TammyB74 -
I had the same experience this 4th -- I expected to be quite further up river from the fireworks and instead I was nearly on top of the barge. This made it difficult to get the cityscape background I wanted - or the elevation. I was able to get a few shots before the smoke got too thick. This goes under the heading "what I learned for next year"!
I really appreciate all the posts on this site about how to set up to shoot fireworks.
18mm, f/3.5, 2+ seconds, iso 100.
good luck nex year!