Fireworks, parades, hot weather, family outings and cookouts all come to mind when most folks think of the Fourth of July. I think of fishing.

In fact, this year I've decided to take an outing to a trout lake near the West Virginia/Virginia border to try my luck.

It is my first trout lake outing, so I am not sure whether I will end up happy or unhappy. There is also a good-sized trout stream flowing into the lake that is stocked, but in Virginia, most of the stocking is done in the winter.

Therefore, I figure on wading upstream at least a mile or so from where I am camping in search of some over-looked, or at least under-hooked, trout.

There is another lake nearby that is much bigger. It has a Native American name that I can't really remember right now. It is supposed to have more bass, catfish and sunfish in it, which could make it worth the drive and the time to fish it for a day or so.

The one I am going to is called Douthat and it features several options for water fun, including rentals on several different pedal-powered water craft. I hope those don't get in the way of my fishing, but I suppose there's bound to be a few places where no one will be trying to congregate.

One of my friends, who happens to be a pastor, told me about the area and we agreed to try the trip together.

While we have never had a fishing expedition together, we already have one joint failure, in as much as he tried to go with me not long ago and ended up having to work. Working is not something entirely foreign to me, so I understood. I hope this trip works out a little better. According to the ranger I spoke to by telephone, the lake even offers four-day boat rentals for $100, which sounds better to me than trying to haul my aluminum flat bottom across the top of my friend's Ford Explorer. Since my boat is longer than his vehicle, I can see it coming out past his hood. Wouldn't that be fun on the Interstate?

I must admit to being a little apprehensive about the traffic situation. There are likely to be at least 40 million people traveling that day, most of them heading in different directions and some even not knowing where they are going.

We have agreed to try and take as many back roads as possible, which could make for an even more exciting trip.

Maybe we can find a few of those side-road attractions along the way, like Burt's Greasy Spoon Restaurant in some little town that only has a name because the railroad once stopped there 40 years ago.

Those are the kinds of places you never forget; some because of the all-day heartburn and some because of the great food you know you'll likely never eat again.

I've been trying to get ready to go for a few days now, but my last-minute gene is kicking in again and I find myself not all that rushed about the whole thing.

After all, if I am stressed getting ready for a vacation, that seems counter-productive. Things always seem to work themselves out.

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