My So-Called Life: Celebrating Independence... With Beaches & Beer

Monday, July 06, 2009

Celebrating Independence... With Beaches & Beer

I always just seem to go with the flow for 4th of July celebrations. I’ve never really had any traditions, and most of my childhood memories consist of lighting off little fireworks in the driveway, usually in the rain. And for a few years the holiday fell on a weekday, so there wasn’t time to implement any major trips or plans.

But this year, July 4th fell on a Saturday, which made for a glorious three-day weekend! Not only that, but for once in my lifetime the forecast in Seattle was clear and sunny. Bonus. After carefully weighing our options, Stew and I decided to head to Ocean Shores with some friends to camp on their family property and spend the day at the beach. It turned out to be an excellent choice.

Although the weather was somewhat overcast and about ten degrees cooler on the coast, there’s nothing I like better than a weekend of camping with friends. And it had been years since I went to the ocean, so I was pretty excited to kick off my shoes and take a walk in the sand.

This is the same family that organizes an Adult Prom every year, so I was not at all surprised that they had organized a beach Field Day to celebrate our country’s independence. Imagine 20 adults participating in events like the Water Balloon Toss, Egg Carry, Three-Legged Race, Shoe Kick and a Spelling Bee! It was absolutely the most fun I’ve had in a long time.

Lining Up...

Other than Field Day activities, we spent the entire afternoon watching the boys dig a giant fire pit and gather enormous logs to burn in it… of course while sipping brewskies and chitchatting away.

Once it got dark, the fireworks began. Although there was no professional show, I would have thought we were watching one if no one had told me otherwise. Up and down the beach, as far as the eye could see, people were lighting off the biggest fireworks I have ever seen. I don’t even know where you can buy this stuff! I lit of a few sparklers myself, but we mainly left the pyrotechnics to the men folk.