Half of 2016 is almost over. Stores are having big sales on summer items. In July stores will get ready for back to school and we will see fall clothes on sale.
What are your plans for this upcoming long weekend? Do you go out of town? Do you have a cookout and watch the fireworks. Do you have special recipes that you make for this occasion? How do you celebrate the red, white, and blue? Do you have a special outfit that you wear?
We usually have baby back ribs; they’re slow cooked on the grill if the weather cooperates or in the oven if we get rain. No picnics outdoors because it’s usually 95+ until early evening. There are several neighborhoods near us that shoot fireworks and we can see them from our backyard. I make a big pitcher of lemonade (half lemonade, half Limoncello) to sip throughout the evening.
If the weather is too bad, we stay in and watch old movies. Yankee Doodle Dandy (with Cagney as George M. Cohan) and 1176 (the musical) are two favorites.
I’m in northern Michigan at my parents’ place. Mr R will be joining us on Friday and my family from across the country is coming in as well. We’ll be going to the National Cherry Festival this weekend which I haven’t gone to since I was a young kid.
This might be taboo but we don’t much care about July 4 in my family. We appreciate the time off work but that’s about it. And most of my family has served in the US military!
@romanigypsyeyes
Just looked that up. Did not realize you live near the Cherry Capital of the World. That looks like an interesting festival. We have a cherry blossom festival in March/April every year.
We live in a resort area…so we get the heck out of dodge 
to somewhere even more remote.
I’ve got my crab traps out already and a bunch in my holding tank. My kids and their friends and some of my friends will be over for a crab feast/barbeque. We’ll go by boat to see the fireworks. I miss the ones we used to see that were set by music. We’ll spend the day hanging by the beach/pool, boating, jetskiing, general merry making.
This year, we’re driving our daughter to the airport, so she can go to Peru with her cousin and my sister. What was I thinking, letting her go the summer before college! I will miss her. So we have to find something to do that day! Maybe watch fireworks over the Portland harbor.
The day’s events in our “isolated mountain hamlet” begin with a parade which seems to involve half the town and we always wonder who will be watching, but there are always lots of spectators. There’s a free barbecue and music afterwards and there will be fireworks in the neighboring town after the baseball game (summer collegiate baseball league).
My favorite part of the day is the reading of the Declaration of Independence and the British response. The readers are usually well-known actors who are here for the summer theater festival. The college’s rare book library has a set of the original printing of the Founding Documents of the United States and the display is open before and after the reading.
My family celebrates July 4th on the gulf coast of FL. You can miss Christmas but not July 4th!! Lots of time on the boat with a lot of people crammed in a small house. 20 people and 2 bathrooms! Both of my kids are flying from Texas to be here for the weekend. Red White and Blue is everywhere. We eat and drink and laugh a lot. 20+ years as a tradition! I am so excited!
Growing up we would go to the Maryland Inner Harbor fireworks and once we went to the DC fireworks. I still think the Macy’s New York City fireworks are the best. Big crowds in the hot weather. Tempted to take a daytrip to New York just to see them. Our state allows purchase of fireworks so I am sure some of our neighbors will be lighting them up. Sometimes we are able to see fireworks from our balcony.
I like to make a jello poke cake covered in cool whip and then decorated with blueberries and strawberries. Tastes really good ice cold. Would love to do a picnic dinner. That would be fun.
My Dad’s gonna come up to San Francisco to visit me and we’ll do something touristy, then after he goes home I’m gonna open up my Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 12-pack, and drink some patriotic brews while playing Broforce or Civilization.
@raclut I live downstate but my parents live near the Cherry Fest. I used to go almost every year when I was a kid and then stopped because it was too danged busy- especially once they moved it to July 4th week (it used to be near the end of July). But since Mr R had a long weekend, I figured that he should experience the festival as it just seems like something every Michigander should do at some point.
Personally, I’m looking forward to the food and beer tents with local noms and brews :D. My mom and her whole family are looking forward to the air show. They were all Air Force so we’ve spent many a day at air shows!
@spaceship I have never been to San Francisco but it is on my to do list.
I need to do all the touristy things there.
We have a big gathering of some of DH’s closest fraternity brothers and their families at our lake house. Lots of home smoked BBQ, boating, etc., and then we watch the fireworks show over the lake that is put on by the chamber of commerce from our patio. It’s a lot of work, but fun, and everyone really does chip in and help.
Normally we do nothing special, but we have a guest from out of the country, so we may do something special. We live near DC, but I don’t know if we’ll go there. I will offer to shuttle to and from metro.
We’re going to the county fair so I can have my annual dose of cotton candy.
My neighborhood has a grill master challenge at our community pool. Then a parade of kids on decorated bikes and scooters and finally fireworks and popcorn.
Holy JP Morgan, people are already putting their lawn chairs out on Main Street to stake out a spot to watch the parade. Insanity!!!
Been invited to an afternoon BBQ in a friend’s backyard in Brooklyn. Looking forward to the food, drinks, and some music/jamming. Friend and several roommates are musicians who are part of the same indie band with a rehersal/playing space in their basement.
@romanigypsyeyes I took the liberty of googling the Cherry Festival and it looks amazing. Cherry pie might be my favorite food of all time.
There used to be a big fireworks show at the high school near us, but they discontinued it several years ago when they realized it’s right in the middle of a very large residential area. We’re not willing to drive and park to see fireworks, so we content ourselves with whatever’s going on on our street. DH will grill something, probably hot dogs. We’ll have watermelon for sure. Other than that, it’s just nice to have a 3 day weekend.