A PARADE, FIREWORKS, AND FRIENDS

The cousin's house - slightly visible chairs were part of his 'gig' too.

Another 4th of July has come and gone. The day started of with a bang and finished off in quiet reflection.

I was up at 7am and out of the house heading over to my sister's place by 7:45am. We were going to combine to one car, the Suburban, since parking near the parade is a 'bear.' But plans changed, long story, and we went in three cars. We were on the road by 8:30 am and arrived at my cousin's house in Huntington Beach (California) at 9:10am. See my cousin's house is actually on Main Street in Huntington Beach and this is the main parade route. The people that live on this street turn there yards into party locations and set up seats for prime viewing. By 9:30 am I was in full form...Mamosas were flowing. Mind you I am not a heavy drinker by far, but when I get together with family and relatives...well the hair comes down just a tad! By the parade's end, I had a bit of a buzz. Oh! the parade. It was great ~ some of the usual floats and organizations, but several new floats and bands. There is always a good mix. The military service and the veterans, especially those survivors from Pearl Harbor, are always the big crowd pleasers and draw the loudest round of applause. This year, the parade finished off with a small band of renegade harikrishnas. I always think of an 'ACID trip' when I see them. Hehehe!

Then there was the good ol' fashion barbecue with all the fixin's, much like I blogged about in my Tuesday HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? segment. And guess what? My cousin chose to do wieners solely this year. Who would have known that my blog post yesterday would segway into the day's prime cooking event. And in case you are wondering...my wiener was a bit bigger than 'bun'-sized but definitely all beef and uncut!

My visit with my cousin and all the other relatives in attendance ended around 5pm. I drove my mom back to my sister's place as she had to leave a bit early. Once at my sister's, I hit the patio and plunked myself down on a lounge chair by the pool. On came the 'siesta.' I was out for nearly 2 hours until I got my call from Mr. Spider!! He filled me in on the East Coast celebrations that had already transpired and managed to pep me up a bit. He always puts a smile on my face.

By the time I complete that rather lengthy call, it was getting near fireworks time here on the west coast. I went in to see if my sister was planning on taking the niece and nephew to the local fireworks show. I got a NO response. It was kind of a downer. No one wanted to go. I almost opted out myself but as I was driving home changed my mind, diverting to the prime location to view the show. And mind you, our city's viewing location is pretty prime. It sits on the bluff of a hill. It actually is the outer edge of a local park. From it you can see the fireworks show directly across the small valley, not to mention that you have a clear view of about 5 other cities firework displays.

When I arrived at the bluff and was waiting for the show, my mode seemed to change. I was having one of those 'anti-climatic' feelings, much like I did on graduation day two weeks ago. Don't get me wrong. The day was great and I got to share in it with some of my family and relatives. But this year, I felt for the first time in a long time, that I was missing a key ingredient. I have always thought of the 4th of July as a time for gathering of family and friends. This year I really wanted MY FRIENDS around. By the time the fireworks show kicked off, my mind was far off staring into the darkness, thinking about my new friends and friends-to-be (hopefully). Yes, I truly was thinking about several of you. I would have loved to have been gathered at my own house, celebrating this day with people like Spider, Pete, Rob, Brett, Derek, Ynager, Kel, Kev (Hypoxic), Keith (Sorted Lives), CityWOOF, Scotty, and others. Why is it that I have to have people that I feel a connection with live so far away? Why couldn't I be fortunate to have such fun, spirited, warm individuals in my immediate backyard?!?!

Well...there you have my Independence Day. I know that soon my path will cross with a few more of you, and for others it may be a bit longer. But I do hope we meet up eventually. Thought I would slip in some parade photos starting off with my cousin's truly 'Americana' house at the top of this post (and its worth a pretty chunk of change given its prime location on Main Street in a beach community - the bum!).

Pre-parade: Main Street looking north from my cousin's house.

Pre-parade: Main Street looking south from my cousin's house.

The start of the parade with the old-fashion city cop cars.

The Stars and American Bald Eagle floats.

Our armed forces - the Marine. Hoooooo - rah! The crowd pleaser!

Float carrying Miss Huntington Beach (California).

One of the many equestrian displays throughout the parade.

A church organization float/band. They are a staple and typically good.

One of the several county high school bands invited to the parade.

Another equestrian display, this time with riders in the old Wild West clothing of the day.

The skating bulldog - this sweet hound was another crowd pleaser. So 'SoCal!'
This bulldog actually used his hind leg to push...too funny.