Celebrating The USA
Happy July 4th to everyone! What a fun Holiday to have in the beginning of the summer months. We get a chance to relax and not worry about day to day life. My only gripe about this year is the solitary day off. Wouldn't be nice to celebrate by having a four day weekend? But such is life... I made the best of my single day off.
Teresa and I began the day with our traditional Saturday morning walk to Spoons. We have made this place our stop for morning coffee. The weather was very agreeable so, we walked around Federal Hill proper. We ended our jaunt back on Clement street. The neighbors were already enjoying the day with a few mimosas. I partook in just one because; I wanted to play soccer in the afternoon.
Back at the house, I gave Pete a quick call. We had planned to kick around the soccer ball. He wants to start playing pickup games in Riverside Park. He didn't have anything going on for the afternoon so, he rode his bike down from Mt. Vernon. He said the whole Inner Harbor was packed. That wasn't surprising. The streets around our house were full even at 1pm.
Teresa joined us and we walked to Federal Hill Park. There was enough space to kick around the ball, and she could sit on a bench in the shade. Luckily, a breeze was keeping the whole park cool. I wasn't surprised by the small groups of people already staking out spots to watch the fireworks. As we knocked the ball back and forth, we caught up a bit. Pete is enjoying living back in Baltimore. He also really likes his summer job at a small firm. It is great to have him back in Baltimore.
After we got home from the park, Teresa and I relaxed around the house. Around dinner time, we started the Bruschetta Factory. Teresa is famous for her Bruschetta. Its the dish of choice for social events. We were invited down the street for grilling and watching the fireworks from the deck. Its tedious to produce a large quantity of food in our kitchen, but we have it down to a science. In the amount of time it takes Giada to get her outfit together, we had a few trays of goodness.
Right as we started to walk out the door, the rain came pouring down from the darkened sky. It was threating over the last few hours, but it had held. I rain down to Ryan's house to see how we'd adjust the party plans. Troy made the call to move the party in doors at his place. I grabbed Teresa, and we quickly walked a few doors down.
Of course, it would be much more enjoyable to be outside. We made due with the indoor venue, and we had an awesome time. The Bruschetta was gone in minutes. Shortly thereafter, Troy and Darren brought in Bratwurst and Steak from the grill. A tasty pasta salad was also put on the table. I ate until I was full.
The rain kept coming and going. We filtered in and out of the houses. At least the break in the weather brought down the humidity and created a cool breeze. We were back in the house, when we heard loud crashes and booms. I guess the rain wasn't coming down, and the fireworks had started! We rushed up to the deck, and we were greeted with the beginning of the show. We had a clear view to the harbor, and could see displays in the distance. Also, many roofs around the neighborhood were lighting their own fireworks. It was a neat experience to see the fireworks from up high, and to share that experience with so many people. My favorite fireworks were ones I had not seen before. They burst in two distinct directions. One ring of color seemed to orbit around the other creating a cool effect. Near the finale of the harbor fireworks, a display started near Federal Hill Park. The two complimented each other. The combination created a large and fantastic finale.
After the show, we stayed up on the deck for a few minutes. It was almost anticlimactic. I really wanted to continue to hangout and have a good time, but Thursday was a work day. Back to the single day off scenario. That being said, we had a wonderful day. USA USA!!! Plus, it is now a sprint to the finish! Only a few days of work to the weekend. Thanks for all of our neighbors for helping this 4th of July to be a memorable occasion.
