug’s.

Driving out to Indiana, we got stuck in some horrific traffic. We joined the massive exodus that always preceeds three-day weekends, and got lost in a sea of cars and trucks heading out of the city. What should have been a 45-minute drive ended up being an hour forty-five, but we finally broke free of the crawl and got to our destination.

Along the way, we saw a ton of signs advertising the various Krazy Kaplan locations.

I’m not sure why they chose gorillas, but hey – it’s their store. Whatever.

Inside, I asked if I could take a few pictures, and was immediately refused. In fact, I was told that were I to be caught taking pictures, they would throw me out. Surprising.

I went so far as to offer them my camera, and they chucked it behind the counter while I went ahead and did my shopping. I had called earlier, asking about Roman Candles and M-80’s. I was told that both were illegal. However, when I showed up, they had several items marked as “Roman Candles.” And while there weren’t any M-80’s, they had… M-70’s.

I got a good amount of fireworks, and I hope others will be as excited as I am to shoot these guys off. Usually, I worry about my over-enthusiasm for this particular holiday, but once other folks get into it… I’m sure it’ll be a ton of fun.

Here’s all the stuff I got. I was pretty restrained in my purchasing, and had to hold off from getting like twice this much. The Roman Candles are ok, as are the M-70’s. But what I’m really looking forward to are the two larger cakes – as they shoot out parachutes. Can’t wait. :)

Oh, and Chris gave me a nice present as well. He came across an extra copy of a Sam Cooke album, and offered it to me since I now have a record player. Sweet!