JULY 4

Yesterday was, tah dah, the Fourth. The Fourth is always special to us. We're patriotic. We're picnikkers (is that a word?). And we're fun loving (shoot, I couldn't come up with an alliterative word; could've looked in my thesaurus, but oh well).

We used to live in a small town in Central Florida, and our neighborhood surrounded the lake on which the city shot off their fireworks. We always hosted a BBQ for friends, and at nine o'clock, while sitting in our lawnchairs and eating homemade ice cream (banana pudding flavor; Snickers flavor; orange flavor; etc.), we watched the magnificent night-sky entertainment.

As Floridians, we've watched fireworks in many unique places, such as, on the St. John's River and at the beach. The St. John's River fireworks are almost indescribable (even though I'm a writer!). Two sets of fireworks are set off from barges on the river, and with both sets reflecting in the tall glass skyscrapers that line the water, well, the sight is...like I said, indescribable. Gives me chill bumps just thinking about it.

And the beach fireworks do the same thing for me. We sit on a blanket on the sand, and with our heads going back and forth like bobbly things on dashboards, we look at the fireworks set off by two different beach towns. The Atlantic Ocean looks like black glass in the moonlight, and with the fireworks reflecting on that black glass, and with the ocean breeze in your face, and with the lulling sounds of waves hitting the beach, well, it's quite an experience.

This year was different. We went with friends to Celebration, Florida, the Disney-created city near Walt Disney World where the streets were roped off, and a huge bandstand was set up in the middle of the town. We staked our claim on the sidewalk lining the lake with our lawn chairs, then left to meander through the various booths lining the main street. Food. Fourth of July paraphenalia. A church giving out free water and free squirts of Off. Charity organizations. Etc. Also, we stopped in at some of the unique boutiques in Celebration. Around eight o'clock, we bought food from the Columbia Restaurant's booth--paella (yellow rice and chicken), 1905 salad, and Cuban bread. We drank sanctified sangria--water with orange and lemon slices and a cherry floating in it. For dessert, we had Spanish flan. That was some lip-smacking eating!

Then the fireworks started, and with the patriotic music in the background, it was spectacular.

I'm proud to be an American!