4th of July

We are celebrating our second 4th of July in the US, and for us it is a quiet one.

It was only this year that I actually learned what 4th of July was all about, clearly I wasn't that well educated at school!! So for those of you (possibly the Brits reading this), here is a bit of info about 4th of July (taken from Wikipedia)

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

So hopefully all the Americans are grateful to us Brits for getting them a day off work!!

Last year we celebrated with a BBQ and went to Pier 39 and watched the fireworks, what should have been a 30 min drive took nearly 2 hours and cost $30 in parking, so we decided to give it a miss this year, especially as the display only lasted 20 mins and it took us over an hour to get home too!!

This morning we celebrated with pancakes.

 

And this afternoon we had a BBQ. The sun has been shining all day long and has been really nice and warm out - I have a red head and shoulders to prove it!!, and even though it is still daylight we have heard some fireworks already, and there have also been some going for the last two nights. There is a firework ban in San Francisco, so I imagine there won't be many going off, but hopefully we will see a few from our balcony being let off by the 'naughty' people!. The fog has started to roll in already, but hopefully it will clear for the thousands of people heading to Pier 39 for the fireworks on the bay, I'm just glad we won't be stuck in the chaos that is trying to leave the bay after the show!! We will be sat on our sofa watching the Macy's 4th July firework display on TV.

Oh say can you see....... I must admit I do think the US has an awesome National Anthem and it gives me goose bumps every time I hear it, and I especially enjoy seeing it performed at major sporting events when the fighter jets fly over too. You are definitely a patriotic country.

Happy 4th of July America.