My country 'tis of thee . . .

Sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing!

I sing that song regularly with my third graders. Today I sing it to celebrate Independence Day. DH and I decided to go to one of the big celebrations. In these parts that means we could either head south to DC or north to Charm City AKA Baltimore. Ems was working on the patio at the Cheesecake Factory at Harborplace so we decided to go there. It started raining before we left home and we got to Harborplace around 5:30. They had closed the patio because it was raining slightly so poor Ems was just hanging around unable to work because her station was out there. She got permission for us to sit out there so we put 3 umbrellas together and had a nice little hangout away from the rain!
Here is DH and KC (who was also working).

Here are some views of the harbor from our table:



We ended up staying at this table for 4 hours! They did open the patio so we had to give up one of our umbrellas. This was prime fireworks watching real estate and we weren't going to budge, come rain or high water! It did rain intermittently and many of the people moved indoors. We just huddled under the umbrellas and ordered something else!

Here is Ems (on the right) with a friend who works at the Cheesecake Factory:

The crowds definitely thickened as time went on. Here are some shots of favorite harbor landmarks after dark:
The Rusty Scupper Restaurant

The Domino Sugar Factory--soon to disappear--next to the National Aquarium.

The USS Constellation


Here are a few shots of the fireworks:




We really had a good time. We parked right by the Hyatt so we were out of there and home by 10:30 without hitting any traffic! Maybe next year we will go to DC for a different take on the celebration!

Now for some serious reflection: Many of you know that I go to Boston every summer to do family research. Oh, how I would love to be there on the 4th of July one year! I always have a feeling of awe when I walk among the places our founding fathers walked. I feel intensely patriotic to know that I had ancestors who helped us to form a new nation. I leave you with two photos taken last summer at the bridge from Lexinton MA into Concord MA, where the American Revolution began:



Bushism of the day:
"I believe we are called to do the hard work to make our communities and quality of life a better place." --George W. Bush, Collinsville, Ill., Jan. 5, 2005

Kitty Cam: Mikey loves Independence Day. He's not too sure about the fireworks, however.