Consider -- Orange County Fire Authority

One of the coolest things we have done all summer wasn't this summer at all, it was just last weekend.  The scuttlebutt was that their would be an Open House for the Orange County Fire Authority.  My initial reaction was, no.  No I do not want to see fire fighting demonstrations, nor do I want to be shilled at by slimy salesman, who insist that my current fire alarm isn't up to par.  Nor did I want to pay twenty dollars for a couple of hotdogs and water.  Yeah, this sounded like a big loser to me.  But as it turns out, my daughter has been saying for almost a year now that she wants to be a fire fighter.  I constantly suggest to her being a lawyer instead and making some real big bucks.  But she insists that she wants to help people.  And as noble as she is, I decided that I should at least feign support, although I've got at least 10 years for her to change her mind.

Strike one, parking was a nightmare.  There wasn't a lot of direction on as to where to park and the only lot available to the public was already full.  We opted to park in a parking lot, approximately three blocks away.  But it really was good healthy exercise and we were quite happy to bask in the beautiful sun on this beautiful Summer's day... or Autumn's day. 

As it would turn out, the Orange County Fire Authority really know how to throw an Open House.  I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun we had.  My daughter got to wear an actual fire fighter's uniform.  We got to ride an a real fire truck, that was actually converted into a tour tram, not unlike Universal Studios, but was previously in their fleet back in the early 70s.  The other really cool part was seeing the Fire Dogs, not a hotdog, but actual Dogs that assist with search and rescue.  The demonstration was pretty insane, that handsome fella literally climbed a ladder.  They show cased how the dog knew whether to go into action or not, just by which leg the fire fighter would step with first.

Bear in mind, all of this was free.  That included free hot dogs.  Free water on just about every corner.  And everyone was so kind, taking time to talk to Lily about their jobs and allowing her to actually get in which ever vehicle we were standing in front of.  She got to sit on a D9 Bulldozer, an Ambulance, and a Fire Engine.  Just an incredible event and we all really enjoyed the day.  I am definitely looking forward to next year's event.  So Thanks to the OCFA, we had a lot of fun.